Unveiling Perceptions: AI in Recruitment
2024 · MSc Thesis · Yasmin Elsaddik
Overview
This research came out of something I kept noticing. Everyone was starting to talk about AI in hiring, but no one was asking candidates and hiring managers what they actually thought about it. So I did.
Problem
AI was showing up across recruiting workflows, but there was little evidence on where applicants, recruiters, and AI experts actually trusted it, and where that trust broke down.
Method
I ran a survey study with applicants, recruiters, and AI experts across Canada. Each group responded to scenarios covering six stages of the hiring process: job descriptions, outreach, screening, assessment, selection, and communication. The goal was to measure how trust, fairness, and comfort with AI shifted depending on how early or late it showed up in the process.
Result
AI is welcomed early in the hiring funnel, where it saves time and feels low stakes. Trust drops as decisions become more consequential. People are comfortable with AI narrowing a candidate pool, but want a human involved in the final call. Privacy concerns came up consistently, even when people otherwise viewed the company favorably.