I’ve spent enough time in sink-or-swim work environments that treading water feels like I’m struggling, and struggling feels just awful, like I'm underwater.
I recently learned about the TILT framework's transparent assignments. The TILT framework is Transparency in Learning and Teaching in Higher Ed, an approach to pedagogical design which leads to both better learning outcomes and more equitable outcomes for marginalized students. By defining the purpose, task, and criteria for success we tilt the playing field to be closer to fair.
TILT assignments have the following attributes.
- Purpose — define for the learner both: a) the intended learning, and b) the benefits of learning
- Task — define for the learner:
a) What do you need to do? And how do you do it?
- sequence of the work or lesson
- guidelines
- Criteria for success a) Help students know how to assess their own work. b) Tell them how you will assess or evaluate their work. c) When applicable, include a checklist or examples.
Imagine if work assignments and technical interviews were transparent like this. That would lead to better outcomes overall, but especially for neurodiverse people and other marginalized groups. For example, re-imagine the behavioral interview. Applicants are asked to describe a past experience, such as, "Tell me about a time when you solved a conflict at work," or, "Talk about your approach to solving difficult problems." Then applicants are expected to speak extemporaneously about their past experience. Without transparency, these questions bias towards people who are skilled with verbal presentations, those who have prepared anecdotes, and generally introduces a gap where bias can influence the interviewer, if the candidate needs to pause and reflect or the experience which comes to mind doesn't match the interviewer-defined ideal candidate. Part of what makes this interview difficult is applicants are not provided with questions ahead of time, and thus, is not provided with adequate time to do reflective thinking before addressing the question. This does not mirror work situations, as while verbal acuity is important in a work environment, one can almost always say, "let me get back to you," to a colleague, but they cannot timeshift an interview question.
The simplest change to create fairer outcomes in behavioral interviews is to email all candidates ahead of time with potential questions or topic areas. This way the candidate can read and reflect on what will be asked, and will be better able to fully answer questions during the day of the interview.