Corporate America is changing its hiring practices, and Google is at the forefront.In the rush to hire talent, innovative companies like Google are abandoningtraditional employment practices. With research showing that grades andinterviews are not reliable predictors of success, the use of “biodata” is becoming moreprevalent. This new trend has serious implications for human resource departmentsand employment law attorneys as there will inevitably be a surge of discriminationclaims arising from the use of biodata as these innovative practices potentially test thelimits of established law.
Biodata is the term used in industrial andorganizational psychology for biographicaldata. Biodata probes deep into an individual’sbackground and consists of a person’slife and work experiences, as well as beliefs,values, opinions and attitudes. This informationis then presumed to be related topersonality structure, personal adjustmentor success in social, educational or occupationalpursuits. Employers are now usingbiodata as a means of obtaining a more scientificapproach to the interview process.
