In today’s tech-driven world, remote work has become the trending norm, and The Great Resignations and The Great Layoffs in the tech industry are reshaping the employment landscape. The demand for top-notch IT talent has reached unprecedented levels.
Technology changes faster than fashion, and there is always a fresh approach to problems. “So businesses need to hunt for the right software engineers and developers in their engineering team to stay up with developments and remain competitive”, according to Kevin Collins, associate director of the Career and Professional Development Center at Carnegie Mellon University.
However, finding and attracting the most qualified candidates has become a daunting task, leaving recruiters grappling with talent scarcity and fierce competition.
According to a study by global consulting company Korn Ferry, by 2030, a lack of tech skills may cost the United States US$162 billion in lost income yearly and a whopping US$8.5 trillion worldwide. There will be a global human talent shortage of 85 million, most of which will be in IT.
Without a dedicated effort to find, attract, and retain such employees, it is challenging to stay competitive.
This is where AI in recruitment emerges as a game-changer.
The recruitment industry poked its feet into AI long before the pandemic, but as it faces more employee volatility and with the hype and advancements in technology, AI is increasingly applied to each step of talent acquisition, from writing job descriptions to finally onboarding the candidate.
AI in Recruitment: Revolutionizing Talent Acquisition for the Digital Age
Imagine yourself doing online shopping, searching for that perfect dress to wear to your birthday party. After surfing for hours with exhausted eyes, you finally buy a dress, only to be disappointed with its design, color, or size. This scenario echoes the plight of recruiters searching for the crème de la crème of IT.
Now, recruiters no longer need to spend hours sifting through CVs, trying to find a needle in a haystack. With its remarkable capabilities, artificial intelligence (AI) will transform the recruitment landscape into a more efficient and streamlined operation.
A Forrester study showed a 449% ROI over three years with AI-based talent acquisition software, equalling more than $24 million in savings. It also showed that these tools save hiring managers and recruiters up to 11 hours per week.
With many organizations adapting to remote work setups, traditional talent acquisition boundaries are crumbling. With AI as their trusted guide, recruiters can scan the virtual world, identifying talent gems hidden in far-flung corners, all while sipping coffee in their home offices.
According to a study, 3 in 4 companies boosted their purchase of talent acquisition technology in 2022.
Integrating AI in the recruitment process is like having a trusted advisor to help you pick the right candidates. It accelerates the hiring process, slashing time-to-hire and allowing organizations to secure top talent. Other than that, with its advanced algorithms, it can evaluate candidate’s technical skills, problem-solving abilities, and even soft skills, providing a holistic picture of their capabilities.
Although the past demonstrates how AI platforms have been biased against different races in Western countries, with diverse data to train on, we can mitigate biases.
As AI in recruitment evolves, it will revolutionize how organizations find and engage with talent. It will unleash recruiters’ true potential, empowering them to focus on building relationships and nurturing talent rather than drowning in administrative tasks.
Modernizing the Talent Acquisition Process with AI
AI and tech recruitment collaboration empowers both recruiters and candidates. It allows recruiters to cast a wider net and pinpoint the most promising talent, while simultaneously providing candidates with opportunities that transcend geographical barriers. Here are 8 areas where AI can transform the recruitment process.
Crafting the Perfect Job Description:
You must have seen thousands of job descriptions with irrelevant skill requirements, unexpected keyword choices, gender-biased information, or incomplete information. Recruiters are not expected to know every nuance of job language, the type of keywords that provide the most relevant responses, or how to depict culture in a job description. This is especially true for novice recruiters hiring for highly technical skills.
That’s where AI comes into play. AI-based talent acquisition tools and generative AI tools like ChatGPT can help recruiters write a detailed job description in seconds, per the prompt provided. All you have to do is make sure you include every detail so that your prompt does not provide a biased result.
Optimizing Job Posting for Maximum Reach
AI-based Talent Acquisition tools allow recruiters to post jobs in one click. These tools use AI models to analyze candidate preferences, behavior, and job market trends. It provides a candidate appeal score that depicts the effectiveness of your job description. By optimizing job postings, organizations can connect with a broader and more diverse talent pool, increasing their chances of finding the perfect match.
Sourcing Candidates Globally at Scale
Sourcing candidates is not an issue these days. Many platforms with huge audiences allow businesses to post job requirements on their platforms. Even candidates can self-apply for the job. However, finding the top 1% of tech talent is still challenging. Thanks to AI, recruiters can leverage intelligent algorithms to crawl through these platforms and find qualified candidates.
Rediscover Candidates at Home
There are 100s resumes stored in your talent database, as many applicants who did not get through the process apply on your portal. Using advanced AI models, candidate rediscovery scans applications to identify candidates who may be suitable. It can also re-establish a connection with them on the recruiter’s behalf. If that candidate is the right fit and willing to join, you can save days of time and hiring costs.
Filtering ‘In’ and ‘Out’ Candidates Using AI for Recruiting
This is the part where AI shows biases. Due to a lack of training data and choice of keywords to filter out applicants, AI often leaves out the most qualified candidates from the list. Recruiters may not get a chance to look at them at all.
However, with advancements in space, the future looks promising. AI crunches through resumes, job histories, and social media profiles, uncovering invaluable information that would otherwise remain hidden. In fact, while sourcing or evaluating profiles, AI can infer skills from the prior experience of the candidate. It may categorize them separately into positions they might not have applied for.
For example, candidates apply to work in companies, but they may or may not know the kind of role that suits them. AI can scan their resumes and find a suitable role in the company. This is a win-win situation for both candidates and recruiters.
Assessing Skills Beyond Technical With Ease
Determining a candidate’s skills and competencies is critical to the hiring process. With its smart vetting process, AI meticulously analyzes profiles, identifying the cream of the crop. But AI doesn’t stop there. The goal of understanding a candidate’s capabilities goes beyond technical skills, assessing communication abilities, problem-solving prowess, and even soft skills.
Forrester Research Principal Analyst Betsy Summers in an interview with Computer World said that they are getting inquiries about recruitment platforms that go beyond talent acquisition and include “skills-as-a-service” technology that has a huge potential impact on how organizations plan their workforce, develop them, how and where they allocate work, and how they grow and retain workers.
This comprehensive evaluation ensures that organizations find individuals with exceptional technical expertise who can seamlessly integrate into the company culture.
Let AI Take the Online Interviews
While some talent acquisition software optimizes manual, repetitive tasks like interview scheduling, follow-ups, and database management. Others also include video-based interviews for early screening.
Computer World reports that 35-45% of companies expect to use AI-based talent acquisition software and services to conduct interviews.
Here, AI will conduct a short interview on behalf of the recruiter or hiring manager. It will also screen candidates based on their answers. It will analyze facial expressions, speaking styles, and hand movements that humans might miss.
Enhance the Onboarding Experience with an AI Guide
The journey doesn’t end with the hiring decision. AI-powered onboarding tools streamline the process, providing personalized training plans, automating paperwork, and facilitating seamless integration. An HR Bot that helps them with HR-related queries will enhance their experience, and they feel more welcome.
By leveraging AI, organizations ensure new hires are set up for success from day one, increasing productivity and engagement.
Putting aside the hype, talent acquisition leaders struggle to choose the right vendor to help them change their recruitment strategy and deliver transformative success.
Latest Tech, Not a Rebranded One
In 2024, finding a company that doesn’t use AI in its tools is almost impossible. However, a closer look at those offerings shows that they are similar to previous automation versions with updated interfaces.
While these updated interfaces are also effective because they are easy to use, the potential impact comes from the latest technology, not the rebranded one.
In conclusion, AI is transforming the talent acquisition industry with its positive impact, revolutionizing how organizations find and engage with talent. However, it is critical to address the counterarguments by developing fair and unbiased AI systems and maintaining a balance between automation and human interaction. With AI in recruitment, businesses can navigate the evolving talent acquisition landscape, unlocking new possibilities and creating a more efficient and effective recruitment process.
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