Post-pandemic uncertainty, escalating economic pressures, and the widespread adoption of technology-mediated assessment tools (e.g., AI, gamified assessments, asynchronous video interviews) have converged to intensify stress and anxiety among job applicants. These forces have reshaped selection experiences, introducing new psychological strains linked to reduced human interaction, diminished control, and algorithmic opacity. Left unaddressed, heightened applicant anxiety can lead to negative consequences including impaired performance, lower acceptance rates, and reputational risks for organizations. These developments raise pressing questions about how anxiety manifests in contemporary hiring processes, how it intersects with constructs such as fairness and control, and what organizations can do to mitigate its negative effects.


This session will advance a conceptual framework situating selection anxiety within today's socio-technological landscape, identifying key antecedents and pathways through which anxiety emerges and influences applicant reactions. Drawing on stress appraisal theory and applicant reactions models, the framework will examine both amplifying mechanisms (e.g., reduced transparency and autonomy) and potential anxiety-reducing mechanisms (e.g., increased consistency and clarity) associated with AI-based selection methods. Notably, while AI may increase uncertainty in some contexts, it also holds potential to reduce anxiety when designed to deliver clear, consistent, and bias-mitigated decision processes. By integrating these pathways, the framework seeks to clarify the role of technology as both a source of and solution to applicant anxiety, and to stimulate research on the moderators and boundary conditions that shape these effects. The presentation will outline a research agenda highlighting opportunities to refine measurement approaches, explore individual difference variables, and examine longitudinal outcomes of selection anxiety in diverse hiring contexts. By offering a comprehensive and forward-looking perspective, this session aims to provide a foundation for future research that deepens insight into the complex interplay between technology, anxiety, and fairness in personnel selection.