AI Hiring Tools Are Testing Trust Between Employers and Candidates

AI is moving deeper into hiring, from sorting résumés to conducting interviews, but candidates who encounter automated interviewers without warning say the process can feel impersonal and unsettling. At the same time, employers are confronting a new challenge: applicants who use AI-generated answers to prepare for interviews may struggle when questions move beyond a script.

A Resume Now survey of more than 900 U.S. hiring professionals found that 96% use AI for recruiting tasks such as screening applications and analyzing résumés. About 94% said AI screening tools effectively identify strong candidates, while roughly 73% said the tools have shortened time-to-hire. The survey did not ask how many employers use AI to conduct interviews.

For job seekers, disclosure can shape how the technology is received. Kendall McGill, a Baltimore resident applying for a project management role, ended an interview after realizing she was speaking with an AI agent. She said she had not been told beforehand and felt uncomfortable continuing. Wafa Shafiq, who interviewed for a marketing specialist position, learned from a confirmation email that her interviewer was an AI recruiter. She described the exchange as efficient but cold, and said advance notice and preparation guidance would have improved the experience.

Career expert Keith Spencer of Resume Now says candidates should know when AI will be used. He also warns that removing human interaction from hiring can affect how applicants perceive a company, since the recruitment process offers an early view of its culture. That has practical consequences for employers seeking to attract and retain workers, beyond the immediate savings in recruiter time.

There are also concerns about how automated systems assess candidates. Matthew Bidwell, a management professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, says AI screening and evaluation raise legal and ethical questions. He points to early research suggesting that large language models can reflect racial and gender biases, while studies including work by Algorithmic Justice League founder Joy Buolamwini have identified bias in some AI systems. The material provided does not establish how often such problems affect hiring decisions, but it highlights the need for employers to examine how tools are used and evaluated.

AI use by candidates is complicating the process from the other direction. Eric Lu, co-founder of video-editing startup Kapwing, described interviewing an engineering applicant whose polished account of past work fell apart under specific follow-up questions. The candidate eventually acknowledged using AI to prepare. Lu suspected the applicant had memorized generated answers, though he was unsure whether AI was used during the interview itself.

Kapwing uses live video interviews and checks applicants’ online presence and work histories, Lu said. Bidwell has suggested in-person interviews as one possible response to scripted answers. Neither approach eliminates the broader tension: employers want faster screening, while applicants and hiring teams need a reliable way to assess skills and communicate with each other.

Resume Now’s survey found that 79% of hiring professionals favored some regulation of AI-generated content in applications. Spencer says employers and candidates can use AI to support their work, but not replace it. As automated interviews become more common, clear notice, human oversight and careful evaluation of both AI systems and AI-assisted applications will be central to maintaining trust in hiring.

Cited: https://time.com/7306955/ai-job-interview-recruitment/

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