[GoLUG] The Strange Behavior of LLMs in Hiring Decisions: Systemic Gender and Positional Biases in Candidate Selection

[Kyle Terrien]

On Sat, May 24, 2025 at 01:41:29AM -0400, Steve Litt wrote:
> 
> Overly harsh in my opinion, and to explain why I think that let's
> discuss self-driving cars. It's going to be a long, long time before
> self driving cars are safer than smart, skilled and attentive human
> drivers. One software bug and the self-driving car plunges into the
> lake.
> 
> But right now they can probably be made safer than 95% of human
> drivers, meaning driverless cars will decrease accidents and other
> mishaps.
> 
> All an AI candidate selector needs to do is be better than 95, or heck,
> even 60 percent of current ways it's done. Except...
> 
> Except that the way candidates have been chosen, at least from the
> 1980's, is horribly flawed. HR pens a job ad that screens out 90% of
> the people who could actually do the job, so liars flood HR with
> resumes, and all too often a fast-talking liar gets the job and then
> fails miserably. From the 1980's on, the trick was to do an end run
> around HR. Use various human networking techniques to find your new
> boss, talk with him or her, get all that stuff out of the way, then
> have him or her shepherd your resume and job application through HR.
> Same with AI.
> 
> In the spring of 1980 I went on a 7 day whirlwind tour of Los Angeles
> and San Francisco looking for a job (I was living in Chicago at the
> time). In each place, I asked to talk to somebody in charge. Some
> places just through a job application in my face: I thanked them and
> walked out. Nothing like having only 7 days to teach you how to
> prioritize job hunting time.
> 
> In the 1990's I was all at every computer fair, every software expo,
> everything. I talked with everyone I met, and everyone knew what I did
> and how good I was at it. I had my elevator speech down pat, and I had
> rehearsed enough material that if asked questions, I could go into
> details. Most of the work I ever got was because of who I knew, not
> what I knew.
> 
> My opinion: If you're sending in resumes and applications, you're dead
> meat. You spend hours looking on job sites. You spend what, a half hour
> tailoring your resume and cover letter for each job. Twenty, thirty a
> day. The day goes by and you've spoken to nobody. And of course you get
> ghosted by all the companies you applied with: 5000 other people sent
> in resumes and cover letters. You need to make an identity for
> yourself, then start going to meetings and expos to talk with others,
> and make sure you know how to put yourself in the best light, because
> you're darn good. Then put your money where your mouth is, and start
> giving presentations so you're THE GOTO guy for skill X. Bonus points
> if you start a business in skill X to make yourself more credible,
> bypass HR and AI, and maybe get some money coming in the door. Start
> the business cheaply so you can get out of it if the right job comes
> along.
> 
> 1980. 2025. HR. AI. You must get face time with the guy with hiring
> authority, or at least hiring recommendation.
> 
> SteveT
> 
> Steve Litt=20
> Spring 2023 featured book: Troubleshooting Techniques of the Successful
> Technologist http://www.troubleshooters.com/techniques

Thinking about it, all the jobs I earned were through knowing the
right people.  Usually it takes several years for a professional
connection to bear fruit of that degree, but it happens because people
tend to remember their colleagues and look out for each other.  For
instance, I found out about my current job because of a college buddy.

-- 
[*] Kyle Terrien
    Terrenus => from the Earth, to the Cloud
    https://terren.us/

Dilexisti justitiam, et odisti iniquitatem.  -- Psalmus 44:8