AI GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Overview

At Designworks Talent, our goal is to maintain fairness, transparency, and integrity in every hiring process. We incorporate AI technology thoughtfully, with human oversight. This page explains:

When Designworks Talent uses AI
When candidates may use AI, and when they should refrain
What we expect in disclosures and transparency

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Office colleagues gathered around a laptop, smiling and collaborating at a desk.

How Designworks Talent Uses AI (via Ashby ATS)

Resume Screening & Sorting
We use Ashby’s AI tools to help analyze incoming applications, surface relevant candidates, and flag potential matches to roles. Our AI assists in identifying keywords, experience signals, and basic alignment.

Candidate Matching & Recommendations
Our team leverages AI-generated insights to suggest candidate–role matches based on skills, past roles, and patterns in successful hires.

Fraudulent Candidate Detection and Management
We use the first fraud detection system built directly into an ATS - giving our team the ability to identify risks early, without slowing down the hiring process or adding friction for legitimate candidates.

Content Drafting Support (Internal Use)
We may use AI to help draft job descriptions, interview guides, or templates. But every final version is reviewed and approved by our recruiting team to ensure clarity, equity, and brand voice.

Live/recorded interviews (Internal Use)We may use AI to record interviews (audio or video and audio). But every final version is reviewed and approved by our recruiting team to ensure clarity, equity, and brand voice.

Analytics & Reporting
AI helps us spot trends in candidate pipelines, diversity metrics, and process bottlenecks. Decisions remain in the hands of human recruiters and hiring managers.

No AI in Final Decisions
AI output does not make the final hiring decision. Human evaluation is always required before extending an offer.

Candidate AI Use Guidelines

We believe AI can help you communicate your ideas, but it’s important to maintain boundaries to ensure fairness and authenticity. Using AI in a prohibited manner may disqualify you from consideration.

✅ Permitted Use by Candidates

Using AI tools to refine, clarify, or format content you wrote yourself (e.g. polishing grammar, improving structure).
Running your own ideas or drafts through AI to check clarity or to get alternate phrasings, so long as the core content remains yours.

🚫 Prohibited Use by Candidates

Using AI to generate your entire application, cover letter, or essay from scratch.
Relying on AI during assessments (coding tests, logic puzzles, assignments) or live/recorded interviews.
Passing off AI-generated responses as your own work without disclosure.
Using AI in any stage when our instructions specifically disallow it.

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Why These Guidelines

Fairness & equity: We want to evaluate all candidates from the same baseline.
Authenticity: Hiring is about understanding you (your thinking, your voice, your judgment).
Human oversight: AI is a tool, not a judge. Humans remain in control of evaluation and decision-making.
Trust & integrity: We trust you to use AI tools responsibly

Summary Table

Interview Stage	Designworks Talent (Internal Use)	Candidate
Screening & sorting	Use Ashby AI to assist	—
Role–candidate matching	Use AI suggestions	—
Drafting internal content	AI + human review	—
Application / cover letter	—	You write it; AI may refine
Take-home assignments / assessments	—	No AI use allowed
Live / recorded interviews	Used with Ashby	No AI use allowed
Final decision	Humans, informed by tools	—