Duke research suggests bias against job applicants with military service

Military experience may work against some job candidates, according to research from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. In research based on 10 studies and random experiments with nearly 3,000 managers, recruiters and other participants, experts found that those involved in hiring often assume candidate with military experience are unemotional and impersonal — an assumption that can keep applicants out of roles where emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills are valued. Those in the study showed a tendency to relegate such job candidates to roles where they would be working with things rather than people, according to the school.