Hiring Bots Are A Thing— This Is How To Beat Them

HERE S A FACT: WHEN YOURE JOBhunting, human beingsarent always looking at yourrsum.

- Malaika Jabali

Experts used to say recruiters spend six seconds reviewing your résumé before tossing it in the trash (grab their attention fast!). But forget that idea— computers have been doing the gate keeping for years, screening for keywords and employment gaps. Now tech is taking things to the next level. Much the way Netflix suggests Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt after you watch one 30 Rock, companies are starting to use artificial intelligence (AI) and sophisticated tests, in addition to algorithms, to not only find candidates for a job but also predict who will kick ass at it. The hope is that these tools will reduce costly turnover and, most important, help fix the human error and bias that have historically shut out women and minorities.

Great goal. But how will this all work?

After gathering company data, “these systems would be trained in ways that reflect ideas of ‘successful’ and ‘unsuccessful’ at a given company,” says Meredith Whittaker, cofounder of AI Now, a research institute at New York University that studies the social effects of AI. “But if a company isn’t diverse, especially in executive and leadership roles, [the software] would likely replicate existing biases that see certain people, often white men, as inherently more capable and successful than others.”

In other words, version 2.0 of the hiring bots may be an improvement—or maybe not. But they’re coming. So here’s how to work them to your advantage.

Get past the first gatekeeper.