It’s not a question of should employers be using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in their hiring efforts, but how? Employers are both excited and worried about leveraging AI in their recruitment strategy. According to LinkedIn’s 2024 Future of Recruiting report, 62% of Talent Acquisition professionals are optimistic about AI’s impact on recruitment, yet only 27% say they are using generative AI in their recruitment process (January 2024).
Over the years, digital technology has radically transformed the employment landscape. From online job boards with one-click applications to automated job matching and talent communities to virtual chat and interview platforms, the process has become easier and more efficient for both job seekers and recruiters. Organizations are always looking for ways to streamline the hiring process, get ahead of the competition, and reach qualified candidates.
AI FOR JOB SEEKERS
Job seekers are using AI to generate resumes and cover letters, match and auto-apply to job openings, and even prepare using AI speech coaches and AI interview prep resources. According to LaSalle Network, a national staffing firm in Chicago, 70% of college seniors use artificial intelligence to craft resumes and cover letters (March 2023). An experiment at MIT Sloan found that job applicants who use AI to boost their resumes to improve spelling and grammar were 8% more likely to be hired (April 2023).
AI FOR EMPLOYERS
Interestingly, most employers are probably already using some form of AI without even knowing it. For the last few years, sourcing tools and programmatic platforms have already been using AI technology. But as the technology advances, employers are finding even more ways to use automation to relieve many of the high volume, time-consuming tasks that fall on increasingly small HR departments. AI can help find and screen candidates, enhance candidate engagement, streamline the hiring process and even mitigate bias. But what about human connection, judgment, and intuition? Recruiters will have to work even harder to discover the real candidate and their story behind the AI algorithm, build genuine connections and assess workplace fit.
Here are some ways that leveraging AI can benefit employers:
- Matching technology: Analyze resumes, job applications, and online profiles to match top candidates for prescreening and sourcing.
- Reduce time to hire: Automate tasks to increase efficiency and speed up the process.
- Enhance candidate experience: Automated communication and follow-up will improve process from application through hire.
- Harness the power of data analytics: AI can analyze large amounts of data quickly and accurately to help identify trends and provide insights.
- Remove bias: By focusing on skills and qualifications, AI contributes to fairer and more inclusive hiring processes.
AI certainly has its place and provides many advantages, but it is essential for employers to strike a balance and ensure that human connection and critical thinking remains integral to the recruitment process. AI can be a tool used to assist with automating HR processes to free up valuable time for talent acquisition specialists to focus more on the “human” side of human resources.
