AI use in recruitment drives trust gap between employers, jobseekers
HR leaders using artificial intelligence for recruitment are losing the trust of jobseekers, according to a new survey from Gartner.
The poll, which surveyed 2,918 job candidates globally, found that 25% trust employers less if AI is used to evaluate their information.
The findings come as 72% of HR professionals across the world admit that they are now using AI tools for their work, according to an earlier poll from HireVue.
HR leaders said the most common uses of AI are:
But Gartner's jobseekers survey found that only 26% of them have trust that AI will fairly evaluate them in the recruiting process.
Employers' growing reliance on AI tools also stems from similar trust issues regarding jobseekers and their use of AI during recruitment.
"It's getting harder for employers to evaluate candidates' true abilities, and in some cases, their identities," said Jamie Kohn, Senior Research Director, in the Gartner HR practice, in a statement.
Earlier research from Gartner predicted that one in four candidate profiles worldwide will be fake by 2028.
Another poll from the organisation also found that six per cent of jobseekers had committed interview fraud, where they either posed as someone else or had someone else pose as them in an interview.
"Employers are increasingly concerned about candidate fraud, which creates cybersecurity risks that can be far more serious than making a bad hire," Kohn said.
Addressing the lack of trust between employers and jobseekers requires organisations to set clear expectations and communicate hiring standards, according to Gartner.
"Employers should explain to candidates how they define acceptable use of AI and emphasise their fraud detection efforts, including the legal consequences if fraudulent behaviour is detected," Gartner advised.
To avoid being duped by jobseekers, employers are also advised to implement anti-cheating safeguards, such as conducting in-person interviews.
"Fraud prevention must extend beyond the initial hiring phase," Gartner said.
"Employers should focus on system-level validation rather than individual surveillance – tightening background checks, using risk-based data monitoring, and embedding detection tools like identity verification and anomaly alerts in recruiting systems."
