Resumes and Robots: How Artificial Intelligence Is Changing the Way We Apply for Jobs And Hire

Last Updated: December 16, 2021

As artificial intelligence gets smarter and more ubiquitous, it’s changing the job acquisition process. Everyone from candidates to recruiters must update their skills and processes to make the most out of this 21st-century tech.

Once upon a time, a job-seeker could write one resume, submit it to multiple jobs with a personalized cover letter and that was enough. The recruiter or hiring manager would parse through the resume and cover letter, pulling out the relevant experience and transferable skills to find that diamond in the rough. The best recruiters were said to be able to analyze a resume in six seconds, filling in the cracks in the document and quickly identifying the best candidates. However, like almost everything in this world, the internet and technology have completely changed the hiring process for everyone involved, from the job-seeker to the hiring manager and staffing agencies in general. 

Sadly, the generic resume is no longer enough. Artificial intelligence looks at every resume and job application in direct relation to the specifics of the job you are applying to. As such, if you fail to show the similarities between your experience (through your resume) and your desired position you won’t make it passed the first round of shortlisting. The biggest mistake job-seekers make is not making their resumes aspirational enough. Write your experiences as if you’ve already got the job you’re applying for, or at least, match the skills you’ve got as closely as possible with the skills described in the job posting.

While recruiters (i.e humans) are able to see subtleties and nuances in your experiences that would make the role you’re applying for a logical progression in your career path, most forms of AI can’t. Though some AIs do have predictive algorithms, these are far from the norm. If you’re applying for a role that is more senior to your current role, you must match at least some of your skills to the role you’re going after. I’m not encouraging applicants to lie on resumes, but picking some of the specifics from the job posting to add to your resume means you’ll have a better chance of moving forward in the process. The generic resume is no longer enough because of the exacting nature of AI. 

Another tip to make it to the shortlist is to avoid listing the entirety of your work experience. While work experience is important, it’s better to bring up your extensive experience in the cover letter or during the interview. Work that you did 10-20 years ago probably isn’t relevant anymore (especially if it’s not working you’re doing presently). But if you include it in your resume it will be taken into account by the AI and will dilute the overall relevance score of your resume, making it harder for you to end up on the shortlist. 

Also Read: Is Workplace Automation the Newest “Perk” When Recruiting Talent?Opens a new window

Speaking of shortlists, AI’s ability to generate accurate, well-matched lists of candidates from the thousands of applications most jobs get, has made the speed recruiters can fill placements even faster than before. In the past, creating an excellent list of candidates was a recruiter’s job so there is the worry that AI could cause “the death of the recruitment industry” (much how alarmists believe robots will take over all of our jobs in the next decade). As far as I see it, AI will lead to greater consolidation in the industry as a whole. There are over 20,000+ staffing agencies in the US alone, as firms become more competent with AI and as the technology advances and becomes more mainstream, I see more of these firms joining forces or at worst, shutting down. 

Technology may cause a shrinkage in the value of the overall permanent contingency market and contract market. AI will also probably change the way fees and costs are structured within the contract market as well.  It’s known in the recruitment industry that it takes an average of 42 days and $4,129Opens a new window to hire one candidate according to an SHRM survey. As AI becomes more prominent and efficient, these figures will inevitably shrink. AI is only one example of the slate of new technologies that are revolutionizing staffing marketing. Blockchain and other complementary technologies are supporting and enhancing the capabilities of AI and our fast track towards automation means that hirers will be able to identify and attract the quality talent the need faster and cheaper than ever before. The AI of today may generate a great shortlist, but tomorrow it will be able to predict the future of current staff and pending hires, be able to understand who they are based on their resume and their social footprint. 

There are many changes coming to the recruitment/staffing industry and AI is just one of them. Blockchain and artificial intelligence will probably soon be joined at the hip, as AI’s ability to process and analyze mountains of information would be greatly helped by blockchain’s ability to verify that information. While there will be casualties from these changes, such is the nature of the world we live in. Those who can adapt to it survive and thrive, and those who can’t will have to move on. 

Also Read: How to Bridge the Data Science Talent Gap with TechnologyOpens a new window

Arran Stewart
Arran Stewart

Co-owner, Job.com

Co-owner of Job.com who is passionate about recruitment and technology.  A dedicated disruptor with a relentless focus towards making things better for the candidate and has committed his entire career creating products that improve the job seeking process for the masses.  Having worked in all areas of traditional recruitment, job boards, aggregators, applicant tracking systems, talent management systems, multi-posting technology, semantics and of course matching technology.  Beyond this, Arran’s other obsessions are his wonderful family, a childhood love for cars and motorsport formula 1.
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