Unveiling AI in hiring: Candidate perspectives

This year, HireVue surveyed 3,100 workers and 1,000 HR professionals across the globe to better understand how the two groups view and use AI in hiring. 

We found that 70% of HR leaders are already using generative AI in the workplace or plan to use it this year. And additionally, 73% of HR professionals trust AI systems to make candidate recommendations. 

While we found that HR professionals are largely in favor of AI, workers’ perspectives differ a bit.

• 3 in 4 workers are opposed to AI making final hiring decisions
• 79% want to know if the employer is using AI in hiring when they apply for a job
• 49% believe AI could help the issue of bias and unfair treatment in hiring

Here are the top 4 trends from today’s TA leaders from the HireVue Global Guide to AI in Hiring.

AI context matters.

While overall workers are generally accepting of AI, they want to know how it’s being used. 

About half of candidates are using it themselves—including ChatGPT to help prepare a job application or prepare for an interview. However, when it comes to it being used to evaluate  them, candidates are skeptical of its ability to be fair.

• 66% believe AI does a worse job than humans at figuring out which job applicants would work well with their co-workers
• 50% say AI does a worse job than humans at seeing potential 

However, most respondents (75%) admitted their perception was rooted in a lack of understanding about how AI in hiring actually works. And 25% say they believe AI will ultimately help more than it hurts—a number that seems to be rising fast.

HireVue is at the forefront of ethical, regulated AI—and we believe the data our technology provides should be used as data support not data decision-making. In addition, HireVue algorithms are locked, meaning they provide the same output given the same input—a strong mechanism to mitigate bias. 

Hiring Tip: Ensure you’re educating your candidates and workers on how you’re using AI in the hiring process, encouraging them with factual information. Not sure where to start? Check out HireVue’s AI + Hiring Hub. 

AI is efficient. 

Like HR leaders, workers agree that AI efficiency is unmatched.

• 53% use AI to update resumes
• 46% use AI to write cover letters
• 42% use AI to prepare for an interview

AI empowers workers to think smarter not harder—and in the United States, when “93% have experienced anxiety about their job interviews,” shouldn’t there be solutions in place to help curb some of the stress? 

Candidates are working smarter, and so is HireVue. HireVue solutions are powered by automation—so hiring teams can spend less time scheduling interviews and playing phone tag and more time connecting candidates to opportunities quicker. 

Breaking down the myths on AI bias 

Only 37% of workers believe AI would do a better job than humans at identifying job applicants who are well qualified. 

At HireVue, we use static algorithms because that’s the best way to provide fair and similar treatment for all candidates. We believe that algorithms should be highly controlled and tested by experts (IO Psychologists and data scientists)  throughout the entire lifecycle of the model. Therefore, they can then help to reduce hiring bias and make the process more fair.

However, we’ve already established the lack of education on the topic—meaning that worker perspective is likely to change drastically in favor of AI’s ability to reduce bias simply by understanding the topic more. 

Supporting transparency

At the end of the day, workers want to know how AI is being used and if it’s actually doing what it says it should be doing.

Transparency matters. 

HireVue offers informed consent. Our solutions include a detailed welcome screen that explains what an online interview will entail, whether AI will evaluate the responses, and how the hiring company will use the evaluation as part of their team review. This way, candidates clearly understand how they’re being evaluated before they even start.

Even more, employers should ensure that the tools they use have “face validity.” This IO psychology term is used to describe a candidate’s perception of a tool. When assessments have high face validity, candidates easily see the connection between the hiring step and the role they’re applying for. 

Your hiring experience is a reflection of the employee experience—ensure you put all the tools in place to show your candidates you value them as people and empower them in their search. 

Read the full HireVue Global Guide to AI in Hiring Here. Ready to build an empowered candidate experience? Request a demo.