- Candidates increasingly reject AI interviews
- Greenhouse study finds workers leave happy if they see AI being used
- Employers need to be more open and honest about the tools they use
New research has exposed how many companies are currently using AI in job interviews, but often fail to disclose the fact that the technology is used, leading to candidates increasingly choosing to walk away.
A Greenhouse study that surveyed almost 3,000 candidates in the UK found that half (47%) of UK job seekers have been interviewed by an AI as part of the recruitment process.
However, the vast majority of candidates (82%) say they were never clearly told upfront that AI would be assessing them, and one in four (24%) said they only found out about this once the interview began.
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AI interviews are not for us
All this dishonesty has led to candidates increasingly rejecting companies that use AI in their interviews: Greenhouse found that 30% of UK candidates say they have already abandoned a recruitment process because it included an AI interview, and another 19% say they would do so.
The main triggers for UK candidates leaving the process include: pre-recorded video interviews graded by AI without human presence (25%), companies not disclosing how AI would be used (24%), and AI monitoring during the process (24%).
More than one in four (27%) also reported feeling some type of age bias in AI evaluations, and 17% noted race or ethnicity bias.
“Most AI in hiring today is making a bad system worse: more applications, less signal, and less transparency,” says Daniel Chait, CEO and co-founder of Greenhouse.
Overall, the survey found that only one in 10 candidates said employers had clear AI policies, despite nearly two-thirds (59%) believing such disclosure should be a legal requirement.
However, this doesn’t always lead to widespread opposition when it comes to using AI in the hiring process; in fact, only 19% of respondents said they want less AI in hiring.
Many called for greater guardrails, such as for companies to be upfront about their use (40%), provide a clear explanation of what the AI measures (36%), and the option to request a human interview instead (45%).
“…The process that AI is being built on was already broken,” Chait added. “No one likes writing CVs and filling out clunky job applications. Candidates want a better way to be seen, and companies want a better way to find the right people. A 15-minute conversation with an AI in which a candidate can demonstrate who they are is a better gateway than a keyword-stuffed CV. That won’t be achieved by overlaying an AI on a broken process. It will be achieved by building a better one.”
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