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Are you hired? These questions await you in the interview

2021-03-08T10:49:30.984Z


"Hello, are you still on the mute?" In times of Corona, many companies use video chat for job interviews and also use artificial intelligence for this. What can you expect there? Try it.


Icon: enlarge

An interview can be a great opportunity - if it is conducted correctly (symbol image)

Photo: metamorworks / iStockphoto / Getty Images

Have you found a job that interests you?

And maybe already an appointment for an interview?

Congratulation.

In the literal sense.

In many job interviews, that's exactly what counts: luck.

Not necessarily on your expertise or knowledge.

The conversations are often unstructured - HR managers ask questions or start chatting, and in the end it is not uncommon for people to be sympathetic.

“That means they hire people afterwards who they feel good about and don't even notice that they have made systematic mistakes,” says Uwe Kanning, professor of business psychology at the Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences and an expert on application procedures.

"Objectivity at the interview only means that the applicant's assessment does not depend on the person who does the assessment."

Uwe Kanning, Professor of Business Psychology

The interview is a great opportunity - for both sides.

The employer can use specific questions to find out whether the person sitting across from him really fits the profile.

And vice versa.

But for that to happen, job interviews have to change direction: away from the subjective towards objectivity.

“That doesn't mean that there is objectively only one perfect candidate,” explains Kanning.

"Objectivity at the interview only means that the applicant's assessment does not depend on the person doing the assessment." So, regardless of whether the HR manager or her deputy interview you, the process should be the same.

An AI picks the questions

In search of this objectivity, many companies now rely on data analysis and artificial intelligence to sort, evaluate and interview applicants.

Google has developed an AI that promises to bring together suitable jobs and applicants.

IBM offers large companies the complete package: from the selection process to the employment contract, the AI ​​takes over all the work that clerks in HR departments usually have on their desks.

And the video chat interview has long since become the norm in Corona times.

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The Berlin company viasto has specialized in this form of video recruiting - and offers its customers an algorithm that creates differentiated, coordinated interview questions.

The internally developed AI forms the guidelines for the job interview from more than 10,000 questions - depending on the industry, position, hierarchy level and many other criteria;

The AI ​​has a total of 28 parameters in the virtual back of the head.

"Our AI is based on ten years of experience in video recruiting and two and a half years of development work with psychologists and AI specialists," says viasto founder Sara Lindemann.

The goal: to structure the interviews in such a way that they do not get out of hand - and the candidates are ultimately comparable with one another.

How exactly does that work?

Try it.

In order to demonstrate how artificial intelligence is already being used in the application process, viasto programmed a stripped-down version of its questionnaire AI for SPIEGEL: only around 1000 instead of 10,000 questions, not that many jobs - but you will get a good impression.

Select the industry that interests you from the menu, change which criteria you consider to be important or less important, if necessary, adjust the qualification level - and let yourself be surprised by the questions you would be confronted with in the interview.

So what are the best answers to the questions?

The AI ​​won't tell you that.

She probably wouldn't be very good at answering anyway.

AI can now also generate text, even in astonishing quality.

But the precise linking of information, empathy and now and then also humor - still too high for AI.

Rules for the use of AI

The German DIN Institute has now developed a standard for AI in the recruiting process.

Under the somewhat bulky designation DIN Spec 91426, scientists and technology experts have developed a set of rules that are intended to set guard rails when using AI.

The three most important points:

  • The candidates must be informed about the specific data that will be collected, what conclusions will be drawn from it and what consequences will result from it.

  • The AI ​​must not simply record facial expressions or language characteristics and deduce from them whether or not someone is suitable for a position.

  • It must be proven that the algorithm meets the quality requirements for job-related aptitude diagnostics, for example that no groups of people are systematically disadvantaged.

"A language analysis works objectively, but has little informative value as to whether the applicant is really suitable in the end or not."

Uwe Kanning, Professor of Business Psychology

Sounds obvious?

Is not it.

There have long been companies that offer language analyzes, examine and evaluate the facial expressions and gestures of the candidates.

An AI that judges - experts are critical of that: "A language analysis works objectively, but has little informative value as to whether the applicant is really suitable in the end or not," explains recruiting expert Kanning.

Means: Yes, the AI ​​measures.

In fact, it measures more objectively than anyone could.

But is what the AI ​​measures really meaningful?

Or does the HR manager, flying blind, rely on an algorithm that he does not understand just because he is apparently making reliable decisions?

At viasto, the AI ​​is therefore limited to creating the catalog of questions.

Drawing the right conclusions from the interview and selecting candidates remains a human privilege.

"Our goal is for AI to transparently help those responsible in personnel selection to make not only more efficient, but also better and fairer decisions," says Managing Director Martin Becker.

This can probably work without AI.

But with AI it becomes more likely.

Icon: The mirror

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2021-03-08

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