Job hunters can undergo an 'AI job interview' at a new Banbury business to help them find work

Kai, run by Rob Hutt, only opened a few weeks ago but has already been awarded contracts with organisations including Hello Fresh and Banbury’s largest HR network.

Job hunters can walk into the shop, find a job they like and undergo an initial interview via AI there and then.

If they are successful then they will go through to a second round which involves a traditional interview – with a human.

Rob Hutt says: “This new type of recruitment is a win, win for everyone. So often candidates apply for jobs and hear nothing back which is soul destroying.

"With our system, they know instantly and we can even build in feedback so they know why they didn’t get the job. Employers know that anyone who gets to the second interview stage can do the job and then they can decide who fits the position and company best.”

The shop within Castle Quay isn’t your usual set up either for a recruitment consultancy, with an arcade machine, foosball table and pinball machine. Robb Hutt explains that and the decision to open in a shopping centre is a very deliberate one:

He said: “The environment may be fun, it’s what attracts people into the shop but we’re deadly serious about what we do, which is why large companies such as Hello Fresh are working with us and we’ve already successfully placed candidates with them.”

He added: “A great example of how it works happened last week, a chef walked in to play on the arcade game, which gave us an opportunity to chat about our set up. It turns out we had a job which was exactly what he was looking for and he was able to apply for it there and then.”

Rob has big plans for Kai. He concluded: “We’re really at the beginning of AI use in recruitment any the sky really is the limit. We’re talking to new employers all the time and the algorithms are becoming ever more sophisticated. The UK recruitment business was worth £35.7 billion last year, so there really is a lot of scope to role Kai out around the country; making recruitment and changing jobs easier than ever before.”

Oliver Wren, centre director, Castle Quay Shopping Centre, said: “Kai is a really exciting concept that is forward thinking and benefits everyone in the recruitment process massively. We’re absolutely delighted to have them based here at Castle Quay and wish them every success for the future.”