Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oerdr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae.
You read that effortlessly, didn’t you? But you shouldn't have.....
Your brain is an incredible machine. It doesn't actually read every letter you see. Instead, it captures the "shape" of the word, uses the first and last letters as anchors, and fills in the blanks based on past experience.
It’s a biological efficiency hack called Typoglycemia. It allows you to process information at lightning speed. But when it comes to hiring, this "advantage" is actually a liability.
We Don’t Read CVs — We Predict Them
Research suggests that recruiters and hiring managers often scan resumes in under 7 seconds. When you move that fast, you are relying entirely on the "Cambridge Effect" above.
You aren't reading the candidate's actual experience. You are looking for shapes you recognise:
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The "shape" of a prestigious university name.
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The "shape" of a competitor's job title.
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The "shape" of a specific employment tenure or duration (e.g., 3+ years).
The candidate with the "unconventional" career
Here is where good talent gets lost.
If a candidate’s career path is slightly unorthodox —perhaps they have a gap year, a unique career pivot, or a transferable skill set rather than a direct career progression you're used to seeing —your brain subconsciously treats it like a typo.
It feels "wrong" simply because it doesn't fit the pattern your brain was predicting. By relying on this pattern recognition, you are:
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Hiring for comfort, not capability. (You hire what looks familiar).
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Missing high potential. (The innovators often have "unconventional" career paths).
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Ignoring the detail. (Just like you ignored the spelling mistakes in the first sentence of this post).
We also miss details when we are rushing.
Read the text inside the triangle below quickly:
PARIS
IN THE
THE SPRING
Did you say, "Paris in the spring"?
Look again.
It actually says: "Paris in the the spring."
Most people miss the second "the." Why? because your brain deletes information it deems unnecessary. It knows the phrase, it predicts the outcome, and it literally blinds you to the reality of the text. This is called "Inattentional Blindness," and it's rapidly increasing in recruitment.
When you have a stack of 50 CVs, your brain enters "efficiency mode." It starts deleting information it thinks is unnecessary to get you to the finish line faster.
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You skip over the "soft skills" section.
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You gloss over the "personal projects."
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You ignore the context of why someone left their last role.
You aren't rejecting candidates based on their lack of skill. You are rejecting them because your brain deleted the evidence of their skill before it even registered consciously.
To find the best talent, you have to slow down the processor. You have to stop reading for shapes and start reading for substance.
Or, you can bring in a partner who does.
We are trained to look past the patterns. We don't skim for "typos"—we dig for the skills that actually make a difference. Assessing the person, qualifying their potential. We don't just rely on a quick skim of a CV, Ai interpretation or a recruitment portal algorithms.
The talent you need might be staring you in the face. It just might not be spelled the way you expected.