How to Use Artificial Intelligence to Make the Right Hire
Many expert recruiters will tell you that recruiting is an on-going process that requires establishing personal relationships with the individuals you are interested in recruiting, before you are able to successfully recruit them. So, if you subscribe to the notion that artificial intelligence is about robots – and robots are incapable of developing relationships with humans, then keep on reading.
At the end of this article, you will understand how artificial intelligence is the new recruiting. And if done correctly, it can aid in developing personal relationships between the recruiter and the individuals being recruited.
What is artificial intelligence?
The best way to explain it, is to start by dispelling some misconceptions about artificial intelligence.
The most popular misconceptions are that AI are robots that will enslave us all or take our jobs away, as we saw in the movies “The Terminator” and “I, Robot”.
I will tell you that AI is a very simple concept, one that has been around for at least 60 years. It is so simple, I am going to use this dumbbell to explain it.
Take a look at the dumbbell at the top of this page.
The weight on the left side of the dumbbell represents a supercomputer with lots of processing speed, storage and memory. Most likely a computer that is hosted in the cloud.
The handle between each weight, represents a computer program. It consists of specific instructions to make sense of data.
The weight on the other side of the dumbbell represents the data. The data could be anything- movies, websites, cats, or even LinkedIn profiles.
They are all connected. The computer runs the program and the program analyzes the data.
The computer never stop running and the program never stop analyzing the data.
After analyzing the same data millions of times, the program will be able to answer any questions about the data. And, it will be able to accurately predict the outcomes of any new data.
That is why they call it machine learning – the program never forgets and it gets smarter as it learns.
Any data that is obtained as a result of machine learning that can either answer specific questions or solve human problems, is called artificial intelligence.
How do you use artificial intelligence to find the right person for the right job?
Now that you know that AI is simple actionable data; in this case the computer program is a matching algorithm (similar to the one used by the popular dating apps such as eHarmony Match.com or Tinder) and the data consist of millions of professional profiles (similar to LinkedIn).
Here’s an example of filling a job vacancy.
This recruitment objective is to add a new member to an existing team. And the right person for the role needs to be someone who can hit-the-ground-running and ramp-up-to-speed in a short period of time, while blending into the new culture and with the existing team members, and fit into the compensation range, as well.
Here’s how it can be accomplished.
The first step in this process is to have each of the existing team members, complete the same questionnaire on the digital platform.
After completion of the questionnaires, the program will then analyze all the answers of each team member and will compile those answers as the benchmark profile.
Also, all applicants who applied for that particular job vacancy, will complete the same questionnaire – as their first step in the interview process.
The program will compare each applicant’s answers from the questionnaire against the benchmarked profile.
It will immediately give each applicant a score and rank all applicants in the order of the perfect fit for the job.
This process eliminates the screening of job applicants and the first rounds of interviews.
And, it also allows the employer to start the interview process, with only finalist candidates.
What about the other profiles in the database?
The AI program will also identify other perfect-fit candidates from the database. They are the individuals who did not apply to that particular job vacancy.
This is also the process where AI can not only determine which candidates who is most likely to be interested in the job opportunity, it can act as an introduction tool in generating real relationships (communication that is initiated online that can be transferred into offline face-to-face job interviews) between the hiring manager and passive candidate.
To explain how this process will develop real relationships, I will walk you through a series of questions, both from the hiring manager and the candidate’s point-of-view. Then you can decide for yourself if AI is the next killer app in recruiting.
Hiring Manager
- Would you have an interest in also discussing the job opportunity with other qualified candidates who did not apply to your job vacancy?
- If a candidate’s’ anonymous profile met your requirements, are you open to paying a small fee ($200) to obtain that candidate’s name and contact information?
- Would you feel more comfortable if the candidate expressed an interest in discussing the job opportunity prior to paying that small fee?
Candidate
- Even if you are not actively in the market for a new job, are you open-minded to learn more details about a potential job opportunity that was consistent with your logical career progression, compensation expectations, ideal employer, location, benefits etc. And not only is the hiring manager interested in discussing the opportunity with you; he/she is willing to pay a fee for the privilege of spending a few moments on the telephone with you?
- If your answer is “yes” to the question above, would you expect the hiring manager to contact you to arrange a meeting time?
- Would you research the employer and get mentally prepared for that discussion, prior to the scheduled meeting?
If you answered “yes” to those questions, you’ve just learned the secret of how real relationships can be developed online and transferred offline. There needs to be curiosity, mutual interest and similar interest in order to establish online relationships. Curiosity in the unique introduction process; mutual interest in the possibility of collaborating on something potentially bold; and similar interest in the reality of both profiles are closely matched in multiple areas.
But more important, you’ve just learned the new way to recruit and hire talent without posting jobs, screening resumes, cold calling or pitching jobs over the telephone.
