The widespread, rapid adoption of Generative AI in the past year has been one of the most transformative factors impacting the way we work and communicate. Its ability to generate material, tailor reports to specific requirements, create content and even design artwork has made it the go-to tool everywhere.
Even in the recruiting space, GAI is staking its hold on the hiring process.
A go-to tool in talent sourcing and recruitment
From scheduling interviews and optimising job posts to answering queries via chatbots, AI has become a vital tool for talent and recruitment teams across businesses. In candidate sourcing, the role of AI takes on even greater significance. On recruitment platforms like LinkedIn Recruiter, AI is crucial in connecting recruiters with desired candidates based on the required skills and their aspirations, and even more, in search words related to the opening.
Now with greater capabilities being developed at speed, GAI has become a highly valuable assistant for HR professionals. In many day-to-day tasks like writing personalised messages to candidates, drafting job descriptions, designing interview questions, sourcing for candidates and writing Boolean search strings, GAI is often the go-to tool that recruitment teams turn to.
With AI’s advanced data analytics capabilities, HR professionals are also increasingly employing AI to screen resumes, create candidate profiles for reviews and carry out candidate matching. This brings the benefits of making the shortlisting process quicker and more efficient, it also allows HR teams to focus their resources on more strategic decisions.
Generative AI in job search and job applications
For job seekers, AI has proved to be highly valuable in their job search experience as well. It has the capability to draft executive summaries, tailor cover letters to job openings, screen for typos and mistakes in CVs and even improve the quality of resumes speedily while maintaining a professional tone.
Furthermore, with sufficient thought given to the requirements in the job opening and thorough understanding of the AI platform, job seekers can use the AI text generator to create resumes that are a good match for the position being offered.
Implications of AI for HR and Hiring Managers
As much as AI has streamlined and optimised many tasks in the hiring process, the importance of human soft skills has become more evident than ever. While AI can assess qualifications and hard skills, the human element is needed to assess the candidate’s soft skills.
Furthermore, with the widespread use of GAI to prepare CVs, the intuition and analytical skills of the Hiring Manager is highly crucial in assessing the authenticity of resumes and cover letters, and identifying sections that may have been AI-generated.
An application that has been customised to the job opening would indicate the attention put into the application process and the earnestness of the candidate for the position. Even if GAI has been used to enhance the CV, the descriptions of their capabilities and achievements would be more technical and explanations of their contributions to their company would be more detailed.
Soft Skills of Hiring Manager is key determinant of hiring success
Regardless of how AI is utilised, today’s complex work environment calls for candidate assessment to go beyond resume screening to a thorough evaluation of the the job-fit and culture-fit of the candidate; and this is an area that hinges on the intuition and analytical capabilities of the recruiter.
For this, the job interview presents the best opportunity to assess the candidate and their interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence. Furthermore, by utilising scenario-based questions in the interview, this would enable deep insights to be made into the candidate’s experience, motivations and aspirations; and this can in turn determine how well they will be able to align with the culture and values of the organisation.
For roles where talents are in short supply, the recruiters who can leverage on their soft skills to attract and secure the desired candidate will be key in determining the hiring success. In this regard, the recruiter who is able to understand the subtleties in the candidate’s motivations and hiring manager’s wants, persuade the candidate with a compelling narrative, and negotiate with tact to make the close would be the crucial link in determining whether the company secures the candidate it needs.
Where the candidate fulfils perhaps just two-thirds or three-quarters of the requirements, the recruiter who is able to assesses this – against the composition of the team, make a judgment call of the team dynamics and whether the hiring manager might be willing to strike a compromise – would make all the difference in the hiring.
Thus while AI can analyse data and speed up the shortlisting process, it is the soft skills and analytical capabilities of the recruiter who will determine which candidate fits in best with the team and the organisation. To get the most out of AI, it will be in every organisation’s best interest to train their recruiters in employing AI in what it can do best, along with putting in efforts to improve the soft skills of the talent team in negotiating and influencing – areas that AI cannot do.
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Gain A Competitive Edge with AI
ACHIEVE Group can help businesses gain a competitive edge with AI talents, and jobseekers with AI job opportunities.
A talent acquisition consultancy in the Asia Pacific for over 30 years, ACHIEVE Group is a Human Capital Partner (HCP) and Singapore Prestige Brand Award (SPBA) winner, recognised for commitment to progressive employment practices and business transformation.
For any queries on staffing arrangements or happenings in the job market, please reach out to us at enquiries.sg@achievegroup.asia or 63230050.