This Week, In Recruiting - Issue 129

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Open Kitchen: 100 Recruiter Skills

It's been nearly a year since OpenAI thrust AI into the mainstream with its sensational debut of ChatGPT. A lot has been written since on the impact it will have on the world of work, with projections of substantial productivity gains coming along with sobering assessments on the numbers of jobs which will be destroyed if AI adoption matches the innovation rate.

One of the most canonical studies has been Goldman Sachs report, Which US Workers Are Most Exposed to AI on the Jobs?, which ultimately introduced us to the revelation that it is knowledge workers who are going to be most at risk of being dis-intermediated by Generative AI.

Amongst those knowledge workers being at risk includes us, of course, in Recruiting & HR.

It's already clear that a great deal of the work that preoccupies recruiters can be augmented by AI, and then perhaps replaced by AI. It is therefore incumbent on us to analyse what we are doing, pro-actively apply AI to the places where it is going to happen anyway and refocus on the activities which are most resilient to it.

It's reasonable to guess what these might be. For the former, we might be able to place interview logistics, co-ordination, message composition, media creation, data analytics, report generation. For the latter, perhaps work such as relationship development, candidate experience, stakeholder management, cultural assessment, DEIB.

What we are have been missing though is a comprehensive library of recruiter skills graded against how exposed they were to AI. I thought it might be a useful resource to create, so I enlisted ChatGPT over the weekend to help me put it together a draft together.

Today's Open Kitchen is going to be breakdown of my interactions with ChatGPT and an introduction to the resource.

1. How it Started

It started with a stupid question of course, met with an equally stupid response.

However, both Adam and I immediately realised that existing compilations were not needed because generative AI can, as the name suggests, generate them from data it has been pre-trained on. There's load of published material on recruiter skills, a great deal of available on Common Crawl, which we know OpenAI uses and ChatGPT was able to deliver a valuable response from the first request.

2. Act as a Workforce Analyst...

Perhaps the most useful instruction to give GPT's is to have it operate as a persona who would have the domain knowledge to answer the question. I regret that I cannot recall who first introduced me to this technique because I think now that is probably the most important thing to do to prime the AI to provide the sort of output you wanted. 'Act as a' is to ChatGPT what the site.com operator is to Boolean search - ubiquitous and essential.

In this case, as I wanted to build a skills database for recruiters, I asked ChatGPT to act as a Workforce Analyst with a focus on the Staffing and Recruiting sector.

It's worth noting that my early start here wasn't particularly well thought out or designed. This itself was not by design, but I have come to realise the most efficient way to use ChatGPT is actually just to use it - the thing is going to help you along as you go.

3. Table Format as Output

Tabulation is a kind of data visualisation for text and I find it a much easier way to consume information this format. I also had a vague idea at this time that perhaps we wanted to introduce some grading or ranking system (in the end we had both) to the skills generated so settled on this presentation pretty early on in the flow. ChatGPT has been able to output tables for some time now - it was one of the first updates on product since it first launched.

Rather annoyingly, ChatGPT limited its output to 20 skills and followed up with asking whether you wanted it continue after every 20 skills it outputted. I wasn't able to find the instruction which would have it output the full table, so had to just say 'continue' 5 times.

4. Adding Columns for AI Exposure & AI Use Cases

Once the full table was generated - or rather 5 x tables of 20 skills each, I had the idea to add another column to the tables to test out whether ChatGPT was able to conduct a grading exercise on the degree of AI exposure each of the listed skills had. I asked it to add a further column to introduce an AI use case for the skill, as another test to see whether ChatGPT understood the instruction. If it could output a plausible use case for the AI against a particular skill, we would be more inclined to accept the grade it had given in the 4th column.

I was really impressed by this result. The grading intuitively felt appropriate to the skill and whilst the use cases were concise, they were indeed plausible. Excited by this, I had ChatGPT complete the full list to 100, again by instructing it to continue when it stopped at 20.

5. Download to Excel - Fail

Satisfied with this initial output I asked ChatGPT to output the tables into Excel. However it repeatedly failed to do this, outputting instead into PowerPoint, an outcome which neither I nor ChatGPT seemed to understand particularly well.

This wasn't a disaster as you can - awkward though it was - copy and paste the data from ChatGPT to a spreadsheet holding integrity of the table structure. A basic bit of formatting later and I had the sortable list of recruiter skills, graded on how exposed they were to AI, with a use case on how that looked like.

6. Skills Ranked In Order

I realised once I saw the table in the spreadsheet and tried to do some data sorting that something was missing - a rank order of the 100 skills in terms of how exposed they were to AI. This should correlate to the degree in which they could be augmented by AI (higher the percentage of augmentation potential, the higher they would be in rank order of risk of disintermediation) and so I asked ChatGPT to add a final column to add this rank order, 1-100.

This took a couple of iterations because I need to be more precise with my instructions, but again I would not have discovered the need for precision without first having interacted with ChatGPT.

It was maybe the first time I have ever used the term 'non-duplicative' but it seemed to work well in this case. ChatGPT now outputted a 6 column table, which included a rank order of the 100 skills on the risk of disintermediation by AI.

The Big List of 100 Recruiters (Ranked By AI Exposure & AI Risk)

So that's it so far. I'm going to experiment with this list as we go and maybe have a go at expanding the description of the skill, improve the detail of the use cases and perhaps manually add some examples or reference material which community members can do further reading on. As ChatGPT is still limited to 2021 data, I may have to use Google Bard or Bing AI or something else that is connected to the Internet in order to bring up these references, because I should imagine none of them exist in the pre-trained dataset.

I would love for all of you to get involved in this - either by contributing example, use case or reference material. And, of course, please do make use of the resource in your own career planning and planning for the department. I've embedded the list a page here and you can access the raw Google data from the same page.

Now, out of the kitchen, onto the lounge ??

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What's in the News?

X - formerly known as Twitter - aims to collect Biometric & Employment Data

Attempts by Elon Musk to turn Twitter into the 'app for everything' inevitably encounters the real ID verification problem - something that was never going to be resolved by paying for blue ticks. Now it looks like settings might default to collecting biometric data, as well as employment history, in some sort of as yet unknown way. It's a mess obviously, but I wonder whether Musk's cavalier approach to data privacy end up with a database of candidates which employers might actually be able to tap. BBC with the report...though I think LinkedIn is safe for now!

If you are a recruitment technology vendor with some news to share, comment below and let me know your news

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What's On Offer?

FREE Recfest USA tickets for Open-to-Work Recruiters

Repeating the initiative for Recfest Knebworth, where 200 tickets were distributed to recruiters & HR professionals currently out of work, this is another magnificent gesture from the magnificent Jamie Leonard.

FOR US recruiters looking for work, this is an outstanding opportunity to meet with hundreds of employers and thousands of your peers. Contact Jamie directly for your claim, or comment below 'RECFESTFREE' to claim.

If you are a vendor and have something you want to offer the recruiting community, comment below and let me know what the offer is. It will go in next week's issue. PS: I don't accept affiliate deals, so everything you offer gets passed on entirely and directly to the community!

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What's Going On?

Big List of Recruiting & HR Events to Attend in 2023

Have we come back from summer holidays yet? September is really a critical month for recruiters as we look down at the next 4 months of business for the year. In person events pick up also to a massive crescendo from now, so make sure you add the events you're going to at the bottom of the spreadsheet if you don't see it there and bookmark the spreadsheet so that you can keep an eye on what's going on. Big List is up and updated,?here!

Recfest Nashville, 13-14 Sept, Bicentennial Park, Nashville, TN, USA

Recfest comes to the USA, and I'm coming along with it! Going to give a talk on AI and whether technology can ever deliver us freedom from drudgery or will the value always be captured by the few. It's not a talk I want to give, but I think it is one I have to give. Smarter people than I will be in attendance, along with 1000+ delegates from all over the world. Tickets going fast - get them?here

How Mature TA Organisations Structure Interview Process, 20th Sept, 1pm EST / 10am PST

Delighted to be kicking off a Maturity Model series with Brighthire, starting later this month with How Mature Orgs Build a Mature Interview process. If you're a TA leader looking to professionalise your companys approach to interviewing, this show is for you. Register here

In-house Recruitment London, 21st Sept, Islington Business Centre, London

Look at this line up here. I'm going to be there, talking about who knows what, but the chat elsewhere is likely to be worth seeing. Tickets are free, but you have to register?here

Differences in Compensation Practices 2022 vs 2023, Tues 26th 11.00am CET

How has compensation changed over the past 12 months? We're going to do a deep dive into how employers have responded to the changing conditions of the external market - have salaries gone up, and if so, where and for whom? Have salaries gone down, and if so for whom? Lets get a conversation on this - join myself, Virgile Raingeard, CEO (Figures) and Neil Carberry, CEO (Recruitment & Employment Confederation) - register here

Employer Branding on a Budget, Wed 27 Sept, 2pm BST

Well this is proving to be a popular one already - a proper topic for tough times! If you are a TA leader looking to upgrade how the market perceives your employer, how do you do it with low or no budget? We're going to be talking about the DIY techniques you can use to elevate your business above the competition without spending a penny. Register?here

Gender, AI & the Global Job Market, Thurs 28 Sept, 2pm BST

We've got some superb insight for you on what actually goes in interviews.?Anton Boner, Commercial Director (Screenloop) is going to present data on how candidates are behaving on platform, including insight on gender, AI and the state of the job market. It's going to be fascinating folks - register?here

Candidate Expectations, Frustrations & Preferences, Thurs 28 Sept, 3pm BST

Reviewing the Cronofy report on candidate expectations - going to be deep dive on some proprietary research which tracks the changing expectations of candidates, especially on interview logistics. Register?here

Talent Acquisition Summit, 3-4 November, Bogota, Colombia

So I suppose this is happening! Good job my favourite coffee stall on Hoxton Street Market is ran by a Colombian family, I will use the opportunity to brush up on my Spanish. Or rather, learn it, as I don't have any! Looking forward to the event by my buddy Carlos Guillermo Lopez in his home town, and delighted to be bringing friends from Europe along for the ride. Tickets?here?- see you there?

If you have an event, webinar or podcast going on next week and want it featured on next week's newsletter,?comment below?with the link and event details. Don't forget to at mention me so that I see it

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Who's Hiring?

Talent Manager (m/f/x), QuoIntelligence, Remote from Spain,

People Operations Specialist, Vio.com, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Talent Partner, V7, London, UK

People Operations Specialist, Blinkist, Berlin, Germany

Senior Recruiter, Western Union, Vienna, Austria

If you are hiring for recruiters or HR people, you are welcome to post jobs FOR FREE on the Brainfood Jobs Job Board. Use coupon code: BTCFREE for 100% discount.

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Whose Story?

Juliana Park, Founder, HRX Brasil

In a short space of time, Juliana has become such a great and visible contributor to the brainfood community, whether by commenting on posts, making recommendations and even livestreaming Brainfood Live. Working and living in a country that I'd love to know about, it's been great to get to know Juliana a little bit better. I asked her 20 Questions - here are answers.

If you want to answer 20 Questions comment below to volunteer. This is an exercise in fostering community and open to all

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Whose Available?

That's 367 members of the community. If you are a recruiter or HR person that is looking for work, join the Brainfood Talent Collective?here. If you are an employer hiring recruiters, apply for a company account?here, and use the code: BTCFREE to freely post jobs and search the db.

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Who's Moving?

Guilherme Lozano joins Cobbleweb as Talent Acquisition Manager, having previously worked as Talent Lead for Elisa IndustrIQ, Alvin and UpCloud. It has been a tough job search journey for so many of us in these past 12 months - mega credit to Gui for being transparent and sharing experiences and insight. This actually helps more people than you might think - it is important to know that you're not alone in the job search! Congratulations Gui and keep on speaking up and out ??

Tanya Roxburgh joins Vivup as Talent Acquisition Manager, having previously worked at Wunderman Thompson and CandySpace. Comp & Bens might be next mature category to experience significant challenge from tech disruptors. Good to operate as a recruiter, especially on essential services sectors like Public Healthcare

Tush Wijeratne joins WPP as Global Talent Acquisition Director for Corporate & IT in a big move for one of the RL100 crew. Previously lead the TA at fellow communications businesses such as GroupM and Publicis Sapient, this is a hands-fit-glove type of move!

Erika Enberg joins Main Sequence as Head of People. I think working for an investment fund as a people person has got to be one of the most interesting job types to do, working across a portfolio, typically dealing at strategic level. One of those jobs I should have done, in a different timeline!

Finally, some promotions to celebrate: Bastian Müller goes up to Global Head of Talent Acquisition at OLX, Laura Spyrou goes up to Senior Talent Acquisition Manager at The Water Corporation, Alexander Bell is promoted to Lead Recruiter at RockSteady Studios, Francesca Basso goes to Head of HR Business Partnering at Tourlane and finally the awesome Billie Graham continues her awesome career pivot, now as Women's & Girls Football Development Coordinator at Arsenal FC. Congratulations all!

If you have made a senior exec appointment to your business,?and feel the wider community needs to know about it,?comment below?with the details and see it featured in next weeks issue.?Don't forget to @ mention me in it so that I see it

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What Are You Doing?

Ilja Mitrofanov, Founder of GeekyPeople, launches TAVA, a new tool which helps employers build a Talent Directory for Alumni employees. We all know about the quick and dirty Google Sheets option but if you want to upgrade to more professional version you can do it for FREE here.

Dov Zavadskis launching a ChatGPT Training business, BeFriend AI. If you want to struggling to get going with ChatGPT consider a couple of 'breakthrough' training sessions which can help you embed the fundamentals. Like any new skill, it takes time and effort and you can likely reduce both by getting some external support. Contact Dov directly on here!

Tom Bilton launches are new business Atomic Talent, a staffing firm focusing on the biotech sector. Going to see a lot more of these new business formations tackling the society wide pivot toward the tangible sector. Good luck Tom - let me know how you get on.

If you are doing something new,?comment below?with what it is and share a link to where you want people to go. Don't forget to mention me in it so that I see it

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End Notes

Well, September is here folks and I think the rest of the year becomes immediately packed up until mid December. I'm wishing everyone here a very good run to the end of the year. Let's do this

Hung

Hung Lee is the curator of?Recruiting Brainfood, and now This Week In Recruiting. Subscribe to both if you are into recruiting or HR or just interested in world of work.