Use of Artificial Intelligence in the recruitment process and guidance for candidates

As AI becomes more embedded in recruitment, employers should be transparent about how and when it’s used and clearly communicate expectations around acceptable AI use by candidates.

The below information is intended for employers to apply within their recruitment practice. Students should not assume that AI is welcome within a recruitment process unless explicitly stated.

See also our guide to using AI prompts to create a job vacancy advertisement in myAdvantage.

• Clearly communicate when and how your organisation uses AI in recruitment - whether in screening, communication, or assessment - and include links to relevant policies or FAQs in your job adverts.

• Safeguard applicant data and equality - align with GDPR and consider whether AI will introduce bias at any stage of the process.

• Address use of AI in recruitment directly - frame it as an opportunity to emphasise digital capability, consider adding “AI literacy” as a desirable skill in job descriptions, and encourage candidates to share how they’ve used AI in their applications. Ask how they might apply it appropriately in the role.

• Adapt recruitment processes to reflect the evolving use of AI - with AI-assisted CVs and cover letters becoming more common, plan to receive higher volumes and stronger applications. Consider shorter deadlines, targeted vacancies, and automation to streamline processes.

• Review shortlisting criteria to ensure that they are clear, specific and are not likely to encourage penalty or favour based on peripheral factors, e.g. giving value to sophisticated use of grammar and vocabulary when you are not shortlisting against this.

• Retain human decision-making - AI should support - not replace - human decision-making, and the best predictors of role suitability remain work sample tests and structured interviews.

• Humanise application forms to help students express their individual strengths, values, and professional interests authentically. Validate credentials carefully and offer opportunities for candidates to hear from current employees to enrich the experience. Above all, focus on the person behind the application - their skills, values, and potential to add value - not their skills at navigating your recruitment process.

• Provide clear guidance about your stance on acceptable AI use during recruitment (e.g. “checking, but not creating, initial application content”) and where it’s not (e.g. “creating responses to assessment tasks”), with examples of good and poor practice if you have specific concerns.