What is artificial intelligence?

AI is the use of computers and other machines to mimic some of the processes that occur in the human mind. For example, AI tools are capable of analyzing millions of bytes of data, making it easier to identify patterns and make business decisions.

How can AI help with recruiting tasks?

Artificial intelligence makes it easier to perform many recruiting tasks. If you’re not already using it as part of your sourcing and hiring processes, here are a few ways to get started.

Writing job descriptions

Making a high-quality hire starts with writing an accurate job description. With the right AI tools, it’s possible to enter some information and get back a detailed job description in a matter of seconds. For example, Indeed has an AI Job Description Generator, which leverages job data to identify relevant skills, abilities, educational credentials and job duties.

The AI Job Description Generator also makes recommendations regarding job titles and other details, making it easier to attract high-quality applicants to your company. Once you have a draft, you can customize it according to your needs, ensuring your job description matches your company’s mission and goals.

Creating interview questions

It can take time to create appropriate interview questions for each role, especially if you have to collaborate with multiple interviewers. To help reduce the time spent ideating, recruiters can now use AI to generate ideas.

AI is especially helpful if you’re recruiting for technical roles, as it can help you come up with relevant questions even if you don’t have experience with programming or other advanced technical skills.

Screening applications

Some companies receive hundreds of applications for a single job opening, making it important to quickly identify the most relevant candidates. Before scheduling interviews, you’ll need to review applications to see who meets the basic requirements for the role.

To make this process more efficient, some recruiters use AI tools to help highlight key skills, experience or keywords in applications that match the job description. These tools don’t replace human review but can speed up the initial scan so you can focus your time on the most promising candidates.

KPI tracking

To measure the success of your recruiting program, it’s important to track several metrics:

• Time to hire
• Cost to hire
• New hire turnover rate
• Offer acceptance rate
• Candidates per hire

AI makes it much easier to collect data and calculate these metrics, giving you more time to focus on finding the right hire for your latest opening.

Identifying passive candidates

Passive candidates are already employed, but they may be willing to move if they find the right position. They may browse job advertisements occasionally, but you must work a little harder to reach them.

Communicating with job seekers

AI tools also make it easier to communicate with job seekers, which may improve your company’s reputation. For example, if an applicant has a general question about your company, they can ask a chatbot and receive an immediate answer. You can also use AI to schedule interviews, create email templates and handle other communication tasks.

Benefits of using AI for recruiting

Time savings

One of the biggest benefits of using AI in recruiting is that it saves a tremendous amount of time. For example, AI tools can quickly scan application materials and highlight relevant skills, experience or keywords, helping you identify promising candidates faster than reviewing each one manually.

With the right prompts, AI tools can also come up with hundreds of interview questions within a matter of minutes. The less time you spend on these activities, the more time you have for collaborating with hiring managers and building relationships with potential employees.

Cost savings

AI also has the potential to save your company a significant amount of money. For example, you may be able to use AI instead of outsourcing some of your recruitment activities, keeping your third-party recruiting costs in check. AI may also eliminate the need to hire additional employees to handle HR support.

Increased quality

Finally, artificial intelligence makes it easier to find high-quality hires. Some platforms have built-in tools to analyze each candidate’s profile and come up with a score based on the criteria listed in the job description.

Potential drawbacks of AI recruiting

Using AI for recruiting has many benefits, but it also has some disadvantages. If you want to maximize the return on your investment, you’ll need to provide extensive training. Therefore, you need to consider the cost of the training and the amount of time required.

When using AI tools, there’s also a risk of bias. Humans provide training data and program algorithms, so they may introduce their own biases when developing AI systems. 

Frequently asked questions about AI for recruiting

How can recruiters use AI?

Most advanced AIs are natural language processing tools, so it’s helpful for reducing the amount of time you spend on research and writing activities. For example, some recruiters use AI tools to come up with interview questions. In this scenario, using AI eliminates the need to visit multiple websites to gather information.

You may also benefit from using AI to see how a candidate might respond to certain interview questions. If you don’t get the answers you want from the tool, you’ll know you need to tweak your questions before you use them with interviewees.

What is AI recruiting software?

AI recruiting software is a form of advanced technology that uses artificial intelligence to automate certain recruiting functions. Many software packages integrate with HR or ERP systems, making it easier to collect and analyze data related to sourcing, hiring and onboarding.