Anonymous CVs: what the evaluation in France revealed
In 2009, a randomised experiment run with the French public employment service evaluated anonymous CVs. The unexpected result: firms receiving them were less likely to interview and hire minority candidates.
Making resumes anonymous seemed self-evident. The evaluation carried out in France produced an unexpected result.
In 2009, the French public employment service offered volunteer firms anonymised resumes. Behaghel, Crépon and Le Barbanchon evaluated the scheme with random assignment: firms receiving anonymous resumes were less likely to interview and hire minority candidates.
Two explanations were put forward: participating firms are not representative, and anonymisation removes information that could have softened a negative signal.
A measure that is fair in intent must be evaluated on its effects.
Source: Behaghel, L., Crépon, B. & Le Barbanchon, T. (2015). Unintended Effects of Anonymous Résumés. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 7(3), 1–27.
Which practice in your process deserves to be evaluated on its real effects?