You can prepare for your job interview for weeks. You can read entire books, perform a million mock interviews, and you can apply for jobs that you know you’re ideally qualified for. Then you can go to the interview, ace it, and still not get the job.

Victorious job interviews don’t guarantee employment. They cannot. Even though job interviews are how hiring managers attempt to get to know candidates, there are other factors that affect employment.

Biases of Job Interview

When we talk about job interview biases, we’re not talking about racism, sexism, ageism, etc. Yes, those do yet play a role in today’s economy, but now there are more safeguards in place to stop them from occurring, and, though it will always be at least somewhat of an issue, most companies have overcome their bigotry when it comes to employing the right candidate.

Although, there are still biases that exist legally. These biases appear when a company believes that an individual doesn’t fit what they need the company to “represent.” If you don’t match how they need the company to be viewed by the public. Let’s look at two instances, one specific and one generic.

Specific Example

In accordance with an article at AOL Jobs, a lady named Lynae was not hired for a job teaching at Weight Watchers because they considered her body type did not fit the mold of a positive role model for those searching to lose weight. They believed that her size would stop her from being able to do her job, because her weight would get in the way of her message. This kind of bias is entirely legal, yet it is a bias nonetheless.

Generic Instance

Recently, several websites have suggested that those applying to IT jobs dress casually to their job interview. Why? Because several IT companies will not employ workers that show up in a suit and tie, under the assumption that candidates that show up dressed too professionally won’t applaud the corporate culture. Here we have a bias against professionalism, in a job type that generally rewards people that are more relaxed about the corporate lifestyle.

Biasness are Legal & Unavoidable

These kinds of job interview biases are entirely legal. You can’t be secured against how a company views your appearance. Good or bad, it is important that you remember that there are parts of the job interview that aren’t completely in your control. Your aim is to do your best, and if you don’t get the job, don’t let it get you down. It may be the company’s problem, not yours, and the company you applied for is going to lose out on a great candidate simply due to their own twisted biases.