Humanly (humanly.io)

AI has the power to transform hiring for the better, but to truly unlock its benefits, it’s important to choose the right partner. In this clip from our LinkedIn Live: "From Awareness to Offer," Humanly’s CEO Prem Kumar shares key factors to consider when choosing an AI hiring vendor: ? Transparency & Explainability – Can they clearly explain how their AI works? ? Bias Audits & Governance – Are they regularly audited by a third party for fairness? ? Reliable Guardrails – Does the AI pull only fact-checked, accurate information? ? Cultural Fit – Does the AI align with your company’s values and brand? The right AI doesn’t just automate hiring—it makes it more fair, human, and effective.

Building trust with candidates is the foundation of a great hiring experience. And AI, when used thoughtfully, can help build that trust instead of breaking it. Candidates want speed in engagement and expectations/next steps set clearly. In addition to instant engagement (a must), here's how how AI can create a more transparent, candidate-friendly hiring process: ? Make it a two-way street – Candidates should be able to evaluate your company just as much as you evaluate them. Give them real insights, and know what parts of your employer brand promise resonate most. ? Be transparent – Don’t try to trick candidates into thinking they’re talking to a human. AI is part of the process—just be upfront about it! (That’s why we don’t give ours a human name.) ? Respect their time – Asking candidates to repeat the same info over and over? That’s a fast way to lose them. Use AI to streamline, not frustrate. ? Show your work – AI shouldn’t be a “black box.” Candidates (and hiring teams) should know how and why hiring decisions are made. No Wizard of Oz mystery here. Used the right way, AI can make hiring more human, not less. Let’s build trust by making the process clearer, fairer, and more efficient for everyone.

?? Made it Nashville for SHRMTalent 2025! Join me and the founders of four Startups tomorrow, in-person or streaming live, as we discuss emerging #HRTech and the impact it will have on the global function! Check out my panel Eran Heffetz of Bites, Logan Sugarman, CFA, of Refresh, Zain Zaidi of Transcrypts, Prem Kumar of Humanly (humanly.io) and Hadeel Al-Tashi the head of SHRMLabs and the person who gets all of the credit for pulling us together! https://lnkd.in/ef64aJ-k

The countdown to SHRM Talent 2025 is ON, and we’ve got an epic lineup just for you! Here’s what you can’t miss with Humanly in Nashville this year: ?? Booth 604 – Stop by to see how Humanly is transforming hiring with AI-powered solutions. Don’t just hear about it, experience it! ??? Prem’s Panel – Tuesday, March 25th, 10:30–11:30 AM CDT. Learn game-changing strategies from industry pros in this must-attend session. ?? Exclusive Happy Hour at LA Jackson – March 25th, 5:30–7:30 PM. Think rooftop views, amazing vibes, and even better conversations! ? Spots are filling up FAST for Happy Hour! RSVP now to snag your spot and join us for an unforgettable evening of networking and fun ??. ?? Don’t wait! RSVP here: https://lnkd.in/gbCd4Uhh We can’t wait to see you there! #SHRMTalent2025 #AIRecruiting #Humanly

In a recent article for The AI Journal, I wrote about how AI can elevate the human experience in talent acquisition — helping recruiters connect with more candidates, reduce bias, and focus on what they do best: building relationships. Check out the full article here:

Building trust with candidates starts with transparency and respect — and AI can play a powerful role in getting it right. In this clip from a recent webinar, Prem Kumar highlights four ways to build trust with candidates using AI: ? Make it a two-way street: Give candidates the chance to evaluate your company too. ? Be transparent: Don’t disguise your AI tools — explain their role in the process. ? Respect their time: Avoid asking candidates to repeat information they’ve already shared. ? Show your work: Don’t leave candidates wondering how decisions are made — be clear about what your AI is doing and why. Watch the full session, which also features Chloé Rada (Shaker Recruitment Marketing), Tracey Parsons (Flockity), and Guru Sethupathy (FairNow) to learn actionable strategies that create a more transparent, engaging candidate experience. ?? Link to the full webinar recording in the comments!

One of the biggest mistakes early-stage B2B founders make is building a product that doesn’t fit into existing workflows. Prem Kumar, CEO of Humanly (humanly.io), put it perfectly on my podcast this week: “If it isn’t built into their workflow, it doesn’t count. And if it’s not repeatable, it’s not something you want to scale.” Before scaling, ask yourself: Do we know exactly who we’re selling to? Do we have a predictable way to get their attention? Can we convert them consistently? Can we retain them over time? If the answer to any of these is “no,” your sales process isn’t repeatable yet. Prem shared how Humanly approached this journey from founder-led sales to building a scalable GTM motion. Full breakdown here: https://lnkd.in/eappaz6x

Pumped to be heading to Nashville for SHRM Talent! ?? I'll be speaking on Shaping Tomorrow’s HR: A Thought Leadership Panel on Emerging HRTech Solutions — join me Tuesday, March 25th at 10:30 AM CDT for a great conversation about the future of work. I'll also be hanging out at Booth 604 with the Humanly team. Stop by, say hi, and check out how we're using AI to make hiring faster and fairer. Oh, and if you're up for a rooftop Happy Hour, we're teaming up with Employ and Verified First. RSVP here ?? https://lu.ma/ss9j479u Let me know if you'd like to meet up. I would love to connect!

?? Last chance to vote! ?? We’re excited to be a finalist for Workplace of the Year in the 2025 GeekWire Awards! ?? Shoutout to our amazing team — and a special mention to Sarah Bernstein, who was recently featured in this GeekWire article about companies creating positive workplace cultures: https://lnkd.in/g-mxVQ5r ??? If you think Humanly deserves the win, vote here: https://lnkd.in/gNi5MVeh Thanks for the support — let’s make it happen! ?? #GeekWireAwards

What we've been up to the last week or so: meeting with customers and making small but mighty updates to our product. This most recent one makes for faster candidate searches, better results, and less time wrestling with syntax. Crafting the perfect Boolean string can sometimes feel like writing code - and often times not everyone calls things in their profile what you may be calling them in your search. When sourcing teams enter a Boolean search into Humanly, now, it intelligently translates it into filters that are easy to manage, adjust, and build upon and uses our inference engine to, for example, look at other skills and titles with different names but equivalent in scope. You can even make filters "hard criteria", "hard criteria for recent experience", "DQ", etc. We're aimed at smarter sourcing that’s built for how recruiters actually work, combined then with candidate conversion steps baked into your sourcing outreach (chat agent, phone agent, sms - to screen, schedule and answer candidate questions...). Excited to see how teams put this to use! ??