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Growing up in the North of England, my cultural background is rooted in being down-to-earth, straightforward, and valuing hard work without pretension. We pride ourselves on 'calling a spade a spade' and favour warmth and informality.

Northern English culture relies on humility and self-deprecating humour; we’re wary of people who seem 'too big for their boots.' I have to actively check my bias when interviewing candidates from cultures that encourage vocal self-promotion, so I don't unfairly judge confidence as arrogance. I lean toward friendly banter to put people at ease. If a candidate strictly separates professional and personal demeanors based on their culture, they might initially come across to me as cold rather than just maintaining professional boundaries.

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My cultural background can potentially influence how I view responses from a potential candidate. I may not be aware that I am looking for responses similar to my own beliefs or experiences. I may misinterpret what someone says and view it either positively or negatively.

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I have to be mindful of two opposite predispositions: on one hand, my local roots might initially flag an overly aggressive or self-promoting candidate as boastful rather than capable. On the other hand, my extensive international school experience might cause me to accidentally disadvantage a highly qualified candidate from a more reserved, collectivist culture who expresses capability through humility and collective achievement. Recognising this internal dilemma allows me to look past cultural packaging and focus purely on the core competencies required for the role.

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My cultural backgroud as a Pakeha New Zealander it will influence my selection of Candidates. However, having been exposed to the ongoing conversation and historical inequities within the New Zealand education system (particularly concerning Māori and Pasifika students), I may have a strong awareness of systemic bias and the need for culturally responsive practice. So I am very aware of my own bias's and I work hard to keep them in check.

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Remembering to stay open-minded and curious could potentially help me to not fall back on predispositions. No two backgrounds are the same, even if you relate to someone's culture . So it's a matter of being aware and checking my own biases when in front of a candidate.

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Coming from a culture that is not widely represented in the UWCSEA community and speaking a different home language has made me very aware of how cultural perspectives shape communication and interpretation. Having lived in Singapore for many years, and having a family with mixed cultural backgrounds, I have learned to navigate diverse contexts and adapt to multiple cultural expectations.

This experience helps me recognise when cultural nuances may influence how candidates express themselves or respond to questions. At the same time, I am mindful of my own predispositions, particularly my tendency to connect more easily with people who, like me, have mixed cultural identities or come from less conventional backgrounds.

Being conscious of this helps me stay objective, focus on the essential part of a candidate’s responses, and ensure that differences in style or expression do not influence my criteria.

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My cultural background might influence my interpretations and potentially fall into other subtypes of unconscious bias. All of this may result in wrong interpretations and assumptions that will impact communication and therefore the application process.

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Cultural background could potentially lead to affinity bias.

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My cultural background and prior experiences is likely to influence my judgement in unconscious ways that I need to be aware of. I need to not make snap decisions without weighing up all the attributes of a candidate.

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My cultural background might shape how I interpret others’ responses because it influences my expectations around communication, behavior, and professionalism. Without being aware of this, I might misunderstand or misjudge someone whose cultural norms are different from mine. Recognizing this helps me stay open-minded, reduce bias, and interpret responses more fairly and accurately.

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I might be more likely to 'get' the humour, recognise the university, or feel at ease with someone who shares my cultural background. This could lead to implicit cues from me as an interviewer which make it easier for that candidate to impress. I need to be careful to remain curious and resist the temptation to make assumptions. It is challenging because communication skills and rapport building are so integral to working at UWCSEA. It can be easier to build rapport with people with whom we share common cultural traits, so we need to pay attention to this.

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Attitudes toward authority and hierarchy may differ across cultures. Some cultures may emphasise deference and humility toward authority figures, including interviewers. This may be perceived as a lack of initiative or leadership when candidates may downplay their achievements or avoid self-promotion.

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My cultural background will ​i​mpact ​how I view a potential candidate. M​y understanding, prior personal experiences and perspectives of ​their ​i​nterview responses, w​ays they communicate, world views, examples provided etc are likely to shape my interpretation. I ​n​eed to be aware of my own biases which ​​could possibly result in inequitable decision-making.

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Coming from a different cultural background than most of my colleagues, I found it challenging at first to understand and fit into the international school system. That experience might make me more understanding of candidates from less-represented backgrounds, but it also means I need to be careful not to assume too much based on my own journey.

Similarly, because I struggled to re-enter the job market after taking a maternity break, I might feel a natural sympathy for candidates in similar situations. While empathy is important, I also need to stay aware of how my own experiences might affect my judgment.

Being mindful of these potential biases will help me stay fair and open-minded when evaluating candidates from all backgrounds.

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My cultural background will influence how I interpret a candidate's CV, answers, and communication (including speaking style, body language, directness, etc.). I will need to be conscious of my possible biases which might lead to assumptions rather than a more objective interpretation.

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Cultural background can influence my thoughts and perceptions through language and perspectives shared. Perhaps my ignorance about some cultural aspects, beyond my own, may influence my line of questioning or interpretation of someones responses - both verbally and through body language, examples and previous experiences shared etc.

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My cultural background may influence my judgement of the value of candidates experience. Broadening my knowledge of other systems and experience can help me value the experience of others more openly.

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I may feel more inclined to hire someone that looks like me or shares similar values.

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It may feel more comfortable to employ people from a similar background. This can miss experiences and/or skills that others can bring to the organisation/department.

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We often feel connected to people with similar experiences looks and background. Lack of understanding of cultural biases will lead to bias.

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My cultural background may affect how I interpret a candidates answers due to affinity bias where I could expect them to answer in a similar way to the way I would. Different cultures may consider situations differently and I need to be mindful of this when having conversations with others and not jump to conclusions based on my own confirmation bias.

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My cultural background might shape my interpretation of responses as I might view a candidate's body language and mannerisms through a lens of my own culture's expectations. For example, some candidates may be more direct or use active/assertive language than others depending on cultural norms, and this does not necessarily reflect their confidence or competencies as a professional.

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My cultural background can shape how I interpret responses through affinity bias. They may not be from my cultural orientation, from my education background/qualifications or from job-related experiences. Similarly we need to be mindful of confirmation bias and seek alternative viewpoints and ideas to our own.

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My cultural background predisposes me to ways of thinking about or approaching people in particular ways to develop connections. A bias towards a particular mode of building connections could lead me to missout on making meaningful connection with someone from another culture who has a different set of norms and mode of building connection.

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Lack of cultural understanding will inevitably lead to bias.

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Cultural background can influence how we communicate, read body language, and make assumptions. In a fast-paced environment, we really need to take a step back and try to understand candidates on their own terms.

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Cultural background can shape how responses are interpreted, as factors like communication style, attitudes toward authority, non-verbal cues, emphasis on individual vs. group achievement, and approaches to feedback vary across cultures, potentially leading to misinterpretations if not understood within their cultural context.

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References being made can differ in meaning or used context in different cultures.

What is considered respectful and common in a particular culture might be offensive and not well accepted in other cultures.

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My cultural background can shape how I interpret responses, especially when communication styles or values differ. I may find myself drawing on familiar cues or expectations, which could influence my understanding. Staying aware of this helps me approach each response with a more open mindset and recognise the value in diverse perspectives.

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Eye contact, gestures, and posture have different meanings across cultures. What might seem respectful, confident, or evasive in one culture could be perceived entirely differently by someone from another.

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We often feel more connected to those with similar backgrounds due to shared experiences. However, this tendency may limit not only our personal growth but also the development of the community.

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Cultural background shapes how we interpret responses by influencing communication styles, values, and expectations. Communication may be more indirect in high-context cultures, which could be perceived as evasiveness in low-context settings. Differences in formality, body language, time orientation, and responses to feedback can also lead to misinterpretations based on cultural norms.

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We may not appreciate the differences in tone between candidates of different cultural backgrounds to our own.

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It may impact how one communicates (direct vs indirect), the way one shares information (verbally as well as other ways of nuanced communication), or how one chooses to highlight their career. My cultural background, values and beliefs may cause me to have an unconscious affinity bias to a candidate who reminds me of me, or a bias towards their communication style that is similar to mine.

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We may not recognise understated subtlety from candidates, we may use language in questions which contains cultural bias limiting the ability of candidates to answer fully