Hiring the (Artificial) Intelligent Way

Type “artificial intelligence is” into your Google search bar and check out what auto-populates.

No, really… stop reading this blog post and try it. We’ll wait…

Did you do it? Okay, good. Then you read the following:

Artificial intelligence is…dangerous

Artificial intelligence is…good

Artificial intelligence is…bad

Artificial intelligence is…impossible

Artificial intelligence is…the future

Dangerous, good, bad, impossible and the future? This exercise shows how much confusion and emotion surround a relatively simple concept.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the simulation of human intelligence by machines, which can complete tasks like planning, learning and problem solving. In other words, AI is when a machine does human stuff. According to Deloitte’s 2018 Human Capital Trends report of 11,000 global business leaders and HR professionals, 38% of companies use AI already, and 62% plan to by the end of this year.

In the recruitment industry, AI and machine learning are being most frequently used to source candidates in a smarter way. Meaning that AI tools can search job boards, professional profiles, and even online presences, to find a match for an open position and then communicate with the potential candidate. AI can even screen applicants too. Whereas recruiters may tend to focus on just one or two characteristics of a candidate’s resume, AI, on the other hand, can screen for multiple factors at once.

Using AI in the initial stages of the recruitment process eliminates potential bias, unconscious or not, a recruiter might have when flipping through resumes. A computer can’t be swayed by preconceived notions a human may have based on name, education or a number of other identifying factors. Not only will this lead to higher quality candidates making it to the interview round of the process, it can also help protect a company from claims of biased hiring.

AI technology has also sped up the time it takes to find, contact and hire a candidate. Making initial contact with a candidate, checking schedules, arranging phone calls (all things normally done by a human) can be done by a computer, and recruiters can get time back into their day to focus on the things that matter most – face-to-face candidate interactions.

Take Me to Your Leader

In a survey by Nexxt of 6,000 job seekers, over half (56%) say that technology, including AI, has already made the interview process too impersonal, with more than half saying it interferes with a recruiter’s ability to evaluate soft skills. But that’s where jobseekers are misled. You’ll never sit down at a board room table across from a recruiter R2-D2 or Wall-e. Rather, AI and other recruitment technologies make the initial steps of the process smarter, faster and even fairer, for both the candidate and the recruiter or agency.

Keep the Human in HR

As much as AI, machine learning and new HR technologies can step in to improve the overall recruitment process, nothing will replace an in-person conversation with a candidate, especially when it comes to assessing soft skills like communication, listening and empathy. Determining if a candidate’s personality will jive with the rest of your team is not something you can really teach a computer. It’s a conclusion you have to draw on your own.

To ensure that candidates are getting enough face time with you, make sure that you have a highly personalized touchpoint with them early on in the recruitment process, whether that’s a tailored email, text message or phone call. And once you get a candidate through your doors, you run the show, not a computer.

As much excitement is there is around AI, we can’t lose sight of the fact that machine learning is just a tool – it makes our processes more streamlined, accurate and fast. Remember, we’re in the business of connecting people with their dream companies, teams and bosses. We can never lose that human touch.

Want to get in front of the millions of qualified professionals? Visit hiring.nexxt.com to learn how we can introduce you to your Nexxt great hire.

Nexxt is a recruitment media company that uses today’s most effective marketing tactics to reach the full spectrum of talent – from active to passive, and everything in between. Learn more about hiring with Nexxt.

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