Your next job interview could be with a bot. You’ll be sent a video conference invite just like any other meeting, but instead of chatting to someone from HR or recruitment, you’ll interact with a computer that asks questions and records your responses.
There won’t be any pleasantries, or small talk or getting to know each other. The bot won’t smile or nod in response to your comments – just questions and answers.
This is one example of how AI is making its way into the recruitment space, changing how organisations attract, assess and hire talent. More broadly, it’s being used to write job descriptions and create candidate assessments.
AI is also streamlining the process of matching candidate skills with job specifications and can automate key communication, such as scheduling interviews or sending ‘bulk regrets’ to applicants who didn’t move forward.
These tools are already being used more widely than you realise. According to a recent Gallup survey, 93% of Fortune 500 chief human resource officers have integrated AI tools and technologies into their processes to enhance their work, which makes sense because it’s making the process smarter, faster and more precise than before. But it can also be highly impersonal.
I don’t believe AI will replace human recruiters anytime soon. Rather, I think it will enhance and elevate the work we do.
This is one of the primary reasons why I don’t believe AI will replace human recruiters anytime soon. Rather, I think it will enhance and elevate the work we do. I say this because there are many things AI tools can do, but there are even more that they still can’t do.
Take the chatbot interview described above. There are clear benefits to this approach in the early stages of recruitment, when hiring managers and HR teams are dealing with hundreds of CVs from various job portals and need help filtering and ranking job applicants.
Using your criteria, you could ask the AI to shortlist candidates based on factors such as years of experience, location, specific skills, languages spoken and so on.
But because AI’s assessment of a candidate is based on set rules, it won’t give any leeway to someone who deviates from these parameters. If, for example, a mom has a gap in her CV because she took time off to raise her children, an AI tool could flag this and disqualify the candidate. But a human interviewer might have the sense to ask a candidate to explain what they were doing during this time.
Additionally, during an interview, AI can miss subtle cues, such as changes in the person’s tone of voice or body language. And remember that AI doesn’t understand emotions, so it may struggle to grasp sarcasm or humour.
Finally, there are cultural factors that could impact effectiveness. Some systems will struggle to interpret less common accents, which can mean they ‘judge’ a candidate unfairly or miss important details in their replies.
During the hiring process, the MD and I spend a considerable amount of time with candidates, having them present on how their values align with our core values. We also use this time to assess cultural fit. If we were to choose someone based solely on a short video interview, I don't think we would get the best candidates.
One needs to remember that finding the right people to join your team is a skill, and deciding if a person will be a valuable addition to the business is not something AI can do.
For candidates hoping to get noticed in the era of AI recruitment, there are several things they can do. For starters, if an AI model is trained to disqualify candidates because they don’t meet the requirements, make sure your CV closely aligns with the job description.
However, this takes time, which is why it’s also essential for applicants to be more intentional about the jobs they apply for. Instead of applying to 100 jobs with the same CV, focus on a few roles that truly fit your strengths and tailor the application to match the specific requirements of each one.
And if you’re asked to attend an interview with a bot, it’s also a good idea to incorporate any keywords or phrases in the job description into your responses.
As the recruitment world evolves, it’s important to remember that we want the hiring experience to be positive for the company and the applicant. A recent survey found that more than half (52%) of candidates would turn down an otherwise appealing offer if they had a negative experience at any point during the recruitment process.
With this in mind, it’s essential that HR and hiring teams wield AI tools thoughtfully and strive to find a healthy mix of AI-human collaboration.
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