Chatbots are increasingly being used by companies to interview and screen job applicants, often for blue collar jobs.Today’s modern job seeker is probably already used to technology in the hiring process: whether it’s optimizing a résumé with keywords to get through an applicant tracking system, or being interviewed via Zoom.
Most hiring chatbots are not as advanced or elaborate as contemporary conversational chatbots like ChatGPT. They’ve primarily been used to screen for—cashiers, warehouse associates and customer service assistants. They are rudimentary and ask fairly straightforward questions: “Do you know how to use a forklift?” or “Are you able to work weekends?”
But as Claypool found, these bots can be buggy, and there isn’t always a human to turn to when something goes wrong. Plus, the clear-cut answers many of the bots require could mean automatic rejection for some qualified candidates who might not answer questions like a large language model wants them to. Experts toldthat could be a problem for people with disabilities, people who are not proficient in English and older job applicants. Discrimination is another concern.