There is no doubt that AI is enabling many businesses and individuals to work faster and more efficiently, saving time and redirecting the focus away from day-to-day tasks that can now be handled by technology. This is why 92% of companies plan to invest more in gen AI over the next three years.
Source: McKinsey report on generative AIMcKinsey data.
But before we even enter the workplace, AI is also a permanent fixture in the recruitment process, both for employers and applicants. In this article, Claus Schack, Director of emagine’s Group Center of Excellence, takes a look at this changing world from both sides of the recruitment fence, and drawing from his experience with emagine’s network of consultants.
AI for applicants: the golden tool
According to a study by CV Genius, 80% of hiring managers claim to dislike AI-generated CVs and cover letters, with 74% believing they can identify when AI has been used. What is more, 57% claim to be significantly less likely to hire an applicant that has used AI. Nonetheless, research also suggests that at at least one in two CVs will have been written or enhanced using AI.
This is no surprise. Applying for jobs is time-consuming with Resumeup estimating that CVs for specialised roles can take several hours or even days to perfect.
Carefully pulling out the qualifications and experience that make a candidate the right fit for a particular role is laboursome, particularly if they work on a contract basis and are frequently lining up the next project.
Read more about how hiring managers perceive AI-generated CVs (CV Genius)
In my experience, there is now no way to avoid AI when it comes to recruitment. - Claus Schack, who is Director of emagine's Group Center of Excellence.
"The entire recruitment process is supported by AI now. For emagine, each step, from receiving a request from a client to narrowing down the shortlist and ultimately lining up the most suitable expert, every part is made more efficient by AI. It the reality of today’s recruitment world, including for CVs."
“Any managers rejecting candidates based on AI-enhanced CVs will miss out in the long run. Particularly for the experienced consultants that we work with at emagine, it is expected that any CV that comes through to us will have been in some way enhanced by AI to match it as closely as possible to the job in question.”
AI can do this in moments, if it is provided with the right instructions. Platforms such as VisualCV, Enhancv and Kickresume have popped up to help with this activity, promising to have CVs polished within minutes. Therefore, as an employer today, the expectation is that to some extent AI will have been used to build any CV that drops into the inbox.
There are positive and negative implications of this.
Claus explains: “On the positive side, from our experience at emagine of working with high end consultants, these experts have a very sharp understanding of their own core skills. For these individuals, AI serves to help them draw a circle around these skills and outline their toolbox of relevant experience and capabilities in a way that is very precise to the job at hand. This is helpful both for the consultant and the employer when candidates have a significant volume of skills and experience to pick through."
“However, on the negative side, more generally in the employment market, this level of targeting CVs to specific jobs using AI can lead to anomalies and masking. For example, by targeting applications so closely, AI can oversell an applicant and also fill in skills gaps that the candidate may, or may not, be aware of. It’s also important for candidates to align their experience with the present timeline, not doing that may pull out experiences from three or more years ago that, whilst relevant, may no longer be valid. You have to be extremely precise in how you work with AI to get the right results.
“It is the interviewer’s job to debug and qualify CVs after AI, and to make sure that the consultant is fully able to defend data in a CV at the client interview, primarily based on actual professional performance during project experiences.”
AI for employers: unmasking CVs
From the employer’s perspective, AI also has myriad benefits, including a decrease in costs, reportedly up to 30% per hire. There is now an acute awareness of AI-enhanced CVs and what they may ‘mask’ even for strong applicants.
“For the large part at emagine, where we operate a network of thousands of expert consultants, the majority of these relationships have already been established and trust built up based on previous projects. This reduces the chance or inclination for ‘masking’.”
Where there is any doubt, Claus elaborates that AI can have a double function:
- AI can be used to map out previous project performance and any challenges experienced, enabling a quick and efficient means of double-checking CV claims against previous project data to make sure the two are aligned.
- Equally, if a candidate is recruited who does not possess the skills and experience levels claimed in their application, AI can help to identify this very quickly, by analysing live project performance data and come up with useful ‘debug’ questions for the interviewer.
Whilst this aspect of recruitment is not new, in the AI-powered world, the level of detail required is greater. It’s important to be highly objective and challenge candidates in a way that perhaps was not necessary before. - Claus Schack
“Being dishonest on CVs is as risky as it ever was. Where the trust between candidate and employer is broken, for example, due to over stating on an AI-enhanced CV, it is hard to win back.
Whether the false claims are uncovered before or at interview, or once the recruit has started and performed below expectations, the trust is almost impossible to earn back. Therefore, an important message for prospective candidates at any level is to not over-rely on AI.”
The value of the human touch
Whilst the entire recruitment process could, in time, become fully data-driven and automated, at emagine, the prevalence of AI means that the human touch is even more valued and has become the differentiating factor in successful recruitment and talent retention.
Alongside a strong CV it is important to understand the candidate and their motivations in applying for a particular role and the wider picture, such as where they are in their career and any other factors that may be influencing them. All of this may impact their suitability for a role and the likelihood of retaining a strong candidate.
A key factor for employers to appreciate is that with the wealth of AI-driven portals that employees have at their disposal, their profiles can be shared more widely and quickly than ever before. For this reason, bringing in the human touch and building strong relationships and understanding the wider environment is vital.
This approach enables us to find and keep the best people that have the right motivation, skillset, and mindset.
For emagine, this element is so important. Really understanding our network of experts means that we can best support our clients and consultants to thrive." - Claus Schack
He concludes: “With automation and AI-driven tools including chatbots permeating all areas of the business landscape at a rapid pace, customers and workers alike will increasingly value and seek out the ‘human’.
Business leaders will need to ensure they prioritise human-centric services, because AI cannot convey a company’s values in the same way that a human can. Equally there must be an emphasis on human connection in the workplace."
“To achieve this, senior leaders need to constantly challenge their way of working to ensure that the use of AI remains balanced. For a client-facing operation, this balance may shift from client to client depending on their unique needs and expectations, so knowing your client is, as always, essential.”
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