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Most of us have, by now, become accustomed to the presence of artificial intelligence in our everyday lives. The virtual assistant you have on your smartphone? It’s AI-powered. That Magento search extension that knows to recommend the exact product you’d like to buy in an online store? That’s AI, too. The lightning-fast trading on the stock market you’ve heard about? That’s AI-managed, as well.
Artificial intelligence is becoming an integral part of the technology we use, the lifestyles we pick for ourselves, and the world of business. The shift towards smart processes is so fundamental that, soon enough, you’d be hard-pressed to find something that isn’t touched by AI, in one way or another. This new technology is showing promise in many fields, and it has already started to revolutionize how you hire new employees.
The AI-Powered Job Description
Often enough, the first point of contact between a business and a prospective employee is a job post. It doesn’t matter whether it’s published on the business’ website or on one of the many online job boards. A job post will, either way, contain some kind of job description with the purpose of providing the relevant information for the person looking for a job. Hiring managers think well of the work they do writing job descriptions — almost three quarters would say they provide clear job descriptions. Unfortunately, less than four out of ten applicants would agree.
Writing job descriptions is usually very low on a hiring managers’ priority list. The hiring activities that get the most time devoted to them are sourcing and screening. Even when a job ad yields an unsatisfactory batch of applicants, the job description is the last thing that’s changed. However, AI can improve the process checking the language of the job description. AI can find the terms that might make the description seem off-putting, uninviting, or simply too exclusive. By using AI, hiring managers can ensure they have good job description copy without the need to spend more time writing and checking it.
Applications Review
One of the best strategies when hiring for a tough job opening is to turn to professional recruiters with a national presence. Big recruitment companies can significantly increase the applicant pool, make it more likely that you’ll find a good hire for the position.
One of the things that come with a nationwide applicant pool is — a large number of applications. Even though we’re in the applicant’s market right now, people will still apply in large numbers for jobs that offer better pay or better conditions. To sift through a large number of applications, recruiters commonly use tools called applicant tracking systems, which can evaluate resumes based on specific criteria, most often using parts of the job description text to generate good matches.
This practice, even though it saves time, can actually have a detrimental effect on the quality of a recruiter’s work. Regular ATSs are too rigid, and they often disregard qualified candidates if they didn’t use specific words or phrases in their applications. However, AI and machine learning have advanced semantic processing capabilities. They can use their understanding of language to discern the recruiter’s intent without using a rigidly defined query. With just a few keywords, recruiters can leverage the power of AI to easily reduce the applicant pool to only the applicants who match their need.
Keeping Applicants Engage
If you need top talent for a critical position, you’ll do everything you can to keep your applicants engaged in the application process. Applicants apply for a job, then spend some time waiting for an answer, all the while looking for other jobs. Sometimes they don’t hear back from you ever again, other times they’re politely informed they’re not a good match. A best-case scenario is that they get an interview invite, which is where the bulk of human interaction happens. By that time, however, they might have already found another job, and you might have lost the best employee you’ll ever have.
Talent engagement is becoming the focus of the recruitment industry. Chatbots are the recruiters’ tool of choice to ensure talent engagement throughout the process. AI-powered chatbots can simulate humans well-enough to create an engaging point of interaction for applicants. They are the always-accessible source of information for applicants. Plus, they can be used to gather information from applicants, making the process of applying for a job significantly more interactive and engaging.
Finding the right talent is one of the most important things for ensuring good performance of a business. At a time when employers are getting increasingly competitive due to full employment, every bit that gives you an edge over the competition helps. Thanks to technological advancements, that little bit you’re looking for just might be something that has, until recently, been the stuff of science fiction.
