“Have your agent contact my agent.” That’s one way I’ve heard the “old saw” expressed.
The implication is obvious. “I’m far too busy (as, we assume, are you) to take the time to talk to you where this thing is concerned.”
It’s a way to put folks off without letting on that you’re doing just that.
Now let’s add a relatively new component to the mix. What new “tool” shall we include in this process? Artificial Intelligence (or AI, as it’s often termed).
It can hardly escape notice—particularly for those of us in Information Technology (IT) fields—that AI is rapidly gaining ground in our little corner of the Universe.
Some use of the related technologies is highly beneficial, to be sure. Just like any other rifle in one’s arsenal though, use of AI can range from wonderfully apropos, to horribly misused, or even abused.
One excellent example of the latter scenario, is its standard present use in the selection of employees.
This is true for a number of reasons.
Among the problems we see, is in the addition of AI to “parse” résumés. I won’t go too deeply into this issue at the present moment. Suffice to say, if an applicant fails to list a skill that’s required, AI cannot really “think to ask” the candidate whether it’s a simple oversight they’ve not included it.
Furthermore, it doesn’t necessarily properly weigh the importance of the lacking skill, so it may “circular file” a perfectly good CV for its not appearing, even though the person seeking a job is otherwise imminently qualified.
What I wanted to discuss today, however, is another concern (and you can be sure it’s one of many).
I’ve witnessed a recent trend. That move has been towards having AI “interview” folks seeking positions.
I started this little rant with an old line—I’m not even sure I’m aware where it got its start.
But it leads me to a question where AI interviews are concerned. I’m going to be blunt here to make a point.
If you inform me I must complete an AI interview as the first step of consideration for employment with your company, I wonder how you would feel if I said, “AI interview? No problem! Give me a moment to spin up my AI interview ‘bot to deal with that.”
Better yet, imagine saying you wanted to interview me as an “actual human being,” and my responding, “You can talk to my interviewee agent, but not to me.”
I can imagine myself in this situation. You can believe I would not be pleased.
Such is the lot of the modern-day job seeker.
If you happen to be good at “gaming” artificial intelligence, you probably won’t be so concerned about such things. For those of us not so skilled at this pursuit though, we know well, we’ll probably often “not rate” where the interaction is concerned.
Here’s the fun part. A person who’s not talented at saying what the “auto-interviewer” wants to hear may actually be the better choice for the position.
In a nutshell, good test-takers are not necessarily solid workers. Conversely, someone who knows how to “get the job done,” may not look fantastic when examined.
This is part of the problem with the general use of AI. People have come to assume using it will always—or even generally—result in sterling outcomes.
Every day, various agents (Large Language Models, and other such things), get better and better of answering the queries posed to them for a variety of reasons, or causes.
What they will never be able to do—at least not in a sane World—is replace humans in the doing of such things.
Don’t get me wrong. I understand these pieces of software may well excel beyond most, if not all, humans in various tasks.
On the other hand, they’re subject to a number of foibles.
If an AI tool sees an incorrect supposition, or supposed “fact” often enough, for example, it may come to “believe” the information conveyed to be accurate.
Ask various well known individuals, they’ll tell you without hesitation, information surrounding their lives in some fashion is routinely misreported by searches and inquiries using the aforementioned tools.
The old idea that, “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire” comes to mind here.
You can be assured some folks will tell stories about who they are, and what you ought therefor to believe about them.
For some of them, they can readily show that what they say is true. Putting the issue with this in a straightforward way, AI doesn’t “care.”
This applies as much in the job search world, as anywhere else. If the automated tool reviewing your application, or interviewing you, or whatever, “decides” this is more important than that, or that thus is a “deal breaker,” break said deal it will!
You may be wondering whether I’m here to register a complaint and nothing more. You may be thinking if I am, I should be ignored. You would be incorrect on whichever count, or counts, if either or both were your assumption, or assumptions.
At times, people can voice valid issues, without knowing how to fix them.
But I’m actually going to take the time to at least try to put out a part of the solution to the problems I’ve outlined.
I get that you may be a recruiter, or HR representative, or other hiring person with literally thousands of applications to review. I understand using AI may help you to sift through the stacks of “paperwork” with which you must deal.
I’m not silly enough to suggest you shouldn’t avail yourself of the existing tools you can employ to help to whittle things down.
What I am saying though, is that you shouldn’t become so enamored of the shovel, that you ignore the need to know where, and how, to dig.
Summing up. Should employers, recruiters, and others not use things like AI to simplify the filtering of incoming applicant data? Of course this is not the case! That said, assuming you can “check out” on the process and not lose potentially exceptional candidates is a serious error.
The process in use should be reviewed, to ensure there’s a “human in the mix” pretty much each time AI (or other tools) are deployed. A cursory glance at that applicant’s submission should be enough to clue you in to their qualifications, and abilities. Fail to ensure the efficacy of the tools at your own peril!
As usual, here’s hoping your day, and your life in general, are going well, that you’re happy and well, and that those about whom you care are likewise.