You can prepare for your interview for weeks. You can read entire books, conduct 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 yet 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 the employment.

Bias at Job Interview

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

Although, there are still biases that exist legally. These biases appear when a company considers 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 Instance

In accordance to an article at AOL Jobs, a woman named Lynae wasn’t hired for a job teaching at Weight Watchers because they considered her body type didn’t fit the mold of a positive role model for those looking to lose weight. They considered that her size would stop her from being capable 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 won’t hire employees that show up in a suit and tie, under the assumption that candidates that show up dressed too professionally will not acknowledge the corporate culture. Here we’ve a bias against professionalism, in a job type that usually rewards individuals that are more relaxed about the corporate lifestyle.

Biases are Legal & Unavoidable

These kinds of job interview biases are completely legal. You can’t be secured against how a company views your appearance. Good or bad, it is significant 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, do not let it get you down. It might be the company’s issue, not yours, and the company you applied for is going to lose out on a great candidate simply because of their own twisted biases.