More Job Seekers Have Interviews with Computers
2021-06-24
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1Online services that use computers to interview job seekers were increasingly used by companies during the coronavirus health crisis.
2But the technology raises questions about whether a machine can correctly or fairly judge a person's personality and reactions in front of a camera.
3Dana Anthony is one job seeker who has experienced such interviews.
4 One was for a part-time job at Target last year.
5The day after the interview, she got an email informing her that she was not chosen.
6Speaking to The Associated Press, Anthony said she did not know why she was removed from consideration so quickly.
7She had no sense of how the interview had gone.
8She said this is because she received no human feedback during the process.
9Her rejection email from Target stated: "We're unable to provide specific feedback regarding your candidacy."
10Anthony was rejected for another job in December after completing another online interview.
11One interview system is run by a business called HireVue, one of the leading companies in the field.
12In the past, the Utah-based HireVue used artificial intelligence (AI) methods to judge a job-seeker's personality and job skills.
13It did this by observing the expressions on a person's face during the interview.
14But after facing intense criticism about the scientific effectiveness of its claims and the possibility of unfairness, HireVue announced earlier this year that it would stop using that method.
15However, the company's AI-based system still considers speech and word choices when rating a candidate's personality and skills.
16HireVue helped create a market for "on-demand" video interviews.
17Companies using the services include stores Target and Ikea, technology companies like Amazon, and banks like JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs.
18Companies in the oil and travel industries, and even school systems, have used them.
19The Associated Press (AP) spoke to several employers which use the technology, but most did not want to discuss it.
20HireVue chief Kevin Parker told the AP that his company makes sure its technology will not discriminate based on things like race, gender or a person's speaking accents.
21He said its systems, which turn speech into text to make decisions about job skills, can perform better than human interviewers.
22"What we're trying to replace is people's gut instinct," Parker said during a video interview.
23HireVue said it interviewed more than 5.6 million people around the world in 2020.
24Supermarket companies used it to make decisions about thousands of job-seekers every day as demand for workers rose during the pandemic.
25Other services such as Modern Hire and Outmatch have started offering their own video interviews and AI tools.
26On its website, Outmatch says it aims to measure "the must-have soft skills your candidates and employees need to succeed."
27HireVue noted that most of the companies it works with do not actually use the company's AI-based recommendations.
28Atlanta's school district, for example, has used HireVue since 2014, but says it depends on 50 human recruiters to rate recorded interviews.
29Target said the pandemic led it to replace in-person interviews with HireVue interviews.
30But it told the AP that it uses its own employees - not HireVue's AI methods - to watch and make decisions about recorded videos.
31But none of that was clear to Anthony when she sat down in front of her computer to complete the interviews.
32"I understand companies or organizations trying to be more mindful of the time and the finances they spend when it comes to recruitment," she said.
33But Anthony, who holds a master's degree in communications, said the interviews left her uneasy about who, or what, was judging her.
34I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Online services that use computers to interview job seekers were increasingly used by companies during the coronavirus health crisis. But the technology raises questions about whether a machine can correctly or fairly judge a person's personality and reactions in front of a camera. 2Dana Anthony is one job seeker who has experienced such interviews. One was for a part-time job at Target last year. The day after the interview, she got an email informing her that she was not chosen. 3Speaking to The Associated Press, Anthony said she did not know why she was removed from consideration so quickly. She had no sense of how the interview had gone. She said this is because she received no human feedback during the process. 4Her rejection email from Target stated: "We're unable to provide specific feedback regarding your candidacy." Anthony was rejected for another job in December after completing another online interview. 5One interview system is run by a business called HireVue, one of the leading companies in the field. In the past, the Utah-based HireVue used artificial intelligence (AI) methods to judge a job-seeker's personality and job skills. It did this by observing the expressions on a person's face during the interview. 6But after facing intense criticism about the scientific effectiveness of its claims and the possibility of unfairness, HireVue announced earlier this year that it would stop using that method. However, the company's AI-based system still considers speech and word choices when rating a candidate's personality and skills. 7HireVue helped create a market for "on-demand" video interviews. Companies using the services include stores Target and Ikea, technology companies like Amazon, and banks like JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs. Companies in the oil and travel industries, and even school systems, have used them. 8The Associated Press (AP) spoke to several employers which use the technology, but most did not want to discuss it. 9HireVue chief Kevin Parker told the AP that his company makes sure its technology will not discriminate based on things like race, gender or a person's speaking accents. He said its systems, which turn speech into text to make decisions about job skills, can perform better than human interviewers. 10"What we're trying to replace is people's gut instinct," Parker said during a video interview. 11HireVue said it interviewed more than 5.6 million people around the world in 2020. Supermarket companies used it to make decisions about thousands of job-seekers every day as demand for workers rose during the pandemic. 12Other services such as Modern Hire and Outmatch have started offering their own video interviews and AI tools. On its website, Outmatch says it aims to measure "the must-have soft skills your candidates and employees need to succeed." 13HireVue noted that most of the companies it works with do not actually use the company's AI-based recommendations. Atlanta's school district, for example, has used HireVue since 2014, but says it depends on 50 human recruiters to rate recorded interviews. 14Target said the pandemic led it to replace in-person interviews with HireVue interviews. But it told the AP that it uses its own employees - not HireVue's AI methods - to watch and make decisions about recorded videos. 15But none of that was clear to Anthony when she sat down in front of her computer to complete the interviews. "I understand companies or organizations trying to be more mindful of the time and the finances they spend when it comes to recruitment," she said. 16But Anthony, who holds a master's degree in communications, said the interviews left her uneasy about who, or what, was judging her. 17I'm Bryan Lynn. 18The Associated Press reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 19We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 20___________________________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22interview - n. a meeting in which someone asks you questions to see if you are suitable for a job or course 23personality - n. the set of emotional qualities, ways of behaving, etc., that makes a person different from other people 24artificial intelligence - n. an area of computer science that deals with giving machines the ability to seem like they have human intelligence 25feedback -n. helpful information or criticism that is given to someone to say what can be done to improve a performance or product 26accent - n. the way in which someone pronounces words, influenced by the country of area they come from 27gender -n. the state of being male or female 28gut instinct - n. a way of behaving, thinking, or feeling that is not learned 29recruiter - n. a person who persuades people to work for a company or become new members of an organization