By Ian Wilson, Recruitment Lead at Naimuri.
AI is causing a stir in just about every industry out there, and recruitment is definitely no different. As we see more AI tech being rolled out and chatbots becoming part of normal life, there's a big question on every recruiter's mind: are we being replaced?
How AI is Changing Recruitment
CV Screening: AI tools can fly through piles of CVs in no time, picking out the best skill matches. AI can pair candidates with job roles based on skills, experience, and fit. Using data analytics, it can predict which candidates are likely to be great hires…on paper.
Predictive Analytics: AI can look at past hiring data to predict future trends. Helping to speed up strategy planning.
Reducing Bias: AI can help cut down on unconscious bias in hiring. By focusing on data, AI can support more diverse and inclusive recruitment practices.
Chatbots and Virtual Assistants: This is the big one. According to some, AI chatbots can effectively handle basic early-stage candidate interactions, answer FAQs, and even schedule interviews.
Why Humans Aren't Going Anywhere
Empathy and Emotional Intelligence: Recruiting isn't just about matching skills to roles, far from it. It's about understanding candidates' aspirations and motivations.
Reading between the lines: Most experienced recruiters spend a lot of time discussing transferable skills and the level people’s skills actually are. The human ability to break down barriers and have honest conversations about a candidate's ability is going to be difficult to replicate.
Intuition and Insight: Experienced recruiters have a knack for knowing if a candidate will fit well within a company. This gut feeling comes from years of experience and working in their company's environment on a daily basis.
Understanding Niche Markets: Some industries need specialised knowledge and a deep understanding of specific markets. Human recruiters often have the expertise and networks to find top talent in these areas, connections that I have built up over years and lots of coffee.
Negotiation: Recruitment often involves negotiating job offers and other terms. This often goes beyond the base salary and focuses on each individual candidate’s specific situation.
The Perfect Combo: Humans and AI Working Together
While AI can supercharge efficiency and make things smoother, especially when recruiting at scale, the human touch that experienced recruiters have perfected over years working in the industry is something tech can't quite replace.
It can make our lives easier but an internal recruiter is not just someone who finds CVs, they have to embody the voice and values of the business they represent. They are most job seekers' first interaction with a business, responsible for communicating a team’s culture and not just the skills listed on the job specification.
The future of recruitment is all about blending AI with human expertise. AI can handle the heavy lifting—like automating tasks and providing data-driven insights—while human recruiters focus on handling complex interactions and making strategic decisions. Companies that embrace this combo will be ahead of the game, attracting and keeping top talent in a competitive market. By harnessing the strengths of both AI and humans, we can create a recruitment process that's efficient, effective, and empathetic.
After 7 years in recruitment I understand the pain of looking at an endless list of admin tasks but in my opinion that is where AI’s impact ends. There is already a lot of discourse about how some recruiters send out generic blanket messages or are only there for your CV. I think utilising AI for large portions of the interactive parts of your process would only compound that, making those using it businesses using it too aggressively ultimately less competitive.
Personally, I think we are here to stay but by supercharging efficiency AI can give us even more time to speak with our candidates…human to human.
