Applying AI in Talent Solutions Requires Balancing Machine and Human Capabilities

Three ways to leverage AI for technology recruiting and staffing—and three ways to not

Artificial Intelligence has rapidly advanced to allow computers to simulate human intelligence and take over tasks that have historically been done by people. However, bringing AI to technology recruiting and staffing can also create confusion, uncertainty, and unintended consequences.

As a global digital transformation services provider which also delivers vital IT talent solutions, CTG has a unique perspective on the opportunities and risks that come with AI in the enterprise.

Used correctly, AI can be an essential aid to improve any business function, including accelerating the search for ideal candidates. Applied incorrectly, however, and AI can overlook viable candidates or even amplify human biases, raising ethical and legal concerns.

In my previous post, I discussed the need to prioritize long-term culture fit over short-term skills when seeking ideal candidates to help drive sustainable digital strategies. In this follow-up, I offer up three ways that AI can enhance recruiting today to help achieve that goal, and three that you should be wary of—keeping in mind that any AI evaluation is a snapshot in time, given the technology's rapid evolution.

AI Can: Help Craft Better Job Descriptions

Two-thirds of the world is covered with water. One-third of the world is covered with job descriptions that all sound vaguely the same—or at least it can seem that way.

Generative Al can help craft more impactful job descriptions by incorporating the best elements of various existing descriptions. It can also ensure that a new job description reflects the specific needs of the hiring manager, as well as the mission and value of the organization.

It is vital, however, for IT recruiters to avoid relying solely on AI-generated job descriptions, because they can tend to sound generic. So, while AI can be a great time-saver in producing a more creative first draft, recruiters should always customize the writing to align with the requirements and culture of the hiring organization.

AI Can: Match Technical Qualifications

Recruiters can receive hundreds or thousands of resumes for a single position. AI-enabled Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) can analyze resumes at scale, identifying the relevant keywords, skills, and experience that fit with the job description. The candidates can be ranked in tiers, allowing you to get to the cream of the crop quickly.

AI Can: Create Your Dream Resume to Vet Candidates Against

Thanks to generative intelligence, AI can continually refine its approach as it is exposed to more high-quality data. The most valuable information a company possesses is often in the resumes of applicants who turn into star performers. Their information can be used to tweak subsequent job searches, providing a template for “ideal candidate profiles” that reveal “needles in the applicant haystack.”

AI Can’t: Look Beyond the Resume

AI is only as good as that sea of resumes it is analyzing. It can detect both explicit skills listed on a resume, such as Java programming, and infer related skills that often accompany them, even when not directly mentioned.

But the technology can also miss important nuances it hasn’t been trained to identify, ultimately wasting time and impeding efficient searches. AI may not be ready to identify candidates with alternative career paths or atypical skills and experience that can be vital for the organization, such as self-taught experts who've developed deep knowledge without formal education, career changers who've successfully transitioned between vastly different industries, or individuals with unique cross-cultural experiences that could benefit global teams.

Those details and nuances are better identified through human interactions. While AI can winnow down a large pool of candidates, recruiters can’t rely on the technology to perform the critical legwork required to measure softer skill sets.

Recruiters should also be aware that candidates, particularly in IT, are increasingly crafting their resumes to cater to AI-based keyword scanners, potentially skewing the accuracy of initial screenings. It takes human intelligence to identify candidates trying to make themselves look more qualified through this practice.

AI Can’t: Determine Long-Term Cultural Fits

Here’s a distressing fact: almost a third of new workers leave their jobs within 90 days of being hired because the recruitment process gave them the wrong impression of the company culture.

At the moment, AI still falls short in assessing critical soft skills that determine a candidate’s long-term cultural fit. It cannot gauge interpersonal skills, such as how well a candidate might perform in a meeting or collaborate within an agile team environment.

While AI continues to improve, it is no substitute for cultivating long-term, personal relationships with candidates, which ultimately aligns the goals of both the candidate and the employer. Some hiring managers intentionally create stressful situations just to test the candidate’s resilience. Human recruiters can prepare candidates for these situations or steer them away from a mismatched environment.

AI Can’t: Become Your Primary Liaison with Candidates

When candidates are seriously considering a new role, they want to speak to a human not a machine.

While some may appreciate AI interviews as more efficient and less stressful, others might form a negative impression of the company if they value and expect a more personal approach. Balancing AI-driven efficiency with a human-centric approach can enhance the recruitment process, attracting higher quality candidates.

Conclusion: Never Lose the Human Touch

Given the attention that AI has received, it’s tempting to view the technology as the “end-all-be-all" for recruitment challenges. In reality, while AI can contribute to the solution, it’s not the comprehensive answer to all hiring needs.

Instead, AI should serve as a tool to streamline administrative tasks and expedite candidate discovery, allowing recruiters to focus on building relationships that ensure the best long-term cultural fit.

contact the CTG Team