Hidden curriculum, what is it and how to detect it?

What is the hidden curriculum?

There are various definitions of the term hidden curriculum, but the most interesting from our point of view There would be two:

1. Hidden curriculum: that which is transmitted unconsciously through social media posts, curriculum omissions, information overload, exaggerations, etc.
2. Hidden curriculum: that information which is derived from academic training of the candidate, both in terms of the knowledge and skills they have acquired through formal education, as of the social, academic and vital environment in which it has grown up and been formed.

This second definition is a bit more complex to understand, so we'll go with it better an example: imagine a candidate who has brilliantly completed their higher education in mathematics at a prestigious private Catholic university. From their academic profile, we can deduce that we are looking at an analytical, consistent, intelligent, and capable professional. But if we read between the lines – if we read their hidden curriculum – we can also see that they have grown personally and professionally in a elitist social environment, with one line ideological marked and that it has been steeped in certain ethical values who may or may not fit into our team.

As you can see, both meanings of hidden curriculum are very interesting and, moreover, extremely valuable when forming a human team that shares the values and philosophy of our company. happy, motivated staff, productive and committed to our business objectives.

How can we detect a candidate's hidden curriculum?

As we were saying in previous paragraphs, The hidden curriculum is not exactly a curriculum, It's not a standard professional profile where the candidate details their career path, lists their qualifications, or describes their positive interpersonal skills. In short: a hidden curriculum. not a complete document of two or three pages that a recruiter can study when carrying out a selection process.

This type of CV is, really, a jumble of scattered data that the candidate leaves behind like crumbs on the road, a A lot of implicit and explicit information, of pieces of the puzzle that a skilled recruiter must assemble, train and, of course, know how to interpret.  How can we read between the lines of that hidden curriculum? In various ways:

• When reviewing a candidate's CV, Look at the names of the educational centres. in which they have been educated since their earliest childhood. Investigate the reputation of these schools and universities, their teaching staff, their ideology if they have one, etc.
• There are some sections of the actual curriculum that few recruiters pay attention to and that have great significance in the hidden curriculum: the Non-profit organisations and associations in which the candidate collaborates, his or her hobbies sports, their hobbies, etc. Pay attention to those sections to verify whether the person you are going to hire will fit well or badly with your current team.
• In the first stage of the recruitment process, access the social profiles of your candidates and check that their Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or LinkedIn posts do not contain racist, sexist, xenophobic, radical messages…

A final note: the words hidden curriculum they are relatively new and appeared and grew at the same pace as social networks. Understanding this concept and learning to use the information published by candidates on their social profiles is one of the New features for the Human Resources department, an important task that will allow us to create the best human team happy and motivated for our medium-sized or large company.

Do you find it an interesting topic? We would like to read your impressions.