By Josiah Johnson, Demand Generation Manager at Curately.ai
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been one of the most impactful technological innovations of the last decade. It’s also been one of the fastest. Just two to three years ago, generative AI was practically nonexistent in the mindset of the average person. However, it has quickly grown to permeate every aspect of our day-to-day lives, and the hiring industry is no exception.
Sourcing and recruitment, in particular, are benefiting immensely from AI’s capabilities, transforming how organizations attract, evaluate, and hire top talent. From reducing bias in recruitment to providing a more individualized candidate experience, AI is making the entire sourcing, recruiting, and onboarding process more efficient and effective.
Here’s a closer look at four ways AI is changing the game in recruitment.
AI-powered assessments and skill-matching: removing bias
One of the most significant challenges in recruitment has always been unconscious bias. Despite best intentions, human recruiters can inadvertently favor certain candidates over others based on non-relevant factors such as race or gender due to unconscious bias. This is where AI’s ability to remove the human factor actually provides an advantage. Objective AI-powered assessments and skill-matching tools mitigate this issue by evaluating candidates based on their skills, experience, and fit for the role, rather than on subjective criteria.
For example, AI algorithms can analyze vast amounts of data from resumes, social profiles, and job descriptions to create an unbiased, comprehensive profile of each candidate. AI and automation can also be used to assess candidates’ skills. This ensures that the most qualified candidates are identified and considered, regardless of their background, gender, or ethnicity. By focusing on relevant objective data, AI is promoting a more equitable hiring process, ensuring that diversity and inclusion are not just buzzwords, but an integral part of candidate selection.
Streamlining the recruitment process
Artificial intelligence is also helping to make the recruitment process faster and more efficient. Traditional recruitment methods can be time-consuming, involving a multitude of manually-intensive steps such as scanning job boards, screening resumes, scheduling interviews, and following up with candidates. AI automates many of these tedious tasks, freeing up recruiters to focus on more strategic activities that benefit more from a human touch.
For instance, AI can rapidly screen thousands of resumes and identify the best matches in a fraction of the time it would take a human recruiter. Machine learning algorithms continuously learn and improve from each hiring decision, becoming more accurate over time. This efficiency not only speeds up the hiring process but also reduces costs, as less time and fewer resources are required to fill each position. In addition to the benefits this provides for overworked hiring teams and recruiters, this AI-powered efficiency benefits candidates, who no longer have to wait weeks or months to get feedback on their application. It’s also much more effective at scanning resumes than older application tools that often require candidates to manually re-edit and submit the contents of their resume in several different ways.
Enhancing candidate experience with AI-powered communication
The candidate experience is crucial in attracting and retaining top talent. Poor communication and slow response times can lead to frustration and candidate drop-off. AI-powered follow-up email sequences and chatbots are addressing these issues by providing real-time, personalized interactions with candidates.
For instance, AI-powered conversational chatbots can guide candidates through the application process far better than older models powered by basic decision tree logic. With their ability to understand nuance, generate human-sounding replies, and solve basic issues, AI-powered chatbots enhance the overall candidate experience. This positive interaction reflects well on the employer brand, making it more attractive to potential hires.
Preventing errors and ghosting with AI scheduling tools
Scheduling interviews can be a logistical nightmare. Double-booking, missed messages, and slow response time can lead to both candidates and recruiters feeling ghosted. AI-powered scheduling tools are solving this problem by automating the scheduling process and sending reminders to both candidates and interviewers.
These tools integrate seamlessly with calendar applications and email clients, allowing candidates to select interview times that work best for them. Automated reminders follow up with candidates to keep constant communication and ensure that everyone is on the same page, significantly reducing the likelihood of no-shows. By minimizing scheduling conflicts and errors, AI helps maintain a smooth and professional recruitment process.
What does this mean for the future of recruiting?
AI is undeniably transforming direct sourcing by making the recruitment process more efficient, unbiased, and candidate-friendly. With the speed of its evolution and adoption, it’s radically changed the recruiting environment in the span of the last few months and years. It’s not hard to imagine that recruitment best practices and SOPs are going to continue to change as organizations find ways to more fully realize the advantages that AI adoption can provide.
As AI continues to evolve, its impact on sourcing and recruitment will only grow, helping organizations build more diverse, talented, and engaged workforces. Embracing these AI-driven innovations is not just a competitive advantage — it’s an essential part of a future-proof recruitment strategy.
Josiah Johnson is the Demand Generation Manager at Curately.ai. He is passionate about technology and AI and has over five years of experience in the talent industry. Curately.ai is an all-in-one direct sourcing platform that enhances contract recruitment efficiency and effectiveness with AI-driven tools and seamless integration.
