This Week, In Recruiting - Issue 97

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Open Kitchen: Where Are We with ChatGPT?

**Recruiter Use Cases for ChatGPT, Part2** - now up, register here now!

So last Friday's Brainfood Live on Recruiter Use Cases for ChatGPT was a record breaker on every channel it was broadcast, and on every number we can measure. We had more people register, watch and engage than we have ever had on any show. At peak, over 1000+ of you were watching live concurrently - pretty much unheard of for anything that isn't a major scale industry event!

I've never seen the recruiter community so hungry for information on this breakthrough technology, and as such, I'm immediately going to do a part 2, on Feb 10th, at 12pm GMT. You can get an early seat now, on the link above or here. We are going to repeat the format - practitioner experimentation and use cases, new product demo's, closing off with longer term view from some industry wise owls as where this technology is going to be taking the industry.

If you want to take part, comment below and say why your product or use case needs to be featured!

I'm going to add some thoughts myself on what I've learned over the past 7 days, so this is the topic of today's Open Kitchen:

1. Research is Primary Use Case

There is a reason why education institutions have been amongst the first institutions to ban ChatGPT for students, even going as far as to go back to in-person written examinations in order to grade a students progress. For recruiters, ChatGPT's primarily value in it's current state will be the same - a source of education which responds with greater relevance to queries than any search engine can do. The reason is because it is not retrieving information, but generating it from information it has already ingested ('Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer'). Now who decided what information was to be ingested, and how such information was to be weighted, is not something I know, and is already subject to political conflict online and will no doubt become another front the culture and propaganda war which we are all being subjected to.

However, for the vast majority of topics concerning recruiters, the output returned from a decent prompt is vastly superior to expected output from search engines.

For the output above, I imagined myself as a tech recruiter who wanted to know why some companies choose one JS framework over another. This would help me better understand the community I would be recruiting from, enhancing my credibility and capability in the role. There's no way Google could have delivered the above result, not because the information isn't there, but because ChatGPT has reorganised existing information according to my instructions. This would have no doubt accelerated my learning curve and productivity if it was available to me back-in-the-day.

For recruiters looking to move to a different vertical, hiring in a new territory or region, or simply looking to deepen their industry knowledge, ChatGPT will become 'the most obvious first place to go'. It is an incredible boon, which you must take full advantage of.

2. Copy Generation

The thing generates text faster than you can type it. The greater mechanical efficiency of text production is itself a good enough reason to use ChatGPT, irrespective of what we might think of the quality of the output. As it happens, the quality is usually better than the average human writer also, free as it is from syntactical and grammatical errors, or overly florid writing style, which I am very often guilty of. As well not writing proper sentences. I expect the absolute volume of generated text to soon overtake hand typed copy on the internet - it is already happening with early adopters who have brought ChatGPT into their personal workflows in textual production.

Have a think about all the circumstances in your recruiting workflow where you are typing a keyboard - this is a place ChatGPT or something else built using Open.AI at the backend - will play a role.

There are significant data privacy issues, significant ethical concerns, but the pressure to secure gains in productivity ('do more with less folks!') will easily override these concerns. In any case, we are already using technology to scale copy generation - after all, what else is a mass mail merge other than using technological innovation to 'scale communication'?. We have to embrace it, we have to get good at it, we have to become Centaurs - AI augmented recruiters

3. Textual Processing, Validating, Summarising

ChatGPT can also be used for processing existing textual documentation. How about using ChatGPT to audit your company copy for gendered language? How about translating that copy into another language, for a localisation project you're about to launch? Those massive 100 page 'state of' reports which no one has got time to read - copy and paste and summarise please.

One of the earliest use cases has been the use of ChatGPT as a coding assistant, to double check lines of code for human error, or to come up with more elegant solutions. We have even seen early examples of non-programmers using ChatGPT to produce functional code which then go on to production - a democratisation of product making, entirely gazumping the low-code / no code movement, which was the future up until 6 weeks ago.

So processing text - something which used to require, you know, reading - can be offloaded to an AI which is currently free to use. Smart product makers are already rushing to market with tech solutions built using Open AI backend. How about 'AI Summary' by Metaview, which CEO Siadhal Magos demo'd for us during the show?

Pretty much looks like the end of interview note taking, something which recruiters have been doing since interviews became a way of assessing candidates. This is only the start. Everything we currently do on a keyboard, is going to have a GAI tool which promises to do it better.

4. Tech Products Per Minute

Speaking of which, the rate at which these products is hitting the market is insane. We are in the a pre-Cambrian explosion of GAI, a diversification of experiments which only occurs when something seismic has altered the environment in a profound way. I gave up trying to track innovations a couple of weeks ago, as every day a new product dropped into my DM's or was shared in a community group. If you want to keep abreast of developments, there are probably two resources which are relevant: Irina Shamaeva's group ChatGPT for Recruitment on FB which is the most buzzy group I've been part of since for a long time. Great place to learn from others, as well as discover new tools in GAI.

Or if you really want to go meta, how about signing up for an AI generated newsletter about generative AI products? Please do both and let me know how you get on.

5. Paradigm Shift in Discovery

There is a reason why ChatGPT has been a 'code red' notice for Google; since 2008-09, Google has maintained and extended its dominance of the search engine market at over 90% market share. Few might have imagined that its position as the 'gateway to the internet' would ever be challenged, but it is the nature of the game that disruptions are really dislocations - unforeseen, sudden and permanent. As such, Google are rushing out their DeepMind Sparrow as a ChatGPT killer, maybe as soon as the next few days

Whatever the case, our expectations of information discovery have fundamentally changed; we no longer want or expect a paginated experience with long lists of blue links which lead us god-knows-where. We want textual output which corresponds to our textual inputs, and we want it free of ads, SEO, clickbait and the rest.

This UX revolution will impact software design at mature organisations, in the same way smart phones changed the direction of mobile app development. We are going to expect - and see - a conversational AI front end, working on proprietary data of that particular piece of software. It may even be the end of design as we know - once the interface becomes so simple to use, it will not require the lubrication of design for us to use it. Go take a look at your ATS after this post and imagine that instead of a dashboard that looks like a flight simulator, you see a single input box that responds to natural language inputs. We just got to go dark mode and pick a nice font.

What Recruiters Have Got To Do Now

One of the many great jokes in Douglas Adam's HitchHikers Guide to the Galaxy?is that the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything calculated by the supercomputer Deep Thought after seven and a half million years of thought was ....42. The joke is both funny and profound, because the useless of the answer is telling us that the most important component of knowledge discovery is the question.

And so for us Recruiters, what we have to do now is ask ourselves the question, how do I get fluent with Generative AI and how can I translate this fluency into market value. I think ChatGPT does go to premium, I think it will be worth the monthly fee.

Sign up to the webinar folks and keep the conversation going on this topic.

Now out of the kitchen, onto the lounge ??

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What's in the News?

MyInterview raise $11Million Series A, Appoint new Co-CEO

The opportunity is there for video interviewing apps, especially if they can do more than optimise for efficiency. De-biasing, auto interview transcriptions, interview intelligence, generative interview summaries....all this is there to be played for in this space. HR TechCube with the article here

Recruitment Agency Marketplace Hiring Hub in'Multi-Millions' Fundraise

Getting the best recruitment agency to deliver against your vacancy has been a problem no one has been able to solve - fantastic to see continued optimism that Hiring Hub might be the one to do it. I can't remember when I first met CEO Simon Swan - long time ago now - and it's great to see now how far this platform will go.

If you are a recruitment service provider or technology business and have any news to share,?comment below,?this is your application to get into next week's addition of This Week, In Recruiting. Make sure to @ mention me so that I see it

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What's On Offer?

Not much it seems!

Come on folks, if you are a recruitment vendor with something to sell to recruiters, you can address at least 28,000 of them in this free-to-use space. The only price you pay is 'give the community some sort of discount'. Comment below if you have any thing in exchange for this free ad space!

If you are a recruitment service provider or recruitment technology vendor have any exclusive offer for the community, comment below with your offer in order to be included in next week's edition of This Week, In Recruiting. Make sure to mention me so that I see it.

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What's Going On?

Big List of in-Person Recruiting / HR Events to Attend in 2023

Updated in real time folks, 'the Big List'?is the one stop shop for all in person recruiting / HR events, globally. Check out these events, register for the ones you want to take part in, and if you are going to an event that isn't there, or are putting on an in person event yourself, make sure you add it to the bottom of the list - I will merge in every week. Lets go folks - and see you at some of these events!

How to Turbocharge your Employer Branding with Data,?Thur 26 Jan, 2.30pm GMT

I will be racing to get back to home village in order to get on this webinar with Danny Hodgon and co. Got 4 hours to do it, so it should be no bother! We're with?Nick Thompson, Global Talent Marketing & Employer Branding Manager (IBM),?Sarah Sturgess, Agency Director (SMRS) and talking about how foreward planning can impact your EB strategy -?Danny Hodgson, Founder (Foresight) and I moderating the chat. Register?here

Sourcing in Tech Communities, Thurs 26th Feb, 17.00 CET

This is one of those webinars which you know is going to be full of practical do-it-today tips. Alla Pavlova is one of the best at building communities and recruiting from them. If this is a technique that you think could be an important channel for you, you really need to register here and show up to this webinar!

Brainfood Live On Air - Ep190 - The State of Global Mobility 2023, Fri 27th Feb, 2pm GMT / 3pm CET

Is the world globalising, de-globalising or re-globalising? What does it mean when we see a persistent shortfall of candidates for vacancies, and yet equally persistent hostility to immigration? And...if we are planning to hire from outside in, how exactly are we meant to do this? We're with Richard Bradley, VP, (Kelly Services), Ruben Tieken, Squad Lead (Immersive), Toby Culshaw, Talent Intelligence Lead (Amazon) & Federica Cei, Global Talent Acquisition Manager (SITA) - register here

How to use the Big Five Personality Test to Make Better Hiring Decisions, Thurs 2 Feb, 2pm GMT / 3pm CET

Get your own Big Five Personality Test report with this event I'm running with our buddies at Alva Labs. We're going to go through the interpretations on screen, so we get a better idea as to how to use what is considered the most credible personality assessment in recruiting and HR. With?Linnea Bywall, Head of People, and?Dhevesh Mewawella?(Head of UK and International Expansion) both Alva Labs - register?here

Recruiters Unite, Thurs 9th March, Lagoon Beach Hotel, Cape Town

I will be traveling to South Africa more or less immediately after returning from Asia, and I have to say, I am looking forward to this event more than anything. It's going to be great to be back in Cape Town and even better to be hanging out with all of the great recruiters in the country. Make sure you grab a ticket here and come up and say hello when you do!

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 & Who's Available?

Another week, another wave of tech redundancies. Signing up on the community this week have already seen recruiters from Meta, Getir, Google and the rest. The settings on the?Brainfood Talent Community?range from 'lurker' to 'ready to interview' so whatever your current status it might make sense to simply get involved. If you're an employer and want to either post jobs and / or browse available candidates, sign up for an account?here?use the code: BTCFREE for 100% discount!

We are up to 100 available and ready-to-interview candidates on the Brainfood Talent Community. If you're hiring for recruiters or HR staff, apply for a free company account and get access?here, using this code 'BTCFREE' for 100% usage. If you're a recruiter or HR person looking for work, you can apply?here, and increase your exposure to employers vetted by me!

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Who's Moving?

Sooz Kinsella joins Insights as Channel Marketing Planning Manager. Few marketing peeps in recruitment have this sort of experience - JobAdder, Solutions Driven, Firefish to name a few who have had the benefit of Sooz's pizzazz. Good luck with the new role - let me know how you get on!

Jeremy Roberts joins J.P. Morgan as Executive Director, Global Technology Talent Sourcing after nearly two years as Director, Global Solution Design and Innovation at Cielo, having also previously worked in customer facing leadership roles at SeekOut and HiringSolved and more. Great to see Jeremy back in hiring mode, great to have this experience back and forth vendor to in-house, tech to recruiting.

Eva Baluchova joins Danfoss as Global Employer Branding Lead. Excited to see this move, Eva has such a passion for the work that seems to inevitably produce great outcomes. Look forward to hearing what you learn here Eva - make sure to check in once you're settled in.

Radboud Fluttert joins Zalando as Talent Acquisition Director, after a superb innings in TA leadership roles with ebay / Adevinta. I think Radboud was one of the first subscribers for the original recruiting brainfood and it was amazing that his email didn't change in all that time - a sign of great tenure at the business! Good luck in the new role hombre ??

Oliwia Schildt joins CareerFoundry as Business Development Lead, having previously worked with recruiting and relocation tech providers Localyze and Honeypot.io. It was a real pleasure working with Oliwia last year and I'm delighted that she is staying in industry. Hope we get the chance to chat again soon.

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?

Jay Patel has put together a soundtrack for all us folks, as we recruiters are need of some great tunes! So many of us have creative skills we never get to see in the professional world, this segment is the perfect place to show case them. Give this is a listen folks - I'm doing it now whilst I am writing this!

Jan Tegze has a new book out, Full Stack Recruiter: Diversity Sourcing Strategies. Like everything Jan publishes, it is insightful, comprehensive and practical. Available March 1st 2023, preorder here

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

It's unseasonably cold at the moment in the UK - minus 4 C at night, hovering no more than 0 during the day. At least the sun is out and the days have that crisp air about it. Going to take a walk after this - might as well make the most of the sun whilst its out.

Have a great week everybody

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.