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For more than 600,000 Kmart applicants each year, the CV is dead. In its place, people seeking jobs at the national retail chain face an AI screening tool that promises to offer personalised feedback, bias-free assessments and – perhaps most importantly for the company – speed.
But as experts and politicians warn that AI hiring tools risk entrenching biases and locking unorthodox candidates out of the job market, this masthead decided to test the Kmart tool. We applied for a “holiday casual” role at Kmart and went through the interview process designed by Australian AI chat interview software provider Sapia.ai.
After putting in standard details on Kmart’s job application webpage, we were invited via email to complete an interactive chat interview.
“We’ll ask you five thought-provoking questions that will reveal your strengths and help you identify areas for growth,” the email read. “And don’t worry, there are no right or wrong answers.”
That’s despite the tool giving recommendations to the employers based on the answers given, which employers adopt about 90 per cent of the time.
Upon entering the interview screen, a slew of “chat window” style information and pointers were given to us.
“You’ve got plenty of time to work through this!” one message read. “Most people wrap up within 20 to 25 minutes, so feel free to take it at your own comfortable pace.”
It also warned that answers “plagiarised, copied from others or using artificially generated content” would be automatically detected and flagged. “This may impact the progression of your application with us.”
The questions covered standard topics such as multitasking ability, reliability and ability to think on your feet. One question asked applicants to “tell us about a time when you had to work as part of a team to achieve a goal. What role did you play in the team’s success?”
About two hours after completing the assessment, we were emailed “personality insights” gathered from the interview as well as a coaching tip.
“Putting the needs of the group ahead of your own personal gain seems to come naturally to you,” one insight read. “Service over self is probably a good description of how you operate. At work, that kind of integrity is something people notice and trust.”
At the same time, however, the email said to, “be careful to not dominate group conversations and projects,” and “create space for others to share their ideas”.
The feedback was broadly accurate in some ways, but seemed generic enough that it could have applied to large swathes of applicants. And the notion that the applicant was both someone who puts others’ needs ahead of their own and yet risked dominating conversations appeared potentially contradictory.
Kmart is part of a growing group of Australian companies, especially in the consumer space, using AI in their recruitment processes. The country’s biggest employer, Woolworths, for example, also uses Sapia.ai to conduct the early stages of their recruitment process, as does Bunnings and Qantas.