Stereotypes in Daily Functioning of Recruiting Agencies in Saint-Petersburg: a Study in Grounded theory

In the context of huge information overload, we tend to make decisions quickly, and frequently use stereotypes, because they allow us to make conclusions about unfamiliar things or people simply. The problem is that such stereotypical conclusions are frequently incorrect. In the present research, it was necessary to explore, how stereotypes can influence the functioning of recruiters, whose aim is to evaluate candidates objectively, taking into account only their professional competencies without their personal attitudes. Different studies about the impact of stereotypes on decision making in recruiting were used as the theoretical framework in this research. To explore how stereotypes can influence recruiters, qualitative method grounded theory was used and 19 workers of recruiting agencies in Saint Petersburg were interviewed. Results show that firstly, there are new categories of stereotypes, which were not studied in previous research. Secondly, there are specific strategies, used by recruiters to deal with contradictions between the image of a “good recruiter” and the requirements to candidates, which are based on stereotypes. Thirdly, it was explored, that although recruiters frequently cope with stereotypes of their clients, using special strategies, sometimes they are also influenced by stereotypes, therefore the recruitment process can be biased, making stereotypes serious problem in the employment.