A candidate told us she had done three automated interviews that month. For each one she had looked up what the tool rewarded: steady eye contact, a structure with three points, no long pauses. She was good at the job. The interview measured whether she had studied the interview. The recruiter on the other side saw a number and a clip, and not much else, because the packet was not designed to brief a person. It was designed to rank a file.
The score had become the product. The hire had become an afterthought.
say what the model is for
If you use a model in hiring, say so before the candidate starts, in plain language. What it looks at. What a person will still decide. What it is not allowed to decide. Opacity does not make the process more objective. It makes candidates optimize for a rumor.
Then decide, honestly, whether the model is a scheduling aid, a first filter, or a participant in the judgment. Those are different products. Most companies buy the third and describe the first.
A candidate should not have to guess which performance you are scoring.
the packet is for the reviewer
The person who makes the call needs a briefing, not a percentile. What was asked. What the candidate actually said, in their words. Where the model was uncertain. A place to disagree that does not feel like insubordination.
If the reviewer cannot explain the decision without the number, the number is doing a job you did not mean to give it. Hire the person. Do not hire the score.