Recruitment BOTS vs The Human Recruiter

It has been a while since my last article, but I wanted to share a story with you that recently bothered me intensely.

I want you all to think about whether certain technology really can replace us in the business setting!

Disclaimer note before I start; please be aware that this article is only my personal opinion and not that of my current employer. With that out the way, let me share with you a new disturbing recruitment trend.

A close friend of mine recently applied to a high profile technical role within a major IT global organization. Her work experience had been in a similar position for more than 15 years and matched all of the advertised requirements.

After spending more than 30 minutes inputting data into their customized system, she received an automated rejection within 5 minutes of her application.

I have been in the recruitment industry for more than 20 years and have seen many changes during this time, but this new trend seemed odd to me that someone at this level would be rejected when they matched all the requirements for the position.

Based on this story I decided to do some personal investigative work and find out the why behind this?

Internet investigating didn’t take that long I have to say; which is also worrying in itself. Google search engine and three websites later I find out that this specific company and many other similar IT organizations use artificial intelligence recruitment bots to do resume screenings as the initial part of the Talent Acquisition process.

If you are unsure what this means, it means that a software algorithm has been created that pulls out key words in your resume and decides instantly if you are qualified or not for a vacancy. No human being ever sees your resume unless the selected key words are identified within the algorithm.

So you take 30 minutes to complete an application and then some high tech software decides in less than 5 minutes that you are not worthy of the role.

In a world where every company is competing to hire the best talent, this whole scenario does not create that warm and positive employer branding experience that makes top candidates choose for them as an employer of choice.

Taking it a little further, I asked my friend to share her resume and the advertised role with me as I am by nature a pathologically curious creature. What I discovered when I put them side by side is that a few key words were not overtly highlighted on her resume vs what a bot would need to see in order to qualify her for the role. 

In my opinion, what the bot could not recognize is that there are many nuances within word sequences and a variety of words that could be used to describe the same thing. Had a human viewed her resume they would have recognized she had done all the elements of the open position, but not listed them in a robotic format.

I recognize as technology evolves the algorithms can become more complex and this will help solve the initial problem. However, what it does not address is that the individual applying for a position may be qualified for multiple vacancies within an organization and potential top talent is being rejected based on that singular application.

Imagine being that candidate who was been rejected within 5 minutes of applying for a role, would you want to apply for alternative positions in that company?

Overall, this process gives the impression of what to expect of life within this organizations corporate culture. I imagine at this point many applicants would apply to alternative companies that have a more human element and where they can be genuinely appreciated as an individual.

The reason I feel so strongly about this is that my friend did exactly what I described above!

The Bot screening company lost top talent with her rejection. Therefore, she applied to a competitor organization and was subsequently hired in a very similar role. The only difference was how she perceived the whole experience.

Technology vs human and in this circumstance the human approach triumphed by far.

Some of you out there are probably thinking that I am naturally biased as someone who makes a living out of recruitment and that I could be potentially against the automation of my trade; but you couldn’t be more wrong.

I am a recruiter who uses multiple tools both automated and human to hire the best talent for open positions. Having a strong applicant tracking system (ATS), using Linkedin, Headhunting tools, Effective interview techniques, Process automation and procedure is ALL needed in successful Talent Acquisition departments.

However, remember we need to make the whole experience painless for candidates and display our companies from a cultural perspective. We only have one chance to make a good first impression, cliche I know, but also very true. Only a human can truly demonstrate corporate culture and why they are an employer of choice.

A personal experience countering the whole bot situation is a recent applicant who applied for a role within my organization, yet on first glance didn’t meet all the requested requirements.  However, in reviewing his resume as a human being and carrying out a short exploratory call with him I found out he was qualified for at least three alternative roles in the company. Not only was he the perfect cultural fit with his attitude, integrity and ambitions, but also I knew after speaking with him he could add value in many areas of the business. This man was subsequently hired into a different role based on my recommendation and has been adding value for more than 6 months to date. That aside, there is no way an algorithm system could have that initial exploratory call, identify the cultural fit and make recommendations to internal stakeholders about potential top talent.

While I understand that everything is about efficiency and saving time from a profit perspective, it should never be at cost of treating people with respect. I have always been of the school of thinking that dictates when someone has taken the time to apply; they deserve the courtesy of being seriously considered and this cannot be achieved with the current software being offered.

So a short question to all you IT companies out there considering automating your recruitment screening process.

Is the culture and employee brand you want to promote that of clinical algorithm that does not take into consideration who candidates actually are and the talent they can bring to your organization? The answer seems simple to me in an age where we are all competing to hire the best!

Although there is could be an element of bias in some recruitment processes with the human element; this can be managed by interview training around hiring for competency, D&I training for hiring managers and recruiters actively countering their bias when screening applications.

Gone is the bygone era where we spend an interview finding reasons not to hire someone and trying to find faults in their skill sets. In this modern day and age, we need to attract top talent to our companies, sell the corporate culture and find all the positive reasons to hire.

Artificial intelligence recruitment bots have been developed to see past the bias; what they do not do is see potential in people for development and alternative organizational fits

Not all AI Bots are negative in my personal opinion. Linkedin and several other candidate resource centers have created bots that can assist candidates with resume improvement, interview support and practice interviews. In these circumstances, bots provide a knowledge that is not easily accessible in the open market; as recruiters are generally busy recruiting.

Therefore, in closing I leave you with this thought. Even with the best algorithms in the world, who would you want to manage your recruitment application? Human or Bot?