What is artificial intelligence?
AI is the use of computers and other machines to mimic some of the processes that occur in the human mind. For example, AI tools are capable of analysing millions of bytes of data, making it easier to identify patterns and make business decisions.
How does AI help with recruitment tasks?
Artificial intelligence makes it easier to perform many recruitment tasks. If you’re not already using it as part of your sourcing and recruitment processes, here are a few ways to get started.
Writing job descriptions
Hiring a high-quality candidate starts with writing an accurate job description. With the right AI tools, it’s possible to enter some information and get back a detailed job description in a matter of seconds. For example, Indeed has an AI Job Description Generator, which leverages job data to identify relevant skills, abilities, educational credentials and job duties.
The AI Job Description Generator also provides recommendations regarding job titles and other details, making it easier to attract high-quality applicants to your company. Once you have a draft, you can customise it according to your needs, ensuring your job description matches your company’s mission and goals.
Creating interview questions
It can take time to create appropriate interview questions for each role, especially if you have to collaborate with multiple interviewers. To help reduce the time spent ideating, recruiters can now use AI to generate ideas.
AI is especially helpful if you’re trying to fill technical roles, as it can help you come up with appropriate questions even if you don’t have experience with programming or other advanced technical skills.
Screening applications
Some companies receive hundreds of applications for a single job opening. Before you can schedule interviews, you need to narrow down the list of potential employees by screening each application. This initial screening helps determine whether an applicant meets the minimum requirements for the job.
Instead of opening every application manually, some recruiters are using AI tools for screening purposes. During this process, an AI algorithm scans CVs, looking for keywords related to the position.
KPI tracking
To measure the success of your recruitment programme, it’s important to track several metrics:
- Time-to-hire
- Cost-to-hire
- New recruit turnover rate
- Offer acceptance rate
- Candidates-per-hire
AI makes it much easier to collect data and calculate these metrics, giving you more time to focus on finding the right person to hire for your latest opening.
Identifying passive candidates
Passive candidates are already employed, but they may be willing to move if they find the right position. They may browse job advertisements occasionally, but you must work a little harder to reach them.
AI makes it easier to identify passive candidates, as many AI tools are capable of analysing social media profiles, forums and other data sources to identify people who may be open to new opportunities.
Communicating with jobseekers
AI tools also make it easier to communicate with jobseekers, which may improve your company’s reputation. For example, if an applicant has a general question about your company, they can ask a chatbot and receive an answer immediately. You can also use AI to schedule interviews, create email templates and handle other communication tasks.
Benefits of using AI for recruitment
Time savings
One of the biggest benefits of using AI in recruitment is that it saves a tremendous amount of time. For example, AI tools can screen hundreds of applications in a fraction of the time it would take you to review each one manually.
With the right prompts, AI tools can also come up with hundreds of interview questions or assessment ideas within a matter of minutes. The less time you spend on these activities, the more time you have for collaborating with recruitment managers and building relationships with potential employees.
Cost savings
AI also has the potential to save your company a significant amount of money. For example, you may be able to use AI instead of outsourcing some of your recruitment activities, keeping your third-party recruitment costs in check. AI may also eliminate the need to hire additional employees to handle HR support.
Increased quality
Finally, artificial intelligence makes it easier to find high-quality candidates. Some platforms have built-in tools to analyse each candidate’s profile and come up with a score based on the criteria listed in the job description.
When you use these tools, you don’t have to worry about ranking candidates manually or missing information that could affect your recruitment decision.
Potential drawbacks of AI in recruitment
Using AI for recruitment has many benefits, but it also has some disadvantages. If you want to maximise the return on your investment, you’ll need to provide extensive training. Therefore, you need to consider the cost of the training and the amount of time required.
When using AI tools, there’s also a risk of bias. Humans provide training data and programme algorithms, so they may introduce their own biases when developing AI systems.
Frequently asked questions about AI for recruitment
How can recruiters use AI?
Most advanced AIs are natural language processing tools, so it’s helpful for reducing the amount of time you spend on research and writing activities. For example, some recruiters use AI tools to come up with pre-employment assessment ideas. In this scenario, using AI eliminates the need to visit multiple websites to gather information.
You may also benefit from using AI to see how a candidate might respond to certain interview questions. If you don’t get the answers you want from the tool, you’ll know you need to tweak your questions before you use them with interviewees.
What is AI recruitment software?
AI recruitment software is a form of advanced technology that uses artificial intelligence to automate recruitment functions. Many software packages integrate with HR or ERP systems, making it easier to collect and analyse data related to sourcing, recruitment and onboarding.
