Don’t Fear the Robots: Job Seeker Edition

I have seen a lot of LinkedIn posts from job seekers concerned about the impact AI is having on hiring.? In today’s incredibly tough job market, understandably everyone wants to be given fair consideration.??

Ghosting and application black holes are more common.? And with AI proliferating now, it is natural to think there may be a correlation.?

I design recruiting operations, and I am here to tell you four reasons you should NOT fear AI in the hiring process.??

It is not as prevalent as you think (yet).

You might assume that AI has taken over the hiring process, but that actually isn’t the case.

The explosion of AI occurred at the same time as a dramatic downturn in the job market.? One of the biggest areas impacted by disappearing jobs has been talent acquisition.? When companies stop hiring, recruiting teams are downsized, leaving a record number of recruiters out of work while those remaining are overworked.?

You would expect companies to look for ways to do more with less by using AI, but that is not happening.? In most companies, the freezing of budgets for recruiting expands into tools.? For companies with lower hiring demands than previous years, new paid solutions (those with the most mature AI) are not being implemented.?

Of the AI tools being used by recruiters, most are either free or are features released on their existing tech stack.? The adoption of new paid tools is not very widespread.? Innovative recruiters are finding ways to incorporate AI in their work, but not in the way you think.?

The robots are doing different jobs than you think.

While AI is increasingly used in recruiting, it’s primarily being used for things other than candidate evaluation.? Recruiting has a lot of administrative tasks, especially when managing today’s volume of applicants and these are the tasks that AI is supporting.?

You know how you use AI to match your resume to a? job description?? That job description was likely written?using AI. While it still has a ways to go, AI can create a good first draft that can then be edited by a recruiter or hiring manager to its final form.? Recruiters have learned how to use free tools such as ChatGPT to create content in minutes that once took hours.??

If you have been informed that your meeting is being recorded, or you noticed a notetaker in the Zoom with you, chances are the notetaker is using AI to summarize the conversation.? This can be used to provide concise feedback and even help guide interviewers.??

AI assisted scheduling has addressed the challenge of getting interviewers and candidates together.? AI chatbots help handle initial questions and route candidates appropriately.? Tailored outreach communication, custom interview questions, and improved analytics are all recruiter tasks that AI can streamline.??

There are candidate matching solutions, but the most advanced ones are in sourcing (the search for talent) instead of application review. Companies like Talentpair use custom models trained by recruiters to evaluate a deep pool of passive candidates who might be interested in the position, then automate outreach out to those who are the best fit.

There are very few applicant tracking systems that have developed effective AI Assisted application review. Ashby is one of the more mature solutions and their new feature just recently hit the market.??

Applicant review by AI is NOT the norm yet, but it may eventually get there.? When it does, I still don’t believe you have anything to fear.?

It is not as automatic as it seems.

There is an erroneous perception that AI is capable of doing things independently.? That’s not the way it works.? Before AI can do anything, it has to be taught how to do it.? While some work is being done through OpenAI API, effective matching solutions will be custom built.?

The application review models, like the one created by Ashby, require significant set up by the recruiters to work.? Detailed, measurable criteria are established for each unique job and AI analyzes and highlights the experience.? However, it is still the recruiter making the decision if the candidate moves forward or not.?

Sometimes it’s not as automatic for you either.? You may interact directly with an AI system during the application process through a questionnaire or chatbot.? While you may love a one-click application, providing additional information can enrich the information recruiters use to make better informed decisions.? I highly recommend continuing the process as validated job match systems, like the one offered by Affintus , not only support decision makers, but you as a candidate by analyzing data and providing you with detailed, informed career advice.?

It helps to remember that while AI may be analyzing and presenting data, it is still people who are ultimately making the hiring decision. When AI is used, its recommendations are built on a volume of data that humans simply aren't capable of processing.? While you may not like the decisions made, they will be informed decisions and not just a computer randomly deciding it doesn’t like you.?

It is not as biased as you fear.

The number one fear I hear about AI is the potential for bias.? The important thing to keep in mind is that what bias may exist in AI is significantly less than human-based processes.??

People have unconscious biases.? Recruiters are people.? The traditional resume review process is a rich environment for various biases. Research has proven that even your name can result in fewer interviews .? At the risk of offending my industry peers, I must admit that the traditional resume review process by a single individual, with no experience doing the job they are filling, has a high potential for bias.??

When AI products are developed, there is significant effort made in reducing bias including taking individual biases out of the picture.? No one would buy a product that introduces bias to the process.? The products go through a strenuous audit process to understand and mitigate any potential bias. These audits and other validation processes are generally publicly available (Ashby example ).

If you want to see a reduction in bias, champion the use of tools and assessments that actually will reduce bias.?

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The robots are coming.

The coming years will see a significant increase in the application of AI in hiring.? It is natural to be concerned about the impact these new products will have.? Anything new creates apprehension.? However, when implemented correctly ,? AI supported hiring decisions will be less biased, faster, more well informed, and provide better feedback than existing processes.??

Embrace the robots.? They are only here to help.? (This article was written without assistance from AI.)

#AI #hiringtech #career