Last month, a New Zealand company conducted more than 2,500 AI-driven job interviews. This shows how rapidly artificial intelligence is reshaping recruitment in New Zealand.
Employment software company Employment Hero, which says its New Zealand customer base has grown by 60% in the past two years, said BNZ Business Breakfast companies are using AI to sift through hundreds of applications, rank candidates and conduct first round interviews as employers respond to an increasingly competitive job market.
To see how this technology works in practice, I ran some tests. I interviewed for a hypothetical reporter role at TVNZ through an AI recruitment assistant.
Technology testing
The interview began much like a standard online selection call, with the AI introducing itself and then a series of questions specific to journalism and reporting.
Questions included things like, “Could you describe a significant career accomplishment that revealed a unique story that had a significant impact?” and “Describe a specific example of when you successfully mentored young journalists to improve their reporting skills.”
Unlike traditional interviews, there was no human on the other side of the screen, just an AI-generated voice that asked you questions, analyzed your answers, and generated follow-up prompts in real-time.
It took about 5 minutes in total.
Artificial intelligence is increasingly reshaping the way New Zealanders hire, with one company alone conducting more than 2,500 AI-driven interviews last month. (Source: BNZ Business Breakfast)
Recruitment activities under pressure
Employment Hero chief executive Neil Webster said the technology was designed to help employers manage large volumes of job applications.
“First they are using AI to figure out who will be on the shortlist,” he said.
“If 200 people applied for a position, you need to be able to quickly go through it and rank those employees. AI will do that for you and provide you with a shortlist.”
Mr Webster said New Zealand’s labor market was becoming increasingly difficult for job seekers, with some employers receiving hundreds of applications for a single position.
“Unfortunately for job seekers around the world, there are far more people looking for work than there are none,” he said.
“In fact, we are seeing hundreds of applicants applying for each role.”
The technology is rapidly gaining popularity, with more than 2,500 AI interviews conducted in April alone, the company said.
Concerns about bias
As AI becomes more integrated into recruitment efforts, there are also concerns about transparency, bias, and the role humans still play in hiring decisions.
“One of our firm rules is that humans are always involved,” Webster says.
“We don’t want AI to make decisions; we want it to make recommendations and save employers time.”
He acknowledged that there is always a risk of bias in recruitment, whether the hiring decision is made by a human or an AI system.
“We always have to be aware of that bias. We train AI on millions of candidates and review it to see if it can detect bias.”
Webster believes human involvement remains important in the final stages of recruitment.
“I think AI will become an essential part of jobs and recruiting everywhere,” he said.
“I would be very surprised if in five years, AI is not involved in the majority of interviews, at least at some point in the hiring structure.”
