[gumby]

There have been good A/B studies showing significant changes in response rate to resumes with and without photos. How someone looks doesn't seem like it should be correlated with their ability to draw a picture or choose a search algorithm.

[DoneWithAllThat]

We’re not talking unconscious bias silliness here. We’re talking about literal fraud/misrepresentation and needing verification that someone is who they claim to be. Using our eyebulbs isn’t inherently problematic.

[Woden501]

"unconscious bias silliness" so you're telling me that an interviewer is just as likely to hire someone who has visible issues sitting still/focusing on a video call as they are someone who sits perfectly still and gives their full 100% attention to the call? No, not a chance. When there are two candidates for a position at approximately equal skill levels when performing a video interview but one has ADHD that comes along with the inability to remain solely focused on one small screen and voice for an extended period of time you can guess which candidate is going to be picked the vast majority of the time. Dismissing such a huge issue as silliness is exactly the reason why many people who have issues similar to that do not want to perform video calls for interviews.

[LucasCastroCA]

I think you're misunderstanding them. You two are basically discussing two (very important) topics.

On the topic of fraud prevention, the interviewer could simply ask the interviewee to be on camera for literally 5 seconds, then feel free to turn off video.

Again, this is based on an Upwork profile that already had a picture, so if discrimination was going to happen, it would be before the video interview stage anyway. This is just about a verification step, and in a platform like Upwork, refusing to be on camera for LITERALLY 5 seconds probably SHOULD be considered a big red flag.

[leereeves]

Yes, unconscious bias is a silly thing to talk about when so many still people face outright discrimination and hostility, but I don't think GP meant unconscious bias.

The A/B studies are also used to prove discrimination that people usually won't admit to, not only to reveal unconscious bias.

[kalupa]

I'm unsure if this is at all equivalent. I'm pretty sure I'd see someone in person before covid forced remote work (thankfully), physically, and that confirms the identity of who I'm talking to to a huge extent.

How you interact with someone is just as important, if not more important, than if they can choose the correct algorithm.

[cldellow]

This is true.

It's also true that Upwork has many, many people who will present themselves as a single individual. Instead, they are actually an agency and you will get a rotating cast of developers. This becomes apparent the fifth time you explain the same thing to your contractor, who is actually not the person you explained it to the fourth time, or the third time, or on and on and on.

Video verification helps you ensure that you are getting what you paid for, and that your time explaining the brief and iterating on their work isn't wasted.

[djohnston]

Refusing to show up on a webcam is undoubtedly correlated with liklihood of fraud and misrepresentation. I suppose "this is why we can't have nice things."

[celim307]

I adamantly am a camera off person but am shame to admit I do add my photo to resume, it really did make responses from companies night and day

[DiggyJohnson]

Are you based in the US?

[buscoquadnary]

I actually think I've benefited from the reverse. I have a very Asian sounding last name (spelled completely different though) despite being of Russian-Dutch-English descent.

I've noticed in the age of remote work some people seem suprised when they first see me. I am now wondering if I am benefiting from the opposite problem of people correlating me with Asian stereotypes?