Hello, Quartz at Work readers!
In late 2017, Hilke Schellmann was closing out a conference in Washington, DC, when she hailed a ride to the train station. The filmmaker and New York University journalism professor hopped in her Lyft, asked the driver how he was doing, and was met with a pause. It had been a strange day, he answered. He’d applied for a job as a baggage handler at the local airport, and that afternoon he had interviewed with a robot.
Schellmann was intrigued—and soon discovered a burgeoning world of AI software that promises algorithms can help companies make better hires than humans can. Today companies large and small use AI to read our resumes, screen candidates, and determine who should be hired into open roles. But as Schellman’s investigations discover, these machines are just as flawed as humans, if not more.
I’ve followed Schellmann’s work since last winter, when I was reporting my own story on the strange new world of computer-recruiters for our Quartz Obsession podcast. (By the way, you can listen to that here.) Now Schellmann has published a book peering deep into the black box. In The Algorithm, Schellmann sheds new insight on the artificial intelligence deciding whether or not we get (and keep) our jobs. She spoke with more than 200 sources to understand how the technology pitched to hire better than humans often ends up being arbitrary, biased, or outright discriminatory.
Schellmann also poses as a job candidate herself to test the softwares—and makes some damning discoveries. AI transcription tools give her high marks in English after she speaks to them in German; social media screeners spit out opposing personality profiles based on whether they look at her Twitter or her LinkedIn; a bevy of subjective assessments go on the fritz as they try to measure her as a worker bee.
It’s a fascinating—and dizzying—look at the inner workings of the AI standing between us and our next job. Today on Quartz, I talk with Schellmann about how hiring came to involve fewer humans and more computers, along with what job candidates can do to regain some control.
HOW TO WRITE A RESUME FOR A ROBOT
In the strange new world of computer-recruiters, it’s easy to feel fatalistic about how much power we still have in our own job hunts. Schellmann offers tips for how job-seekers can feel autonomy over their applications.
- Don’t try to be eye-catching. The common advice about making your resume stand out in the pile? That no longer applies. Now it’s all about making your resume machine-readable, Schellmann says. That means putting text in just one column, not two, using clear text, and writing short, crisp sentences.
- Include quantifiable, indexable information. Have a professional license in a field that requires one? Add that clearly—including, say, a certification number a software could look up.
- Make use of your own GPTs. Online, people joke, “Let the better AI win,” Schellmann says. If companies can use AI in hiring, candidates should be able to, too. You can prompt a chatbot of your choosing to proofread your resume, draft iterations of your cover letter, or provide sample interview questions to volley with.
🤖 For more tips on maximizing your next job application with AI, revisit this Quartz classic on how to use ChatGPT to boost your materials.
FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED THIS WEEK
Being aggressive at work can cost you big dollars. A new study finds that acting forcefully at work makes people want to pay you less—and men are penalized to the tune of $8,000.
Walmart is giving store managers an $11,000 reason to cheer in the new year. The retailer is raising their salaries to $128,000 a year, calling an investment in managers an “investment in our future.”
The next layoff stories on TikTok may come from TikTok itself. The social platform, part of the world’s most valuable private company, slashed staff jobs in its advertising unit this week.
Meanwhile, tech sector layoffs show no signs of slowing. 2024 began with thousands of job cuts in big tech, including at industry giants like Meta, Microsoft, and Google.
US unions need to boost their ranks. The membership rate hit a record low in 2023, according to new data—even though unions picked up thousands of new members.
THE VIRTUAL-REALITY WORKPLACE
While companies across industries like auto, healthcare, retail, and more have used VR headsets to train their teams, headsets haven’t hit the mainstream yet. But could the much-hyped Apple Vision Pro change that? Some work experts think so.
In Quartz, Laura Bratton explains how Apple may change the game in workplace VR—and rounds up how organizations are already using virtual reality. Among them:
🚀 Boeing: The aircraft manufacturer’s Starliner program has used VR headsets to train astronauts for flight.
🔌 Intel: The tech firm has used headsets to teach staff how to avoid electrical accidents.
🩺 Johnson & Johnson: The medical company used VR sets to help surgeons learn to implant orthopedic devices.
🍗 KFC: The fast food company led a training “escape room” with headsets to teach employees to fry chicken.
WHICH JOBS ARE GROWING?
If you’re looking to change careers in 2024, you might want to look to one industry in particular: healthcare.
The top-growing jobs in the US in 2024 are in mental healthcare, according to a new ranking by career site Indeed—and mental health technicians, mental health therapists, and psychiatrists are the best ones to apply for this year. Find the full ranking on Quartz.
ONE AI THING
Should you wake up at night worrying that your job will be replaced by AI (sorry!), researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have a reassuring message: Fear not, humans! AI is still far more expensive than humans in most jobs. Quartz’s Faustine Ngila has the details.
QUARTZ AT WORK’S TOP STORIES
🤖 What worries business leaders the most about generative AI
💼 It’s expensive to replace humans with AI, MIT says
🍎 How Apple’s Vision Pro could change the workplace
📉 Google, Amazon, TikTok, and more: 2024 starts with thousands of tech layoffs
YOU GOT THE MEMO
Send questions, comments, and your best tips for submitting robo-applications to [email protected]. This edition of The Memo was written by Gabriela Riccardi.