First impressions in hiring lie, and I am the perfect example of that.


Hi there! My name is Charlotte. I am a 25-year-old female entrepreneur and Equalture’s CEO. I started Equalture 4 years ago, together with my twin sister Fleur. Now, let’s talk about first impressions.


Here’s what you’ll probably think of me.

If you would scroll through my LinkedIn profile, you will find the following pieces of information:

  • I studied Business Administration at the Erasmus University Rotterdam;
  • Equalture is my second company, that I started at a young age;
  • I have been nominated for some cool awards;
  • Equalture, which also won some nice awards, raised millions of funding, and counts 32 team members today.

Alright, so that’s what you know about me. Based on these details, I guess this will be your first impression of me:

Despite my lack of (relevant) work experience, I managed to ‘successfully’ start a company at a young age, in which I now fulfill the position of CEO. This means I must be very ambitious, passionate, and good at my job.


And what you probably wouldn’t have thought.

Ambitious and passionate definitely applies to me, and hopefully, I am also relatively good at my job. ๐Ÿ˜‰ However, I come with some huge downsides also, which you might not have expected me to have, based on my first impression:

  • I struggle with receiving feedback (my team makes a lot of jokes about the sandwich technique);
  • I am very impulsive, sometimes way too much, which negatively impacts my team;
  • I have a very low tolerance for errors, which basically results in being a control freak every now and then;
  • And I am very individualistic, which is not always helpful in a team of 30+ people.

Now, I am not saying that no one should hire me as their CEO. I am saying that, when looking at my LinkedIn profile, or when briefly chatting with me, you might have a different perception of who I am. Probably a better perception than it should be – which I am lucky with. This also happens when hiring someone, but then usually the other way around


What about you?

Now, this was all about me, but what about you? How do you think that people will see you? What can be found on your LinkedIn profile, and what can’t be found? Do you think that your first impression will be better than it should be, or maybe worse? In case you think it’s better, do you feel privileged about that? And in case you think it’s worse, do you think that’s unfair?


Why we started Equalture: Challenging our biases

When you and I see someone, we will always see a different person. As the two of us have different frames of reference, we will also have a different first impression of this person. And that first impression is very difficult to come back from.

Without us being aware of it, we are constantly putting people in boxes. We look at people’s profiles and instantly create our perception of this person. We interpret someoneโ€™s personality, just by looking at their appearance. We interpret what someoneโ€™s skills and talents must be, by looking at their resume. And we unconsciously discriminate against people, based on their name, age, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. This fosters inequalities and makes us hire the wrong people.


How we provide every candidate with an equal opportunity to get hired

We help companies get to know their candidates, beyond what’s written on their CV. We have built a library of scientifically-validated gamified assessments, which enables companies to get to know both their teamsโ€™ and their candidatesโ€™ cognitive skills, cultural preferences, and behaviours. Candidates are asked to complete these gamified assessments, which take around 15 minutes, at the start of the hiring process. This ensures a first impression based on science, instead of gut feeling. A first impression that’s fair. Equal. And not prone to errors.


Want to try a game yourself?

A visual of one of the games that is non-cheatable and measures a specific skill/personality trait.


Stop hiring based on biases. Instead, start collecting actual insights into people that can help you come to a final hiring decision. Because I know one thing for sure: You would have had a different view on me after letting me take an assessment. Curious to learn more about Equalture and how we can help? You know where to find us!

Charlotte Melkert Co-Founder and CEO of Equalture in Portrait picture

Cheers, Charlotte
Co-Founder & CEO

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