philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

Recruiters Are Going Analog to Fight the AI Application Overload

So far, over 3,000 people have applied to one open data science vacancy at a US health tech company this year. The top candidates are given a lengthy and difficult task assessment, which very few pass, says a recruiter at the company, who asked to remain anonymous because they are not authorized to speak publicly.

The recruiter says they believe some who did pass may have used artificial intelligence to solve the problem. There was odd wording in some, the recruiter explains, others disclosed using AI, and in one case when the person moved on to the next interview, they couldn’t answer questions about the task. “Not only have they wasted their time, but they wasted my time,” says the recruiter. “It’s really frustrating.” ...

Still, generative AI tools for both recruiters and job seekers are becoming more common. LinkedIn launched a new AI chatbotearlier this year, meant to help people navigate job hunting. The hope was that it would help people see better if they align well with a job or better tailor their résumé for it, peeling back the curtain that separates a job seeker and the hiring process. ...

Sim Bhatia, the people operations manager at Reality Defender, a company that detects deepfakes, says she doesn’t use any AI tools to evaluate applicants. For now, the tools are not as useful as they are risky, she says. She can filter for applicants based in New York, where Reality Defender’s office is, without using the generative tools. Using the still developing technology might be a data safety issue for candidates, she says, or for current employees if it’s used in the company’s system.

Bhatia says she is reviewing applicants herself, looking at résumés and screening applicants over the phone, which takes about 10 hours a week as the company’s small staff is looking to expand. ...