Image above courtesy Dreamstime
Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping how companies in Canada hire — and while it makes recruitment more efficient, it can create new challenges for immigrants trying to find meaningful work. In this special feature, Canadian Immigrant speaks with Nepal-born Sweta Regmi, Founder and CEO of Teachndocertified career and résumé strategist, and award-winning member of Career Professionals of Canada — about how AI affects newcomers and what they can do to navigate bias in the hiring process.
How prevalent is the use of AI in the hiring process in Canadian companies, particularly in sectors that newcomers might be entering? Are there certain industries or companies in Canada that are more likely to use AI in their hiring processes?
SR: The use of AI in the hiring process is becoming increasingly prevalent in Canadian companies, especially in sectors that newcomers might be entering. Industries such as customer service, sales, technology, finance, contact centers, retail, healthcare, manufacturing, marketing, legal, education, supply chain, logistics, and government are all adopting AI to streamline their recruitment processes. These sectors often leverage AI tools to handle large volumes of applications, assess both hard and soft skills, and speed up the hiring timeline.
AI-driven tools like one-way video interviews, resume parsing, personality assessments, and chatbots for initial candidate interactions are now standard in many recruitment workflows. Companies in industries like technology, finance, and healthcare, where the demand for talent is high and competition for skilled workers is fierce, are particularly likely to use AI to efficiently sift through candidates and quickly identify those who meet specific job criteria.
Additionally, larger corporations, especially those with a global or national footprint, tend to invest more in AI-driven recruitment tools due to the volume of applicants they receive.
Q: What is contrast bias in AI hiring, and how can it affect newcomers?
SR: AI systems in hiring often exhibit several forms of bias, particularly when assessing newcomers to Canada. One of the most common biases is contrast bias, where AI could compare immigrant candidates to local candidates with Canadian experience or education. This can disadvantage newcomers who may not have a degree from a Canadian institution or local work experience, even though their qualifications might be equally strong.
Q: How can language and cultural fit bias show up in AI hiring tools?
SR: Another form of bias is related to verbal communication skills, particularly when language proficiency is assessed. For example, AI systems may struggle to accurately assess candidates with accents or whose first language is not English. We see this in everyday AI tools like Siri or Google Assistant, which often fail to understand people with accents, misinterpreting instructions or queries. In hiring, this can translate into AI-driven one-way video interviews misunderstanding verbal responses or incorrectly parsing information, potentially leading to candidates being judged unfairly.
Cultural fit bias is another significant issue. AI systems, which often rely on historical performance data, might favor candidates who exhibit characteristics or skills similar to those of previous high performers, typically local candidates. This can lead to cultural bias, where newcomers are unfairly assessed against local cultural standards and communication styles that may not reflect their own background, causing a misalignment in how their soft skills, such as communication or teamwork, are perceived.
Q: How can AI hiring systems overlook newcomers’ transferable skills?
SR: Although it is illegal for employers to outright reject candidates for lacking Canadian experience, they can still exploit legal loopholes. Employers may ask questions that unintentionally disadvantage newcomers, such as, “Do you have experience with this tool?” or “How familiar are you with the local market?” While these questions may seem neutral, they often prioritize local knowledge, which can unfairly disadvantage candidates who haven’t had exposure to Canadian-specific tools or markets. This bias overlooks the transferable skills and qualifications that newcomers bring, potentially excluding them from consideration despite their competence in similar roles.
Additionally, AI can perpetuate data bias due to the lack of sufficient data on immigrant candidates. Since these systems are often trained on historical hiring data, they may not account for the diverse backgrounds and experiences that newcomers bring to the table. This can result in AI systems being less accurate in evaluating candidates who don’t fit the typical mould based on past hiring patterns.
Q: How can AI screening questions create obstacles for newcomers?
SR: AI tools, while designed to streamline hiring processes, can unintentionally disadvantage certain demographic groups, such as newcomers, immigrants, and racial minorities, due to the way they analyze and interpret data. For example, an applicant tracking system (ATS) may include questions like, “Do you have a driver’s license?” This can disproportionately affect newcomers who might be in the process of obtaining a license or don’t yet own a car — even when the role doesn’t require one. The ATS may automatically filter out qualified candidates without giving them a chance to explain their situation.
Q: How can AI video interviews and language assessments disadvantage immigrants and minorities?
SR: AI-driven one-way video interviews, which assess verbal responses, non-verbal communication, and appearance, can easily misinterpret cues from immigrant or racial minority candidates. Non-native English speakers often use filler words like “um” or “ah,” which AI may wrongly flag as poor communication skills when they’re simply normal speech patterns. Accents or slight mispronunciations can also be misunderstood as poor English proficiency, even though language diversity should be valued, not penalized. If the AI system is trained mostly on native speakers, it can struggle to process different accents accurately, distorting the meaning of responses. Even questions like, “Do you speak fluent English/French?” can disadvantage capable newcomers who may not be native speakers. A better approach would be to ask about comfort or proficiency instead of strict fluency.
Q: Could you share an example of how AI screening issues can affect a newcomer’s resume?
SR: A client came to me after facing multiple rejections and struggling to move forward in the hiring process. When I dug deeper, a few key issues became clear. Her job title from back home didn’t exist in the Canadian job market, which likely confused the applicant tracking system (ATS) and prevented recruiters from even seeing her application. Because ATS tools often prioritize exact title matches, her resume was probably filtered out early.
To tackle this, we started with resume optimization. We researched the closest Canadian equivalent for her job title and rewrote it to align with industry norms without changing the truth. We also matched keywords and responsibilities directly from job descriptions to ensure a stronger match with the ATS.
Q: How did you help this client succeed in AI-driven interviews?
SR: We focused on improving her AI interview performance using my CARL framework (Challenge, Action, Result, Lessons). We pinpointed exactly where her answers needed work, structured her responses clearly, and made sure they were compelling and easy for AI to interpret. We refined her storytelling, reduced filler words, and adjusted her body language to align with how AI tools score candidates.
We ran multiple mock AI interviews to polish her tone, articulation, and alignment with job description keywords so the AI would correctly identify her expertise. These changes worked: her resume passed screening and she started receiving multiple interview calls. Most importantly, she finally advanced past the AI assessments that had blocked her before — and on her next attempt, she landed a role at a major bank.
The post How AI in hiring affects newcomers: career expert Sweta Regmi explains appeared first on Canadian Immigrant.
