Numbers and algorithms being used as a way to quantify the worth of an applicant can make for an expedient selection process for organizations or companies, but lacks the ability to adequately quantify the nuances and worth of a person entirely. With how many applicants a company or organization gets, the need for some form of technological assistance is of paramount importance, but where do we draw the line?
The problem with an algorithm-based decision-making process, is that it gives the people who need a second chance in life, or those who have talent, but doesn’t have the requisite credentials, a chance to compete. Of course, not everyone deserves to receive the benefits of whatever they have applied to, but at least deserve a human to consider them personally. We are not purely logical beings, but emotional ones. The average algorithm can’t yet quantify the essence of human qualities through numbers and data.
That is not to say that an automated decision-making algorithm can’t help in a selection process, Quite the opposite. If there is no external help in the decision-making process, those who apply will have to wait much longer and the organization loses much money and time as a result. That is why, even if a more personal consideration is given to each applicant, those applicants also lose out on opportunities through having to wait too long, not having time to be considered carefully or because they didn’t pander to the interviewer as much as other applicants.
To address the initial question posed in the introduction, a highly advanced algorithm is necessary; one that does not discriminate and considers both those it deems worthy through credentials or data, and those that have potential to do better in the future. These assigned numerical values should also not be distributed internally either, that way everyone will have a fair chance. Of course, this hinges on a sufficiently advanced system. That is why there should be no half measures, you either have a good enough algorithm or, because your company or organization doesn’t have enough resources or capabilities to give a sufficiently automated filtration of applicants, you use the old-fashioned method of hand selecting applicants through human decision-making.