Recruitment
Human meets Machine – How AI is Used in Recruitment
13 JUNE 2023
You approach the office door with those last nervous steps. A friendly staff member swings the door open, greeting you with a warm smile. They invite you to have a cup of coffee and guide you into the room where the job interview is set to happen. And there, seated before you, is a sociable AI robot. What goes through your mind?
In just seven seconds, a candidate manages to leave an impression on a recruiter. And within a mere 15 minutes, the recruiter decides whether the candidate is the right fit for the job. Social AI robots are paving the way for unbiased recruitment, erasing considerations of age, gender, and ethnicity. It’s becoming increasingly common to see companies employing AI in their recruitment processes, streamlining the tasks that eat up so much time. Experts in the field suggest that this shift will revolutionize the very core of HR and recruitment. So, let’s dive into this interaction between humans and machines, and take a closer peek at this growing trend.
Recruiters meet Artificial Intelligence
Recruiters invest a significant number of working hours in reading CVs. AI can streamline this step in the process, swiftly compiling the candidates who are qualified for the position (on paper, yes). HOWEVER, remember that candidates can be qualified despite having a poorly written CV. There are candidates who, due to writing style, choice of words, and design, are dismissed by the AI – but are considered relevant by humans.
If recruiters spend many hours reading CVs – they dedicate even more hours to sourcing potential candidates. Companies like L’Oreal, Airbus, and Vodafone employ AI to facilitate this search process, sending messages, analyzing, and presenting candidates from LinkedIn.
In various recruitment processes, candidates submit their CVs and anxiously await to hear from the company. In an ideal situation, a response arrives within a week or two, but if the pressure is high and recruiters are swamped, a temporary radio silence can occur. This is where AI can assist! By sending automated messages, a continuous connection with the candidate is maintained. Of course, a personalized response is preferred, but an AI response is better than nothing at all.
Crafting an Inclusive, Dynamic, and Innovative Job Market: The Power of balancing Human and Machine
Utilizing AI during interviews can save recruiters a significant amount of time, but how does the candidate experience the recruitment process – devoid of human interaction? A job interview is both the candidate’s and the recruiter’s opportunity to ask questions and form impressions. Can AI replace that?
Several recruiters have made it a routine to review candidates’ social media. AI can aid recruiters in assessing vast amounts of social media data without being influenced by social biases. A recruiter might have attended the same school as a candidate, been at the same party, or have children in the same class – something that certainly doesn’t apply to AI. Artificial intelligence is devoid of bias and remains uninfluenced by any prior encounters with the candidate. An example of this is the social robot Furhat, developed at KTH in Stockholm, which includes the role of an impartial recruiter on its resume.
” I recognize that us recruiters can definitely optimize our tasks by leveraging AI – particularly for manual aspects. But, of course, I’m not equally enthusiastic about the notion of a social AI robot taking over my role. Personally, I believe that the human connection in a recruitment process holds immeasurable value – something no robot can replicate. Yet, I’m all for keeping an open mind about AI – it’s the way forward, after all!”— Ellinor Hellberg, Senior Talent Manager at Oddwork
The candidate: main character of the Recruitment Process
Let’s go back to the day you step into the office for that initial job interview, only to be greeted by a social AI robot. On the company’s website, you just read about how they value their employees, offering coffee every Friday as a token of appreciation. Yet, as a candidate, you’re encountering an automated process.
A clear drawback of incorporating AI into the recruitment process is that recruiters might miss out on a candidate’s soft skills and personality – elements that are just as important as the merits listed on a CV. Currently, AI programs aren’t designed to gauge social competence and creativity, which leads to deficiencies in candidate selection.
“I think I would have unconsciously tailored my answers if there was a social AI robot in front of me. I probably would have become more impersonal and found it hard to let my real personality shine through. And that would have influenced my perception of the company.”
– Candidate, Fanny Petersson
Pros and Cons of Using AI in Recruitment
Companies that employ AI in their recruitment processes have weighed the pros and cons, and the advantages seem to outweigh the downsides. However, just like with most things, there’s a flip side to the coin. It’s crucial to remember that technology doesn’t replace human insight and intuition. The AI programs we encounter today are designed to assist recruiters and streamline tasks, not to take their place entirely.
To stay ahead of the curve, the recruitment industry needs to both explore and harness the advancements of AI. The convergence of human intuition and expertise with AI’s capacity to analyze massive amounts of data will undoubtedly reshape the industry – hopefully for the better. Striking the right balance between machine and human, we can shape a job market that’s more inclusive, dynamic, and innovative than ever before. Because if there’s one thing we at Oddwork hold onto, it’s humanity. We believe that if more people get to do what they’re truly passionate about, the world becomes a slightly better place.
