How Artificial Intelligence will help recruitment professionals

If we explore the talent attraction and recruitment sector, we will find different opinions regarding the role of the “recruiter, recruitment professional or talent acquisition advisor”, but all of them have a common factor: those whose job it is to dedicate time to the cycle of attracting, recruiting and onboarding talent are an essential part of the equation.

It is a full-time, key role which spans all the stages of the cycle within the company. These professionals combine an interesting set of ingredients: a pinch of applied coaching for managing relations with those who require talent and with the candidates who will make the difference; a millilitre of data analysis to examine the figures and the story these figures tell in order to take appropriate decisions; a cup of design and several cups of strategy and business acumen (both internal and external), acting as marketing professionals with an understanding of company vision and objectives and of external talent markets; and, of course, a handful of “storytellers” (to suite the target audience, client, candidates and colleagues).

And what role does technology play? Who does it serve? Once again, it serves the person, both the recruitment professional and the candidate.

What can technology facilitate to the recruitment and attraction professional?

Have more availability for their mission: attract and select talent

We can slowly wave goodbye to the most repetitive tasks, as technological innovation already makes automation possible, especially at the shortlisting stage. Thanks to Machine Learning (ML) or Automatic learning, which allows:

• Automatic screening of CVs. We have seen how a CV “travels” along a machine and is read by that machine, as each paragraph of the CV is input into the relevant electronic fields (training, experience, etc.).
• Detecting (in a matter of seconds) the ideal candidates for a position, through word searches.
• Accessing a larger number of candidates, by searching multiple recruitment sources.

Another advantage of technological progress is that of optimising the time assigned to the preselection stage: arranging a meeting with candidates, verifying whether they meet certain criteria, carrying out face-to-face interviews or evaluating them. Video interviews allow us to interview and evaluate candidates remotely using a number of electronic devices. This solution means that you can:

• Send a link with a programmed interview, thus doing away with the need to arrange a meeting or assess the candidate over the phone.
• Evaluate interviews remotely: when, how and where is most convenient for you! And without the need to take any notes, as all answers are recorded.
• Provide real interview data to the Hiring Manager, thus aiding the decision on who to interview face-to-face.

Facilitate the attraction and information to potential candidates

How? Through recruitment bots based on Artificial Intelligence. These virtual assistants are the latest development in recruitment, carrying out interviews and allowing us to assess the candidates in real time. Essentially, what they do is ask simple questions for screening, then analyse the answers and arrange meetings with candidates who go on to the next stage. They can also facilitate attraction of and information to potential candidates through their presence on company websites.

Improving candidate shortlisting based on rigorous and reliability criteria, allowing a better knowledge of candidates

Technology mitigates subjectivity and biases. An example is language processing software (IA) which can identify inappropriate language patterns (gender, ambition, etc.) in job adverts, and thus achieve consistency in candidate attraction.

And where does facial, voice or text recognition applied to recruitment come into the equation? This will tell us objectively whether there is consistency between what candidates actually say and reality, i.e., degree of enthusiasm, passion, real interest for the position, amongst others.

It might appear that technology will make recruitment colder and more distant, almost automated. There’s certainly plenty of scope for debate on the issue. But we must be alert and open to these new allies.

What we do know is that it will mitigate potential biases, give us a better insight on candidates, and save time which can be invested in our interaction with shortlisted candidates. Technological innovation in the field of employee recruitment will open up more conversation paths, improve our relationship with candidates, and optimise resources.

We are all building the future together 😉