Jobseekers urged to be aware of AI recruitment screening
Research shows employers increasingly using the technology to communicate with applicants
Jobseekers are being urged to understand how artificial intelligence is being used in recruitment, amid concerns some applicants may be rejected without knowing an automated system was involved.
Research from the People Like Us charity suggests three in four UK jobseekers do not know they can ask for a human review after being rejected by an automated system.
The study found 80% of those surveyed had been rejected from a job in the past two years, with almost three quarters suspecting at least one rejection was automated.
Dr Sarah Marks, a lecturer at Swansea University’s School of Management, says human involvement does not automatically make recruitment fairer.
“Humans have biases too,” she said, adding that AI could also be biased.
She believes the two should work together, with humans providing judgement where automated systems may struggle.
“AI can only do what people have told it to,” she explained
Dr Marks also warned that applicants may increasingly tailor their CVs to AI systems, but said candidates should still focus on showing their individual skills.
She says she advised students to“ make sure that your CV is tailored to the job,”
She also raised concerns about AI being used to assess candidates during video interviews.
“Sometimes those video interviews are not being seen by real people,” she said.
She described it as “really disconcerting for young people to think that you're talking to a screen and then that is going to be assessed by a company.”
However, she said this type of technology would “almost always just be screening” and that most final decisions were still likely to involve people.
She said employers could use AI to improve the recruitment experience by providing applicants with “more transparency” and useful feedback suggesting that this lack of feedback could stop candidates from being able to improve applications.
People Like Us has launched a campaign calling for greater transparency and the right to request human review.