How AI is changing your job search

When it comes to recruiting, many people focus on the problems technology can create. Even in this newsletter, we've talked about the headaches caused by applicant tracking systems (ATS), for example. Yet, a slew of companies are working to introduce more tech in the hiring process, and they say it will be a net benefit.

“It’s not like technology is not being used, but it’s being used in such a janky way,” said Frida Polli, who is CEO and co-founder of Pymetrics, which uses neuroscience and artificial intelligence to match applicants to the right positions. Like an ATS, their system can serve as a tool for companies to comb through the initial onslaught of applicants.

Polli let me try out her company’s applicant system, which features about 20 to 25 minutes of online activities. At the end, I got a breakdown of my cognitive, social and emotional characteristics. The report found that — among other traits – I’m generally fair-minded, an efficient planner, a master multi-tasker and go above and beyond to achieve desired results.

If I was applying for a position at a company that uses Pymetrics, my results would be compared to the reports of high-performing employees in similar roles. If my results aligned with their reports, I’d likely move on in the hiring process. If not, the company has the option to see if my results align with any other open positions.

The system may decide an applicant for a marketing role isn’t an ideal candidate, for example. Yet, it may determine — based on the applicant’s results — that he or she is an ideal candidate for an open sales position.

“It’s revolutionary in the sense that we match candidates to the role they’re best suited for,” Polli told me.

Finding the right fit

After observing the hiring struggles faced by institutions and candidates in academia, Polli said she wanted to use what she had learned from working at Harvard and MIT to make the experience better.

One of the issues she wanted to address is that candidates eliminated from consideration for one position at a company are often eliminated across the board. Another issue is that people may ultimately end up in positions where they don’t excel.

“I think we’ve all been in situations where we don’t fit the role, it’s not fun.”

Results suggest that her team has — so far — succeeded in getting candidates in the right positions. One of its clients found salespeople hired using their AI tools made 33% more sales than their colleagues recruited through traditional methods, according to this 2018 presentation. They also stayed at the company longer.

AI technology may also help job seekers who feel displaced in a modern job market. A person laid off after 20 or 30 years may find that their role no longer exists or is in demand. Tests like those from Pymetrics have the potential to point those job seekers toward new careers where they’d excel with a bit of training.

Overcoming bias

AI also has the potential to overcome some of the biases introduced into the hiring process by humans. After all, the technology doesn’t judge you based on age, appearance, race or socioeconomic background.

As we’ve discussed before in this newsletter, recruiters have biases whether they know it or not — everyone does. They may unconsciously give applicants who graduated from their alma mater an advantage, for example.

As a result, the slate of candidates that ends up meeting recruiters and/or hiring managers have the potential to be picked by an algorithm with less bias than a human. Polli says their clients have seen a consistent increase in diversity.

The caveat to this benefit is that not all AI technology is unbiased. Amazon disbanded a team building an internal AI hiring system in 2017 after it showed a consistent bias in favor of male job applicants, according to a 2018 Reuters story, citing anonymous sources. The report said the algorithm developed the bias because most of the resumes used to train it were from men.

Polli said they audit their algorithm on a regular basis to make sure it’s recommending an equal number of men and women, people of different ages, people of different ethnic and racial groups and from across the socioeconomic spectrum.

Will you encounter AI?

While this type of AI is not currently the norm in the hiring process, you’ll likely encounter the technology at some point down the road. Several of the recruiters and talent industry experts I spoke with at a conference last month were excited about the increased presence of AI in the hiring process. They sincerely believe it will help job seekers and companies.

The good news is that when you encounter this type of AI in the future, there’s nothing you must do to prepare for the interaction. The technology will try to identify your natural strengths and weaknesses to find a job where you’re most likely to succeed.

“It’s not about trying to fit yourself in a cookie cutter box,” Polli said. “I know that’s a little different than the general messages that are out there, but it’s a true message.”

What are your thoughts about AI being introduced into the hiring process? Join the conversation.

? The follow-up:

Job search experts often say that the quality of your applications matters more than the quantity you submit to employers. In the last edition of #GetHired, we discussed how to properly read job ads to better pick which positions are worthy of your time and attention. Your best bet is to first read the role’s responsibilities, said Ashley Watkins, the owner and founder of Write Step Résumés. If you have done or can do at least 80% of what’s listed, you’ll want to take a deeper look at the rest of the ad. Another tip? Don’t just read the ad. Dig deeper and try to connect with someone at the company. Here’s what people are saying about the advice.

? Other news to help you #GetHired:

Many unemployed Americans remain discouraged about the job market even though unemployment is at a 50-year low. About 7% of unemployed Americans say they haven’t looked for a job in the past four weeks and don’t believe they match any that exist, according to data from the Labor Department. While that’s better than the 10% of unemployed Americans who shared those feelings during the Great Recession, it’s still higher than the 5% that reported those sentiments before the downturn, reports Bankrate. Here’s what people are saying about the data.

Overall demand for workers in the U.S. appears to be waning, suggests the latest government data, which show job openings fell 4% from a year ago to 7.1 million. August marks the third consecutive month that the number of job openings decreased, reports The Wall Street Journal, which warns that the 2009 financial crisis followed the last consecutive three-month drop in postings. Here’s what people are saying about the trend.

Transportation is moving full speed ahead with hiring. The industry added 16,000 jobs in September despite the U.S. being near full employment, reports Business Insider. The hiring boom is thanks — in part — to the retail industry, which needs drivers to get goods to customers. Additionally, urban areas are also fueling the job growth, needing an increasing number of workers to staff their transit systems. Despite the industry’s growth, trucking continues to be hit by a dwindling demand from manufacturing. The sector lost 4,200 jobs in September. Here’s what people are saying about the numbers.

? Up next:

I remember signing up for Facebook as I was graduating from high school. Classmates would post some questionable photos of themselves and share some interesting perspectives. I don’t know how potential employers would feel about some of those photos and posts if they stumbled upon them today. In the next edition of #GetHired, we’ll discuss what social media recruiters and hiring managers look at while making hiring decisions. We’ll also talk about how job seekers should treat social media. Have you ever got or lost a job thanks to social media? Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to reach out to me if you have ideas on topics or questions I should address in future editions of #GetHired.