How AI Assessment Tools Affect Job Candidates’ Behavior | Harvard Business Review – BRIAN HEGER

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The use of AI across various talent practices continues to present powerful opportunities. I recently shared my infographic featuring 12 AI-in-HR use cases, each paired with a benefit, potential risk, and mitigation tactic. The goal: help HR teams explore how AI can solve business problems while managing unintended consequences. A new HBR article reinforces this need for thoughtful use. In a study of over 13,000 participants across 12 lab and field studies, researchers found that when candidates knew they were being assessed by AI during the hiring process, they emphasized analytical traits and downplayed qualities such as empathy, creativity, and intuition. This behavior can lead to a more uniform candidate pool and reduce assessment accuracy. To address this, the authors recommend: 1) clearly explaining what traits the AI is evaluating—including non-analytical ones like emotional intelligence and creativity, 2) regularly checking for patterns that show candidates are presenting themselves in similar ways, and 3) combining AI assessments with trained human reviewers who can recognize and counteract these effects. Aside from the HBR article, there’s also the academic paper on which the article is based. As a bonus, I’m re-sharing a 36-page paper from the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP), which offers recommendations for validating and utilizing AI-based assessments in employee selection.
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