Recruiter Offers Interview To Job Applicant They Originally Called To Reject Before Even Looking At Their Resume Because Their AI System Auto-Rejected It
The job application process is getting out of hand.
fizkes | Shutterstock While advances in AI may seem like a good thing, their impact on the job market is less than ideal. From AI interviews to AI resume screenings, the job application process is becoming less and less humane by the day.
Job applicants are having their resumes rejected, they're struggling to secure interviews, they are then haggled into multiple rounds of interviews, only to be ghosted or rejected once more. They then repeat this process at least 1,000 times. Needless to say, it's quite an awful time to be looking for a job.
A recruiter offered an interview to a job applicant who was initially auto-rejected by their AI system.
Career prep expert Emily Rezkalla shared an anecdote from a job applicant who was called by a recruiter to be rejected, saying they couldn't move past their resume. With nothing to lose, the applicant questioned the recruiter for feedback on why they weren't considered for the position. They quickly learned the recruiter hadn't even looked at their resume; it was the ATS system that rejected them.
ATS stands for Applicant Tracking System, and most companies, including 97% of Fortune 500 companies, rely on them in the hiring process, according to Jobscan.
To effectively give the candidate feedback, the recruiter took a moment to scan their resume and realized how qualified the candidate actually was. The recruiter immediately changed course, asking the applicant to schedule an interview. Rezkalla concluded her video by emphasizing how crazy the whole situation was and advising viewers to advocate for themselves by always asking for feedback after a rejection.
Many commenters shared that they're unable to advocate for themselves when rejected because they don't have the opportunity to do so.
"Actually getting a rejection notice? Doesn't sound real," one commenter said. "The problem is that 80% of rejections are 'no-reply' emails," another commenter pointed out.
Most people aren't lucky enough to even counter a rejection or get details on why it happened because they can't reply to the automated emails that are sent. Sometimes, they aren't even alerted they didn't get the job; they just get ghosted.
Wavebreakmedia | Canva Pro
"Hold on... y'all get rejections?" a third commenter asked. "I just get ignored every single time." Many commenters replied similarly, sharing that they're often ignored and aren't even given actual rejection notices.
Job seekers insist that the use of AI in the hiring process makes the application process much more difficult.
Whether you like it or not, AI has become a part of our everyday lives. From search engines to drafting emails, AI is more integrated than most people even realize. However, the reason there is so much resentment in the hiring process is because, right now, it feels impossible to find a job.
Learning that a human didn't even have the decency to look over your resume after spending hours filling out applications and writing cover letters or only receiving automated email rejections that you can't even respond to only makes things worse. People are becoming incredibly frustrated that they are doing everything they can to get a job, only to not be shown an ounce of respect in return.
AI sounds like a good thing on the surface, but in the hiring process, it's not working. There's no wiggle room, and the programs lack human judgment, according to Recruiter.com.
People deserve to have jobs where they can earn a living, but they can't do that if there are AI systems in place preventing them from doing so.
It might help if companies paired their AI systems with human recruiters so qualified candidates didn't slip through the cracks, enabling those who simply know how to create resumes to beat the system to shine whether they deserve it or not. AI alone cannot be responsible for the future of hiring; there needs to be a balance between AI tools and human input.
Sahlah Syeda is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news, and human interest topics.