Professionellt arbete i förändring : En kvalitativ studie om rekryterares upplevelser av AI i rekryteringsprocesser

Sammanfattning

The aim of this study is to examine how the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) in recruitment processes affects recruiters’ professional work and their ability to exercise human judgment. The study is based on seven semi-structured interviews with recruiters who have experience of using AI in recruitment processes and is analysed using Julia Evetts’ conceptual framework of occupational and organisational professionalism, together with Susskind and Susskind’s model of the evolution of professional work. The findings show that the introduction of AI in recruitment processes has largely been driven by recruiters’ own initiatives in order to increase efficiency. Recruiters experienced that their ability to make independent human judgments has not been significantly affected, as AI is described as a supportive tool rather than a decision-making mechanism. They emphasised the importance of a cautious approach and the need to critically review AI-generated material. At the same time, a certain tension between occupational and organisational professionalism becomes visible as organisations introduce guidelines for the use of AI, however, this was not perceived by recruiters as restrictive. Regarding professional work, recruiters experienced that AI has contributed to a reduced administrative workload, thereby freeing up time for more qualified and relational tasks. Overall, the study shows that recruiters retain the ability to exercise human judgement despite the use of AI, and that AI transforms rather than replaces recruiters’ professional work.