Collins McNicholas Workforce Insights Report finds automation is making job seeking too impersonal
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Image: Emerce (created by AI)
Three out of every four people seeking work feel that artificial intelligence could unfairly screen their applications, according to the first Collins McNicholas Workforce Insights Report.
In the poll of more than 2,500 respondents, 75% either agreed or strongly agreed that AI could be unfairly screening out their applications. A similar number (74%) felt automated rejection e-mails were impersonal and dismissive. Almost half (46%) disagreed that automated messages made the recruitment process more efficient.
Company brand was important to those seeking work, with 71% saying they research companies either comprehensively or by looking at their social media. Less than 1% said they rarely research employers before applying for a job.
A majority felt automation was making aspects of the recruitment process impersonal and dismissive. This lack of human interaction is making professionals less interested in working for particular companies.
Furthermore, a total of 69% of respondents felt that a lack of human interaction made them less interested in working for a company.
The single biggest source of frustration for professionals from the recruitment process was lack of communication (39%), followed by lengthy hiring timelines or multiple interviews (19%) and ‘impersonal automated responses’ (14%).
Not all the survey’s findings were cautionary. More than half (54%) of respondents said the one piece of advice they would give employers if using AI in recruitment was to ‘keep a human touch in the process’.
Collins McNicholas’ director Michelle Murphy said: “The findings of our inaugural Workforce Insights Report are extremely interesting and show that employers face a huge challenge in balancing the use of AI and automation to speed up their recruitment process while ensuring that the applicants feel like they are being treated equally and receiving that human touch that they are clearly saying they want.
“Employers – and recruitment companies – are under increasing pressure to keep up to date with advances in AI but this report is a warning shot that we need to be careful about how we are implementing AI and where we are inserting that into the process.
“Collins McNicholas carried out this survey to capture the perspectives and priorities of professionals actively seeking new career opportunities in Ireland. All responses were collected anonymously to enable a comprehensive analysis of the trends shaping the Irish employment landscape in 2025. We plan to carry out an annual report in order to gain further insights to help employers gain real-time insights into the concerns and priorities of professionals.”
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