Stereotypes, racism

I interviewed a couple of students considering a summer internship a few days ago. Of course I went with a very open mind.

The first guy was a Chinese. His English wasn't very good, but his grades in the technical subjects were straight As. "Soft" courses like "Organisational Management" were the only flaws in his grades.

The second guy was Italian. Long hair, nice proper suit that fitted him, modern looking tie, he almost looked like he was a model. He sat back in his chair and gave a sort of "hey I know I'm good looking, I deserve a job" kinda look...

The third guy was Polish. He wore gold rimmed glasses and an ill-fitted jacket that looked so past-era, like it was his father's. I'm guessing he got his inspiration for his hair from his father too.

The fourth guy was Indian. Plump and chubby cute sort of way. He talked in a slightly high-pitched tone (almost to the point of sounding like a child) and was very enthusiastic and chirpy. Very entertaining...

The fifth was Swedish. Tall, blond, light blue eyes, with a nice suit (not as nice as the Italian), and spoke very pleasantly. Very presentable.

Now, my job as an interviewer is to judge the skills and potential, not the looks or race. and definitely NOT to stereotype. BUT its so blindingly obvious.

The Chinese guy deserves a more technical role, the Italian deserves a client-facing role, the Polish guy should be placed far away from clients, the Indian I don't know, and the Swedish as a presenter.

DAMN IT.. its so hard not to stereotype people!

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That brings me to racism. At what point is it considered racism? I seem to have many friends who sort of expect to have Japanese chefs at Japanese restaurants. Is that being racist? Isn't that pre-judging that Indians can't cook just as well?