Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the hiring process is becoming adopted by more companies around the world. Despite the benefits of eliminating bias and quickly, but efficiently going through resumes, the majority of people say they would not want to apply to a job where AI helps make hiring decisions.
When it comes to people’s careers and jobs, the stakes are higher and AI’s involvement raises concerns and distrust among many people. People are more likely to oppose than favor AI’s involvement in reviewing job applications– and for final hiring decisions. Adults decisively want human judgment, according to the Pew Research Center.
On the contrary, I favor the use of AI in the application process because of the benefits it has to offer. I also think its use in hiring won’t be going away anytime soon.
There are a few things that make AI extremely different from a human reviewing resumes and pushing applicants through the next round of the hiring process. One of the main benefits of AI is fairness. AI is better at treating all applicants the same and avoiding the human bias that could play a role in the process. Regardless of age, race and gender, applicants can feel assured their review is only based on their work and skills they have. Consistency in the way assessments are made day by day creates balance in the hiring process.
Bias and consistency are, and have been, issues with the human reviewing process. Pew Research Center came to the same conclusion. AI has benefits regarding bias. 47% of people say AI would do a better job than humans at treating all applicants the same way– about three times the share of those who say it would do worse (15%). The idea of eliminating bias is a huge component for me, as human bias could be the difference between a new career and getting denied a chance at an interview. No one deserves to get denied a chance at an interview because of bias.
AI is also a beneficial tool when there are hundreds of applications for a single job. I am in the middle of a job search, and almost all of the jobs I apply for have hundreds of applicants for the same role. When this happens, the time each resume is analyzed and reviewed is shortened. Your resume might get a five to 10-second glance before getting set aside. It doesn’t allow for your resume to be viewed to its full potential. I don’t think a couple of seconds’ look at a resume is enough to decide if someone is a good job candidate. Using AI would allow for each word to be scanned and understood to see if your resume should be pushed through to the next round.
There are also instances where many resumes don’t even get looked at. Working to fix up your resume and submit a cover letter is time-consuming. Knowing that traditionally, it might never get seen is a major concern, but AI can quickly look through resumes, ensuring that doesn’t happen.
Considering these major benefits, I favor the use of AI for reviewing resumes in the initial round of hiring. However, there are still concerns with artificial intelligence such as its impersonality and lack of human judgement. While I think there is always room for improvement, such as refining key words that are scanned, the benefits artificial intelligence can provide right now are crucial changes that have been needed in the recruitment process for a long time.
