The future is AI series: 1. Could your next job interview be by AI?

By Fay Capstick

Artificial intelligence, AI, is set to become either a huge bonus in our lives or a huge problem. Much will depend on how we set the boundaries and ethics surrounding its use. Over the next few weeks we will be looking at what is happening, and how what will be huge changes in our culture and world are being reacted to by governments, business, and individuals. AI represents a hugely exciting shift that is likely to be on a par with the industrial revolution in its impact, something that will affect all our lives in profound ways and the decisions that are made now will shape how this happens. This week we will start by looking at whether your next job interview could be conducted by AI.

What has happened?

An article in the Washington Post (https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/03/27/ai-assessed-job-interview/) in March suggested that your next job interview could be conducted by AI.

Employers are using video as a method of interviewing employees. This isn’t new and interviews are done in the candidates own time and uploaded through a portal for the employer. What is new is that in some cases these videos are then judged by an AI to decide who should go through to the next stage. This means that for the opening stages of a job application, your CV, and answers to video interview questions, might be assessed and filtered without any human intervention. The AI is programmed to judge a candidate’s communication skill, problem solving ability, attitude, professionalism, and overall attitude.

How does this work?

According to the Washington Post candidates are presented with questions from the potential employer, either in text or video form. They will then be given a time limit and their video response to the question is recorded before the system moves on to the next question. AI then scores and evaluates the interview.

The percentage of companies using some AI element in their recruiting process is increasing, and this is particularly true for larger companies who might have large numbers of vacancies and applicants.

What are the problems with this?

One big problem is candidates who are disabled. Any communication, speech, or hearing problem that a candidate has could be a major stumbling block for the AI to assess, which could result in a candidate being rejected before they are properly considered. A human interviewer (should) understand a candidate’s disability and make the necessary allowances.

This also applies to candidates that are neurotypical or have conditions such as OCD. Their responses on video might not be what the AI is programmed to look for in terms of behaviour or language, which again could result in a candidate being rejected.

Language might also be an issue. A strong accent might be hard for an AI to understand, which could result in a candidate being rejected.

What can be done?

As AI gets better we can expect that more and more of the recruiting process might be handled by AI. This will have a huge impact on the way that recruitment is undertaken going forward as the better AI gets at screening candidates, the more likely it is that employers and recruiters will use such services. At Parker Shaw we pride ourselves on the professional and personal service that we offer to our clients and candidates, and we do not use AI in our recruitment process. All applicants are assessed by our experienced recruiters.

Job interviews need to be a fair and level playing field for all candidates that offer a chance for abilities to be showcased. AI needs to be programmed to understand the range of behaviour that candidates might display. Further, videos that the AI has had trouble assessing should be put aside for review by a human to make sure that good candidates are not being unfairly rejected.

Final thoughts

At Parker Shaw we have been at the forefront of the sector we serve, IT & Digital Recruitment and Consulting, for over 30 years. We can advise you on all your hiring needs. If you are looking for your next job in the IT sector please check our Jobs Board for our current live vacancies at https://parkershaw.co.uk/jobs-board