Am I tired?

If we’re not at our best as investigators, we may miss things or fail to collect valid data.  Being tired makes us much more susceptible to bias – our brain starts to take shortcuts and rely more on heuristics, which adds more bias into the mix.  This can also happen if we’re distracted, burnt out or simply not feeling like ourselves for whatever reason.

Suggested actions:

For Interviewers

• Acknowledge that you are tired and be mindful that it matters and can make you more vulnerable to bias.
• Ask a colleague to take over the interview for you if possible.
• If not, be mindful that you are tired, and so go slowly and methodically.
• Have a checklist available to back up your memory, to make sure you don’t miss any interview question topics and keep the interview on course.
• Run your plan past a colleague before you start to check you’ve not missed anything obvious.
• If possible, have a note-taker present to ensure everything is captured.  This also means you have someone to discuss the outcome with after the interview, and can check yourself further.

For Managers

• Make sure your interviewing team are not overworked or fatigued by normal day to day operations.
• Be flexible in your resourcing and ensure enough headroom in scheduling to allow colleagues to support each other as necessary.
• Develop a bespoke standard interview checklist for your organization to support interviewers through the process.

Find out more about the different biases that can affect you when you’re tired here.