Since Monster.com and its peers revolutionized job hunting in the aughts, HR professionals often face a deluge of applications to online job postings. Fast forward to today, and another technological leap, AI, is helping to manage that deluge, but with unique risks and rewards. 

Given that a single job posting can generate hundreds of applications, AI is an ideal tool to filter, score and manage the volume. In fact, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) estimates that 70 per cent of companies currently using AI are doing so within HR departments.

With its usage proliferating daily, AI is now being used further into the screening process. Chatbots can do initial screenings, and vendors such as HireVue offer automated virtual interview (AVI) technology, with a virtual recruiter handling the Q&A. The payoff can be significant: BCG’s research found that 92 per cent of companies report measurable benefits by using AI in HR, with some seeing productivity gains of more than 30 per cent.

However, the newness of the technology and its sophistication also pose unique risks.

“We need to make sure that we’re using AI in a way that is strategic, fair and validated,” says Julie McCarthy, a professor of organizational behaviour and HR management at the University of Toronto.

She specializes in anxiety, stress and trust in the workplace and its effects on employee performance. AI has organically infiltrated her work as its adoption in the workplace has increased, she says, including a 2021 project with HireVue, which evaluated candidates' reactions to AI-enabled interviews.

​​AI has potential benefits for efficiency, consistency and reducing human bias in the recruitment process — but only if used carefully and transparently, McCarthy says. Ideally, chatbots and even AVIs can reduce candidate anxiety by reducing anxiety over human bias, providing them with more time to consider and answer questions, or offering practice rounds ahead of the real thing. AI tools can also mix up formats in the interview process outside of the traditional Q&A format, integrating gamification or personality tests to allow candidates to show strengths in different areas.

On the other hand, McCarthy says, there are risks. An overarching concern is algorithmic bias. According to a 2023 paper in Nature on the topic, “In the recruitment process, algorithmic bias can be manifested in terms of gender, race, colour and personality…If an algorithm’s data collection lacks quantity and quality, it will fail to represent reality objectively, leading to inevitable bias in algorithmic decisions.” The paper notes that bias is rarely intentional in AI design, but that datasets need to be closely examined to ensure they are broad enough and diverse enough to provide an unbiased approach.

Businesses can also over-rely on AI and fail to capture the nuances that make humans such complex beings. Companies also need to ensure they are compliant with local transparency regulations, which in some places require disclosure of AI in the recruitment process. Virtual recruiters or AI chatbots can also increase candidate anxiety if they are poorly designed — an area that is still rapidly evolving.

“Should [chatbots] look like humans?” McCarthy asks. “Should they be cartoons? What should their voices sound like? Should they be soft and gentle? Professional and direct? What kinds of questions should they ask? We have all of these choices to make. Companies are still trying to figure this out.”

One area in which McCarthy is adamant, is that AI can’t replace is the final interview, which should be human-to-human. Human interviews capture nuances of body language, evaluate personality fit and ensure candidates aren’t “gaming” the system with aids, prompts or other tools, she says.

Companies need to be sure they are hiring the best candidates, but it’s also critical that candidates vying for jobs have a positive experience. Sites such as Glassdoor and LinkedIn mean that companies can develop a negative reputation if poor experiences are common, and this can affect their ability to attract top talent, she adds. 

Candidates, similarly, need to be prepared for AI-enabled recruitment. McCarthy says a key skill job seekers should develop is comfort speaking on video and to non-human interviewers. Candidates can also use platforms like ChatGPT to practice answering interview questions the bot creates or take advantage of practice runs offered by recruiting platforms. However, she cautions job seekers against leaning too hard on these tools, which can lead to rote, inauthentic answers.

A candidate's best bet, she says, is to use these tools to practise so that they can arrive at the interview in a calm and confident place.

“Honestly, I think the most important thing is getting into a state where you're calm,” she says. “If you really want to advance your career, look closely and think, ‘How can I illustrate my experiences in a way that tells a vivid and cohesive story?’ If you do this you will see the interviewer leaning in, engaged, curious and genuinely connecting with you. That's powerful and something that I think a lot of people miss.”