The Algorithm in the Interview Room: Candidate Experience and Perceived Fairness in AI-Led Recruitment Interviews

artificial intelligence; recruitment; AI-led interviews; candidate experience; perceived fairness; organizational justice; applicant reactions; algorithmic hiring

In a recent blog post, the American Psychological Association (APA) raises related questions about candidate experiences and perceptions of fairness of AI-driven job interviews, as AI (Artificial Intelligence) becomes a much more prominent presence in the process of hiring.Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming a more dominant player in the hiring process and the American Psychological Association (APA) asks related questions about candidate experiences and candidate perceptions of the fairness of AI-driven job interviews in a recent blog post. This article books-ends the presentations and summarizes the recent empirical research on how applicants feel when their resumes are used to conduct job selection in the era of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and how they feel about it, referring to the three-part framework for Applicant reactions to selection systems developed by Gilliland. The review provides evidence that on average, candidates experienced an decrease in their perception of Procedural and Interactional Justice, Twoway Communication, and Behavioural Control to that of a human-driven interviewing experience. Concurrently, recent studies have shown that these negative responses can be variable and influenced by context and design characteristics, such as transparency and explanations of AI decisions, social and telepresence conveyed by the AI interview interface, characteristics of AI literacy among candidates, as well as intentional positioning and sensitisation of candidates before the interview. The article then delves into new regulatory initiatives such as the EU AI Act, which requires transparency about the use of AI in hiring, and Illinois' AI Video Interview Act, which seeks to limit the perceived unfairness while maintaining AI-based efficiency. HR-in-the-loop approaches that aim to maintain AI benefits but regain perceived fairness are also explored. The article brings the concept of candidate experience in the context of the AI driven recruitment process to the spotlight and suggests future research for the development of efficient, fair, and candidate-friendly AI interview systems, characterized as a multidimensional assessment, incorporating two components: candidate experience with the recruitment process and how they perceive the experience mediated by AI.