AI in Recruiting: Data Mining in the 21st Century

While AI (artificial intelligence) in recruiting might still be shiny and new, chances are, if you’ve been out in the job market as a job seeker or TA professional recently, you’ve come across this use of technology.

The power of AI is the capability to sort through the myriad data types, review a variety of variables, and identify trends that might not be obvious to the average person.  More often than not, candidates don’t hear back after submitting an application – according to Forbes, that’s about 85% of applicants.  On the flip side, 71% of employers say they have trouble finding a perfect match for their roles.

Enter…AI. The AI market is hot and competitive in each industry it touches, and TA is no exception.  Per Fortune.com, about 75 startups are fighting to get their share of the $100 billion HR assessment market. Further, Josh Bersin, principal at Bersin by Deloitte, states, “I get emails every day from someone who decides they’re going to fix the recruiting market through artificial intelligence.”

Some of the top tasks that AI boasts solutions for in Talent Acquisition?  They are many and span across multiple needs:

Task Automation

• Examine resumes
• Email follow-ups, including feedback for applicants
• Keep track of interactions between candidates and employers
• Create candidate profiles by reviewing resumes and public info on the internet
• Schedule interviews

Narrow the Candidate Pool

• Data mining algorithms for each job role
• Gather skills data that correlate to job requirements
• Cut down on the process of sorting through stacks of resumes by having the applicant go through online simulations of their possible first day on the job
• Build a psychological profile in order to forecast culture fit
• Evaluate human qualities ranging from everything from social media posts to emotional traits and conversational tone

Get Down to Brass Tacks for that Brass Ring

There are AI services that dig even deeper into specific candidate actions:

• Some take a look at online profiles to foresee which potential candidates are ready to make a job change
• Others zero in on applicants within the first 5-7 years of their career. In this early stage, TA professionals have little to go on other than education. Using AI to read across varying data points and trends can create a broader picture of what the applicant may bring to the table.

Job Market

As you might imagine, technology as an industry is booming within the AI category. Thousands of job opportunities have been created for the usual suspects of software engineers, developers, data analysts, etc. According to the Department of Labor, we are already seeing a shortage in the cybersecurity domain, and another million programming jobs in the U.S. are expected to be available by 2020.

In addition to tech giants, sub-industries in Pharma as well as Financial Services are willing to pay top dollar for AI talent. They are in such high demand that students graduating from such programs are being flooded with offers. Based on a study from Paysa, of public job listings among US employers, the top 20 AI employers are spending more than $650 million annually to hire talent in this field. As expected, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft round out the top heavy hitters.

While AI has its place in streamlining the recruitment process, nothing can take the place of personal human interaction. At its foundation, talent acquisition is a belly-to-belly business. As such, many organizations taking advantage of the benefits of AI do so toward the beginning of the applicant search – and utilize meetings with candidates in person to make their final selection. The results from our recent survey, Out to Search: A Third Party Recruiting Collaboration & Performance Report, is based on a nationwide survey of more than 1,000 Human Resources, Talent Acquisition and Recruitment professionals. They come from companies of all sizes in a wide variety of industries and specializations. Nearly 80% of agency survey respondents had been working as recruiters for more than 10 years – personal experience matters.  Though AI has a long way to go to compete with what personable engagement offers, we look forward to seeing what future technology brings.