Increasing racial diversity in scientific hiring through Scismic Job Seeker, an online job-matching platform for the biotech industry

Project AbstractScismicJobSeekerisaMatch comforscientifichiringInidentifyingtheneedtoimproveworkforceengagementinthelifesciencesScismicbuiltanautomatedjobmatchingplatformtailoredforthebiotechindustryDesigneddevelopedandnowdeployedbyscientistsforscientistsitsskillsmatchingtechnologyisuniqueandaddresseskeyevaluationcriteriainassessingcandidatesasrequiredbyrecruitersThereforeScismicsavesbiotechcompaniestimeandmoneyandoptimizesproductivitybyenablingscientiststofindworkplaces they thrive inScismic aims to foster engagement and drive innovation in the life sciences industryRacial diversitya key contributing factor to organizational productivity and innovationis severely lacking in thebiotech workforcePast studies have shown that traditional recruiting practices create barriers for candidates ofunderrepresentedbackgroundsAsatechnologyplatformwithalgorithmsthatcomputeautomatedcandidateevaluationsScismicJobSeeker smatchingsystemreduceshumanbiasesinthecandidateevaluationprocessAdditionallyScismichasdevelopedtwonewindependentdiversitypromotingfeaturesbiographicalinformationblindingBIBandenhancedwrittenevaluationEWEThespecificaimsofthisSBIR Phase I application areto demonstrate the efficacy of Scismic Job Seeker s BIB feature in generatingracially diverse candidate shortlists andto determine the efficacy of Scismic Job Seeker s EWE in delayingtheintroductionofhumanbiasintherecruitingprocessIntheproposedstudiesScismicwilldeterminewhethertwoscreeningfeaturestheBIBandtheEWEresultinmoreunderrepresentedcandidatesbeingmovedforwardunderstandthecorrelationbetweentheracialdiversityofcandidatepoolsbeforeandafterScismicJobSeeker BIBscreensandestablishwhethertheEWEcanreplacethephonescreenandfurtherdelay the introduction of human bias prior to the interview stageThe results of the proposed study will enableScismictofurtheroptimizeandimprovetheBIBand ortheEWEforintegrationintotheScismicJobSeekerplatformIf one or both of these features demonstrate the ability to generate more diverse candidate selectionsthan those of human recruitersthese feature swill be improved and integrated into Job Seeker s platform forcommercialization in the SBIR Phase II applicationIn additionbiopharmaceutical companies have expressedtremendousinterestinpilotingScismicJobSeeker BIB EWEalongsidetheircurrentrecruitingpracticesByprovidingtheonlywidelyaccessibleandscalableplatformaddressingdiversity lifesciencerecruitingScismicJob Seeker can further increase therapeutic innovation in the biotech industryIn the longtermScismic seekstoaccelerateresearchinnovationsworldwidebyenrichingthebiotechworkforcewithnewperspectivesfrompreviously excluded scientistsProject Narrative Scismic Job Seeker is an online platform that matches candidates to jobs in the biotech industry to increase workforce engagement and propel scientific innovationTo further accelerate biotech innovationnew diversitypromoting features have been integratedsince diversity has been shown to foster organizational productivity and innovationComparative studies assessing candidate selection through Scismic Job Seeker and traditional recruiting practices will inform the entire biotech industry of effective tools to build a more diverse workforcewhich in turn will drive scientific innovation and lead to more therapeutics