Artificial intelligence is reshaping recruiting by automating tasks, enhancing candidate experiences and elevating recruiter capabilities, writes Gartner analyst Jackie Watrous.
By Jackie Watrous
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Jackie Watrous is a senior director analyst at Gartner Inc.
As recruiting leaders navigate increased candidate expectations in a challenging talent landscape, strategic technology investment is critical.
To that end, employers are increasingly investing in artificial intelligence for its diverse and growing set of capabilities that can help them meet recruiting goals. According to a September 2023 Gartner survey, recruiters are seeing AI-driven improvements across an array of essential processes; but leaders must determine which investments will have the best impact for their organization.
So where are most recruiting leaders investing in AI?
Recruitment marketing
AI can drive career site personalization and job recommendations based on content viewed by a candidate. This type of recruitment marketing automation sustains candidate interest by pushing the right messages at the right time.
Recent Gartner research revealed that 1 in 3 candidates expect their future employer to find them. To address these expectations, AI-enabled marketing content can:
- Give recruiters access to passive candidates who may not have found their organization through traditional sourcing techniques.
- Provide targeted and best-fit position recommendations to improve the likelihood of application.
- Sustain candidate engagement throughout the selection process with personalized messaging.
Scheduling interviews
Interview scheduling delays create friction, and in some cases, lead to the loss of qualified candidates. In fact, according to a Q3 2023 Gartner survey, 47% of respondents said they discontinued a job interview process because a recruiter or interviewer was not responsive. To help combat this, recruiting leaders are turning to AI-powered interview solutions.
Scheduling automation provides candidates real-time calendaring options and sends custom calendar invites upon confirmation. These solutions handle the complexity of back-to-back interviews, panel interviews and differing time zones. Some of these solutions also include AI-powered interview intelligence features such as pre-interview preparation, candidate comparison summaries and post-interview feedback to help coach hiring teams.
Candidate matching and ranking
The third most common AI use case for recruiting is AI-enabled candidate matching or prioritization. This employs AI to source leads and rank qualified candidates who have applied for a particular vacancy. AI-enabled tools consider related and inferred skills to make non-traditional matches and allow teams to cast a wider net.
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Candidate matching AI helps recruiters quickly review large numbers of candidates — increasing productivity, reducing time to hire and ensuring qualified candidates are not overlooked. But while AI can prioritize qualified candidates, it is still a recruiter’s responsibility to review the AI profile summaries and determine next steps for each candidate.
Reverse matching is another unique feature. This is leveraged for internal employees or silver medalists (top candidates not selected for an offer). The AI will review the candidate profile first and identify open job opportunities that are a fit. Actions like these can greatly improve an organization’s reputation and retention.
Candidate personalization
The fourth way recruiting leaders are leveraging AI is candidate personalization. AI-powered algorithms can tailor candidate communications, job recommendations and recruitment activities based on the attributes of a candidate or the job role.
Beyond recruitment marketing, virtual assistants in recruiting are being used to power personalization. Virtual assistants can facilitate job recommendations, deliver a simple apply process that includes screening questions and automate tasks specific to a particular candidate’s selection process.
Personalization is also critical at the onboarding stage. Our research shows that candidates are sometimes uncommitted to a job they recently accepted. Nearly one-third (31%) are open to other offers and still have one foot in the job market.
Given this environment, it is critical to engage and retain your new joiner. A personalized onboarding journey can remove the apprehension that may be felt about starting a new role and reinforce the decision to join an organization.
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