AI Hiring Program (EU)

Ensuring Human Intelligence in AI Hiring Tools

REPORT

Read Full Report | Presentation to the EU-wide committee (video)

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools increasingly shape the hiring landscape, a critical question arises: do these tools contribute to the widening labor gap between open positions and qualified, yet non-traditional, applicants? The current EU labor market is dealing with a significant imbalance of job vacancies and skilled job seekers. Especially, females and migrants find themselves over-represented in surplus occupations involving clerical, design, and hospitality jobs. Jobs involving tech professionals, construction workers, and medical specialists are short staffed. Moreover, widespread hiring practices including algorithmic hiring tools screen out many qualified candidates and artificially constrain the talent pool that companies consider, essentially “hiding” prospective workers. We conducted qualitative and quantitative experiments to test algorithmic hiring tools such as Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). The report also includes learning from the industry’s leading talent tech companies and recommendations on how to minimize bias in algorithmic systems.

This 4-month project was part of the FINDHR initiative (consisting of a dozen universities and institutions across Europe) and funded by the EU Horizon grant as part of: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101070212.

PROGRAM

Help Minimize Bias and Discrimination in AI Hiring

José never received an invitation to a job interview until he changed his name to Joe(1). Today, algorithmic hiring is touted as a fair system, sourcing and selecting candidates based on merit; nothing could be further from the truth. Ten years after the Business Insider article about José was published, name discrimination is still rampant, “applicants with ethnic names are 57% less likely to be considered for leadership roles” (2).

You are invited to help minimize and mitigate bias and discrimination in algorithmic hiring!

impactmania is part of the European Union’s initiative Fairness and Intersectional Non-Discrimination in Human Recommendation.

We are collecting and testing resumes in AI systems to:

Gain a better understanding of the current Artificial Intelligence (AI) hiring practices in the EU.
Uncover application and process of resumes (specifically migrant professionals) in AI systems.
Investigate best practices reported on by recent applicants.

We are gathering resumes for testing with and without the use of AI tools during the hiring screening process. This is a great opportunity for us all to help AI tools become more accurate and equal so screening selection is based on merit.

From this set of resumes, a group of 21 participants will be interviewed becoming close contributors to the project. You will be invited to a closing meeting (online or in person if you are in Berlin) to meet AI experts and stakeholders involved in this project and learn more about the hiring process and our research findings. Your experiences will be included in the final report to the European Union.

More Program Information

By sending your resume, you agree to being part of the project. No data will be sold. The only data shared will be with stakeholders in this EU Initiative directly working on this project. Your resume will be removed from the system after the project is completed by the end of November 2023.

We will test with control resumes to tease out what happens when certain keywords (name, college location) are changed. We will also be looking at the difference in candidates selection between a recruiter with the use of AI tools and without.

There will be no names used in the final reporting, unless we interview you and you agree in writing allowing us to use your quote, answers, or input.

This phase of the program has ended.

Follow impactmania on LinkedIn to be informed of what’s next.

Please send us your resume (as is) applying to the Test Job Profile below.

Send your resume in the same format you would upload or send to recruiters/HR, even if you are not looking for a job! It is merely for testing and being able to offer the FINDHR organization and the EU our findings when working with existing AI tools.

Who can participate?

Anyone currently living in the EU
All genders
Ethnic sounding name (optional)

Open Test Job Profile

Job Description: Project Manager

Position Overview

As a Project Manager, you will play a pivotal role in planning, executing, and delivering projects on time, within scope, and within budget. With your strong organizational and communication skills, you will lead cross-functional teams, collaborate with stakeholders, and ensure the seamless implementation of our initiatives.

Key Responsibilities

Develop comprehensive project plans that outline project scope, objectives, tasks, timelines, resources, and budget requirements.
Lead and motivate cross-functional teams, assigning tasks, setting priorities, and ensuring clear communication channels throughout the project lifecycle.
Communicate effectively with internal and external stakeholders, managing their expectations and providing regular updates on project progress.
Identify potential risks, develop mitigation strategies, and address issues as they arise to ensure projects stay on track.
Monitor project budgets and expenses, tracking costs and making adjustments as necessary to maintain financial targets.
Maintain a high standard of quality in project deliverables, ensuring they meet or exceed client expectations.
Create and maintain detailed project documentation, including project plans, status reports, meeting minutes, and other relevant records.
Facilitate change management processes as required, ensuring smooth transitions for stakeholders affected by project changes.
Contribute to the refinement of project management processes and best practices, striving for greater efficiency and effectiveness.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience.
Excellent communication, interpersonal, and leadership skills.
Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and prioritize effectively.
Problem-solving mindset with a keen eye for detail.
Solid organizational and time management skills.

CORE TEAM

Paksy Plackis-Cheng, founder of impactmania, has been selected as one of the experts in the European Union’s (EU) Horizon research and innovation initiative Fairness and Intersectional Non-Discrimination in Human Recommendation.

Paksy brings decades of (deep) technology expertise with programs creations for academia, governments, and renowned corporations that drive cultural, social, and economic impact.

Over the next few months, Paksy and a team of experts in AI, Recruiting, and Research, including: Michal Barabanow, Dr. Tejo Chalasani, Ayse Semiz-Ewald, and Sheena Cheong, will be looking into bias and discrimination in AI interview screening processes. The Core Team will be interviewing migrant job applicants and AI and recruitment experts. In addition to experimenting with algorithmic hiring tools.

Program Executive

Program Advisor & Lead Researcher

Program Advisor

Program Director

Designer

Researcher

Contributor

Researcher

Contributor

Researcher

Contributor

EXPERTS

Explore ai: Tania Flasck, Paul dos Santos, and Jaco Jansen van Rensburg. Seekout: Matt Guirgis, Sam Shaddox, and John Tippett. Applied: Samantha Bonnes. AMS: Jim Sykes and Rob Paulson. Retrain.ai: Shay David, Isabelle Bichler, and Zach Solan. Recruitment Smart/Sniper AI: Yusuf Jazakallah. birkle IT AG, Kadi Niggulis. Siemens Energy: Maria Ferraro. Richard Freeborn. Supanuch Pongthanacharoenkul, and Irma Mastenbroek.

THANK YOU

FINDHR, Staex GmbH, Abhishek Nair, Ada Rachfalska, Adrian Falk, Aaricia Herygers, Ali Mohammad Mohammad Pour Motlagh, Amrit Mann, Azfar Nawaz, Beatrice Akaeme, Beisi Xiong, Bhushan Chhatre, Brian Plackis-Cheng, Cameron Mason, Carlos Castillo, Carlos Figueredo, Catalina Sierra Zamudio, Cesar Rosales, Corinna Schmitt, Damla Buse Görür, Debbie Chia, Delphine Mousseau, Devansh Sharma, Divotsna, Duke Tam, Efrain Garcia, Elena Pavan, Elizabeth Coffey, Ellís Carvalho, Emmah Kwamboka, Eleni Dimopoulou, Eunseo Yi, Eva Valverde Correro, Farha Meher, Fang Dong, Francesca Milocco, Gea Meijers, Harshita Sheshgiri, Harshita Srivastava, Himadri Sanyal, Ignacio Landivar, Ingrid Pénzes, Isabel Win, Jamille Honorato Silva, James Song, Jade Devey, Jie Liang Lin,  Judith Li, Julia John, Kartik Kamboj, Kenny Schmidt, Lara Planet, Linda Baum, Magdalena Zawodny-Barabanow, Manoj Pandey, Maria J. Dapena, Maria Moudatsou, Marina Du, Marie Vidonne, Mariana Lopes, Marta Dal Lago, Martina Chirico, Meiss Martén, Miguel Pawlowski, Mira Cecilia Mahavadi, Mona Moayad, Mujtaba Mehdi, Muthu Kumaarr, Nicole Wallace, Patrick Easley, Paqui Schreurs, Payal Arora, Piret Potisepp, Philomene Robiot, Philip Manns, Polina Chernova, Prof. Dr. Alexandra Mikityuk, Reza Hasni, Sahaj Vaidya, Sahitya Parvathaneni, Sam Vakili, Shefali Nayak, Shraddha Borawake, Sid Venkatesh, Sol Matas, Suraj Srinivas, Susanne Fleig, Tamara Vorobyeva, Tom Rauhe, Trechelle Lyn Ras, Varsha Venkatesh, Wendy Meijer, Xia Wei La, and Zhen Wang.

“This work is part of the FINDHR project that received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation program under grant agreement No 101070212. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.”

1. Aaron Taube (2014) How One Man Turned His Fruitless Job Search Around By Changing His Name by Business Insider. Available from https://www.businessinsider.com/job-seeker-changed-his-name-2014-9#ixzz3CrgK6eRK
2. Sowaibah Hanifie (2023) Alarming level of name discrimination in job recruitment, according to new research by 7News.com.au. Available from https://7news.com.au/news/australia/alarming-level-of-name-discrimination-in-job- recruitment-according-to-new-research-c-10381148