Student Reactions to The Job Search and AI in Organizations
Description/Abstract/Artist Statement
In Fall 2020, 297 undergraduate business students were surveyed on their professional job search and their opinions on how organizations are using artificial intelligence (AI). Of the 297 students, 119 (40.07%) were actively searching for a new job. While searching for a job is usually stressful, searching for a job during a pandemic is particularly difficult. We asked students about how much they agreed with statements regarding their anxiety level when searching for a job on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The average rating was 3.07 (SD = 1.20). We also asked students about whether companies using artificial intelligence in their human resource (HR) systems would impact their opinion of the company and change the likelihood that they would accept a job offer from that company. For example, would students be more or less likely to accept a job offer from an organization that used AI chatbots rather than a real person to answer candidate questions? The average rating for chatbots use was 2.29 (SD = 1.16). In other words, students were slightly less likely to accept a job offer from a company that uses chatbots. On the other hand, we found that students would perhaps be more slightly more likely to accept a job where the company used AI computer programs to evaluate employees to recommend new jobs, career paths, or leaning opportunities within the company (M = 3.55, SD = 0.98). Taken together, students appear to be apprehensive about how companies use AI.
Faculty Advisor/Mentor
Emily Campion
College Affiliation
College of Business (Strome)
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Disciplines
Human Resources Management
Session Title
Management Research Lab
Location
Zoom Room CC
Start Date
3-20-2021 2:00 PM
End Date
3-20-2021 2:55 PM
Student Reactions to The Job Search and AI in Organizations
Zoom Room CC
In Fall 2020, 297 undergraduate business students were surveyed on their professional job search and their opinions on how organizations are using artificial intelligence (AI). Of the 297 students, 119 (40.07%) were actively searching for a new job. While searching for a job is usually stressful, searching for a job during a pandemic is particularly difficult. We asked students about how much they agreed with statements regarding their anxiety level when searching for a job on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The average rating was 3.07 (SD = 1.20). We also asked students about whether companies using artificial intelligence in their human resource (HR) systems would impact their opinion of the company and change the likelihood that they would accept a job offer from that company. For example, would students be more or less likely to accept a job offer from an organization that used AI chatbots rather than a real person to answer candidate questions? The average rating for chatbots use was 2.29 (SD = 1.16). In other words, students were slightly less likely to accept a job offer from a company that uses chatbots. On the other hand, we found that students would perhaps be more slightly more likely to accept a job where the company used AI computer programs to evaluate employees to recommend new jobs, career paths, or leaning opportunities within the company (M = 3.55, SD = 0.98). Taken together, students appear to be apprehensive about how companies use AI.