With hiring being more difficult than ever, you’re ready to try anything and everything to get a good job candidate through your door. Thanks to new developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI), the good news is you may not have to try that hard.
Imagine if something could show you a near-perfect list of job candidates. You wouldn’t have to go through thousands of resumes until your eyes burn, nor would you have to interview so-so candidates and hope that they’ll work out. This isn’t a dream scenario but one that is actually becoming more popular than ever due to AI recruiting. But, is it really as good as they say? If you’re looking to add artificial intelligence into your routine, here’s what you need to know.
What Is AI Recruiting?
AI recruiting is the process of using artificial intelligence in your hiring process. It may sound foreign, but chances are, you’re already using some of it. If you’ve ever looked at a suggested candidate on Indeed, for example, you were paired up with this candidate based on their resume and your job posting. This is a basic algorithm that analyzes text between the two listings. AI goes a bit beyond that as it tries to mimic human intelligence.
So, what does that really mean? Not only does AI have an algorithm that will choose candidates based on their resumes, but some software will actually book interviews, call and administer a phone interview, and analyze the answers for your company’s benefit. Depending on the tools you use, AI recruitment software can sound and respond like a human on the phone, and essentially give you a shortlist of candidates that will work best for your company.
What is the Role of AI in Recruitment?
You might be thinking…why would you use this at all? Can you really trust a machine? Well, the answer is yes. At least to a certain extent. The hardest part of trying to find a new employee is trying to find them! Going through a large amount of resumes day after day isn’t just tiring, it’s ineffective. Foregoing the traditional resume search and allowing machine learning to do the work for you saves companies tons of time. They don’t have to constantly be looking at resumes and hope to find a match. Instead, the matches come right to them.
Artificial intelligence for employers is not going away. In fact, in a survey¹ from CareerBuilder, 55% of HR managers say they anticipate AI to become a major HR resource by 2022. Whether you’re looking for a software that does everything from start to finish in the hiring process or a software that shows you a list of matching resumes, you’ll be able to find it. More and more recruitment software is developing or is available now. But, are they worth the expense?
Pros of AI Tools for Recruiting
Time-saving
The traditional hiring process takes days, if not months. Professional positions can take as long as 60 days² to fill, and hiring managers spend tens of hours searching through resumes, pre-screening candidates, doing interviews, and more. Automating tasks saves you time, which in turn, can save you money.
Related: Ways To Reduce Your Average Time To Hire
Better hiring
Since only about 50% of hires³ are successful, being able to hire better should always be a priority. It costs money and time to onboard someone, and if they leave within the first year, that’s money down the drain. AI recruitment software can improve the chances of hiring success.
Related: Is ChatGPT the Future of the Workforce?
Cons of AI Tools for Recruiting
Though working with AI has plenty of advantages, there are also many disadvantages.
AI can be biased
Though using artificial intelligence gets rid of some unconscious bias, like if you choose someone based on the fact you both went to the same university, that doesn’t mean that AI is fully bias-free. Since the software itself requires a large amount of data, depending on the data it takes from, it can still be biased.
In fact, this has happened many times. Amazon⁴ developed an AI software that originally worked. It pulled from 10 years of previous data. However, because the data was mostly from male applicants, the system itself was biased against female applicants. Eventually, they had to stop using it.
AI can’t screen as well as humans
It requires a hefty load of data for artificial intelligence to learn what humans can do. Even so, the software can’t screen candidates as well as humans can. Unless a company has hundreds of thousands of resumes to comb through, chances are, the software won’t be effective.
Not to mention, a resume and initial interview aren’t all that a candidate is. Though you hire someone for their skills, the person needs to be happy with the company culture as well. AI can’t screen a person for much beyond their skills, so if you’re looking to hire someone who will “fit” and be happy with the rest of the team and coworkers, screening through a human is best.
Related: Reasons Why Culture Fit is Important for Your Hiring Strategy
AI can be hard to adopt
Though AI is becoming a more popular recruiting tool, it’s not as easy as it may sound. Not only is there a large deal of skepticism amongst HR managers who may have to switch from traditional recruitment to AI recruitment, but these softwares can be difficult to navigate and understand.
Recruiting Still Needs a Human Touch
When you hire someone new to your company, you want them to be the perfect fit to save you time and money. You’re investing in each person as an employee, and only 7% of hiring managers think that AI can do their jobs successfully.
If you’re looking to find an employee that will stay and grow with your company, don’t leave it up to artificial intelligence. This is why we are known as one of the best recruiting and staffing companies across the nation. We help companies across a multitude of industries stand out amongst the sea of companies hiring, so you can get that perfect employee’s attention! Contact us today to see how our expert team of workplace recruiters can help you.
