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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 \u2013 perhaps most importantly for the company \u2013 speed.<\/p>\n
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 \u201choliday casual\u201d role at Kmart and went through the interview process designed by Australian AI chat interview software provider Sapia.ai.<\/p>\n
After putting in standard details on Kmart\u2019s job application webpage, we were invited via email to complete an interactive chat interview.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll ask you five thought-provoking questions that will reveal your strengths and help you identify areas for growth,\u201d the email read. \u201cAnd don\u2019t worry, there are no right or wrong answers.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s despite the tool giving recommendations to the employers based on the answers given, which employers adopt about 90 per cent of the time.<\/p>\n
Upon entering the interview screen, a slew of \u201cchat window\u201d style information and pointers were given to us.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got plenty of time to work through this!\u201d one message read. \u201cMost people wrap up within 20 to 25 minutes, so feel free to take it at your own comfortable pace.\u201d<\/p>\n
It also warned that answers \u201cplagiarised, copied from others or using artificially generated content\u201d would be automatically detected and flagged. \u201cThis may impact the progression of your application with us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The questions covered standard topics such as multitasking ability, reliability and ability to think on your feet. One question asked applicants to \u201ctell 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\u2019s success?\u201d<\/p>\n
About two hours after completing the assessment, we were emailed \u201cpersonality insights\u201d gathered from the interview as well as a coaching tip.<\/p>\n
\u201cPutting the needs of the group ahead of your own personal gain seems to come naturally to you,\u201d one insight read. \u201cService over self is probably a good description of how you operate. At work, that kind of integrity is something people notice and trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the same time, however, the email said to, \u201cbe careful to not dominate group conversations and projects,\u201d and \u201ccreate space for others to share their ideas\u201d.<\/p>\n
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\u2019 needs ahead of their own and yet risked dominating conversations appeared potentially contradictory.<\/p>\n
Kmart is part of a growing group of Australian companies, especially in the consumer space, using AI in their recruitment processes. The country\u2019s biggest employer, Woolworths, for example, also uses Sapia.ai to conduct the early stages of their recruitment process, as does Bunnings and Qantas.<\/p>\n