In this article, I will try to outline what benefits candidates can reap from AI tools used by recruiters in the hiring process, but also what risks are involved. That’s because, as usual, the stick has two ends.

First things first – what exactly is AI?

Artificial Intelligence (AI), a term coined by emeritus Stanford Professor John McCarthy in 1955, was defined by him as “the science and engineering of making intelligent machines”.

Software development companies such as Polcode know very well how to use AI capabilities to their and the clients’ advantage. Cooperation with such tech partners can become even more effective.

And how can AI tools aid candidates in recruitment? Let’s see.

Chatbots: prepare for an interview

Wanna chat?

There probably isn't a person among us with at least a basic knowledge of AI these days. For example, is there anyone who doesn't know what ChatGPT is or has never heard this phrase?

In short, it’s a system that allows you to generate text after typing some prompts into the appropriate field. What's more, it can be used completely free of charge. Its popularization has brought people much closer to the functioning of AI and NLP and has shown how they can quickly and effectively help in various cases.

For example, anything from providing a recipe for apple pie to calculating a difficult sum or pointing out errors in code. But AI can also help candidates when looking for a job and further.

Opportunity 1: It can write sections of your resume

The simplest use of ChatGPT by a candidate that first comes to my mind is helping write parts of a resume. If the candidate cannot edit the text well themselves or simply does not have the time to prepare this document on their own, they can enter a prompt including information about their career goals or hobbies into ChatGPT. The tool will then prepare a grammatically correct document that is consistent with the desired tone of voice.

Opportunity 2: It can answer more complex responses

A similar situation occurs when writing more complex responses to recruiters. For a person who finds it hard to establish communication with strangers or has no experience in formal contact, an AI chatbot can help here too. Even more so if you need to write a long and exhaustive email – it would take hours for you, whereas a chatbot can manage it much faster.

However, we must keep in mind some limitations of these solutions.

Limitation 1: It can make mistakes

A candidate should be aware of the fact that it’s still only technology – it can make mistakes and cannot be relied on unquestionably. All generated text should be carefully checked for errors, factual inconsistencies, and repetitions, etc. Here, candidates will undoubtedly notice the time savings, but unfortunately, it should not be without their proofreading.

Limitation 2: It can lead to inconsistencies

When writing emails to recruiters, the candidate should keep in mind that they are a certain individual with a specific personality, speaking style, and writing style that is firmly ingrained in them. As such, it’s best for an AI-written message to fit into this style. So, if you are already using such tools, any generated text should be consistent with reality and your own personality.

This is important because the recruiter will sense (or detect) any inconsistencies quickly. For example, why pretend to express your thoughts in a very sophisticated, poetic way, if you are not really like that? Or maybe you didn't intend to write a message in that style, which is why you need to check what was created for you.

See what the tone of the message is and adjust it towards your own, or ask the chatbot to correct it and then recheck. Don't rule out involving yourself in the creative process – in all aspects of life as well as when looking for a job.

Recruitment assistants: to make the hiring process as efficient as possible

Don't have time for the initial hiring phase? No problem.

There are a couple of AI solutions that particularly caught my attention. The first is Olivia, an AI-powered assistant that acts as a “virtual recruiter” – it engages with candidates, schedules interviews, answers inquiries.

Opportunity 1: It can make the initial phase of the recruitment faster

The solution has a mobile version and a messenger app. This is another option for automating recruitment and saving valuable time, both for employers and candidates.

A candidate, without the need for an initial phone screening with the recruiter, can answer questions that are sent to them via SMS or another messenger. This looks like a conversation with a human, but it is actually AI reacting to the conversation similarly to how a human would.

Opportunity 2: It can help with booking appointments

A similar situation occurs with booking appointments. The candidate specifies when they are available for a meeting and receives a response with the proposed date. This can be a particularly useful tool for candidates who are simply stressed by phone screenings or those who care about booking an appointment quickly without having to wait for a response from a recruiter, who themself may be very busy meeting other candidates at the time.

What risks do I see here from a candidate's perspective? There are very few, but they do exist nonetheless.

Limitation 1: It can make recruitment lose a bit of that human touch

The candidate won't hear directly from the recruiter, who is responsible for giving a first impression of the company. Further, the candidate won't be able to judge whether or not they are likely to get along with the company on a purely soft, communicative level.

Limitation 2: It can provide less personalized experiences

Questions may not be tailored to a particular candidate and, as a result, not engage them in conversation, attract, or interest. It will be a dry exchange of information. In addition, a candidate often makes associations with the company having a particular face or voice after a first interview with a recruiter. Whereas with the use of an aforementioned tool, it is just another set of questions from some company that the candidate answers mechanically.

Assessment platforms: accurately evaluate candidates' skills

Can AI check tasks and help recruiters as well? Of course.

Recruiters, too, can reap the benefits of artificial intelligence. For them, one particularly interesting and useful solution might be DevSkiller TalentScore.

This is an innovative platform designed to accurately assess and evaluate the skills of candidates in order to minimize the involvement of developers in checking job recruitment tasks. It gives a pool of 5,000 tasks to choose from, illustrating the challenges that a programmer may face in real project work. Solutions are, of course, checked by artificial intelligence.

Opportunity 1: It allows recruiters to act quickly

First, it streamlines the hiring process for recruiters and frees up their time. Thus, they can focus on other critical tasks, such as personally interviewing top candidates or strategizing talent acquisition efforts. There is no need to wait for a programmer to find time to carefully read and describe the task.

And how can such a tool also help candidates?

Opportunity 2: It allows candidates to evaluate their own performance

The candidate receives prompt feedback on their skills and results, saving them time too. Moreover, as the task is checked instantly, this timely feedback empowers the applicant to understand any mistakes that were made, refine their skills, and therefore better prepare for future job opportunities.

Limitation 1: It too can make recruitment lose that human touch

The task is checked by technology rather than a human, which might not be deemed acceptable by every candidate at this decisive stage in the recruitment process. Can they trust this result unconditionally? It would be good to still have a flesh-and-blood programmer take a look at the task after the AI has checked it, then the tool would be rendered rather obsolete.

Limitation 2: It places candidates into uncertainty

Another risk is regarding follow-up activities. After all, the candidate may have questions about the recruitment, disagree with the feedback that was provided, or even want to ask more about certain issues. What then? Who would be available to answer such questions?

At Polcode, very often, the R-TA conducting the technical verification is the same person who checked the task. This is an ideal situation for both the verifier – who can ask questions to the candidate about the task-solving process or otherwise and highlight what was done incorrectly, etc. – and the candidate, who can try to dispel their doubts or even enrich their knowledge.

Soft skills platforms: for personalized insights on soft skills

How about checking soft skills with AI?

If you've ever wondered if AI can test candidates' soft skills, the answer is a resounding ‘yes’. Pymetrics is a solution that checks whether a particular candidate fits the role in terms of personality and cognitive abilities. The entire assessment is carried out through a game that lasts a few minutes. Importantly, there are no wrong answers or choices, since if a candidate is not suitable for one role then they still might be for the requirements of another.

Opportunity 1: It allows better matching of candidates to positions

Due to having different characters, each candidate will be better suited to certain positions than others. As such, it is worth simply studying one's personality traits in order to be aware of a person’s capabilities and limitations.

Also, thanks to tools like Pymetrics, the candidate can learn valuable information about themselves and gain some added value from participating in the recruitment process, rather than just telling an employer about the projects they have participated in or what direction their career could go.

Try AI tools in your business

AI tools used in recruitment processes can be of great help to the candidates involved. From tools that facilitate content generation and an instant messaging app that takes the first screening or books meetings, through a system that checks the candidate's task, to Pymetrics for testing soft skills in the form of games – the possibilities are truly abundant.

These tools can be freely adjusted according to user preferences, but remember that they also carry certain risks which candidates should always be aware of despite the many advantages. Artificial intelligence is not infallible, so you need to "watch its back".

It also deprives recruitment of the human factor, which is often extremely important in the first contact with the company or later hiring stages. So, to both candidates and recruiters, use AI boldly in your recruitment processes but always do so judiciously.

Sources:

[1] https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/society/20200827STO85804/what-is-artificial-intelligence-and-how-is-it-used

[2] https://chat.openai.com/auth/login

[3] https://www.paradox.ai/author/olivia

[4] https://mpost.io/pl/top-ai-screening-tools/#1-humanly

[5] https://mpost.io/pl/top-ai-screening-tools/#4-pymetrics