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Tips for Navigating the Job Search Process in the Age of AI

Published: Jul 07, 2019

 Interviewing       Job Search       Networking       Resumes & Cover Letters       Workplace Issues       
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When job searching, it’s important to dial in on exactly the type of position you’re looking for and make sure you’re visible to the companies you want to be noticed by. It’s also important to understand how automation plays a part in the hiring process.

Today, there are quite a few ways in which companies and recruiters are automating their hiring process, in hopes of streamlining it. Below are some of those ways and advice on how best to deal with them.

Screening Questions

One way that companies can filter through candidates quickly is by using screening questions as part of the application. These questions are typically specific to what the candidate has to offer, what experience and/or education they have, and what skills they possess.

It’s important to answer these questions honestly, as they are tools that help recruiters determine whether a candidate is qualified and if the candidate would be able to be successful in a position. Answers to screening questions are typically automatically scraped, providing hiring managers with the most qualified candidates and sometimes even ranking them in order. This way, instead of a recruiter receiving hundreds of applications to read through, they will receive a qualified list of candidates that they know could be a fit.

The automated system will often scrape the applications by selecting which answers candidates respond to, based on what the company needs. For example, if an application asks the question, “Do you have three years of experience in benefits administration?” it will take the candidates that responded “Yes” and move forward with them. If this is a requirement, the automated system will weed out candidates that responded “No.” If it is a preferred skill, the automated system will move forward with candidates that responded “Yes” or “No,” and possibly rank those that responded “No” lower when providing the recruiter with a ranked list.

Scheduling Interviews

Another aspect of automation in the hiring process is scheduling interviews more efficiently. Often, hiring managers will enter their availability into a system, and the system will automatically send the candidate an email to select an available time slot. This saves the company time by allowing a candidate to respond when they are available as opposed to playing phone or email tag, and it also keeps the schedule organized. Without this automated system, recruiters call candidates individually until they get in touch to schedule an interview. It is important to reply efficiently when scheduling an interview even when scheduling through an automated system, as it shows your interest in the opportunity.

Video Interviews

When it comes to actual interviews, there are a couple different ways automation comes into play, with the first being video interviews. With more jobs, headquarters, and managers being remote, there are more and more ways that technology can be beneficial. Video interviews are a great example of this. Although not as progressive as interviews using artificial intelligence, video interviews are a great way to connect two people for an interview without requiring travel. Video interviews are similar to in-person interviews, in that you are face-to-face with another human. It is a little more difficult to pick up on body language but it can still be detected to a certain extent. It is important to treat a video interview just as you would an in-person interview. Dress professionally, and set yourself up in a simple, neat, quiet space. The more the environment is free from distractions, the better off the candidate will be.

Interview Questions

Interviews using artificial intelligence are becoming more popular as well. Using chatbots to ask candidates questions provides companies with the information they’re seeking, freeing up recruiters to spend time on other projects. In these interviews, chatbots ask all candidates the same questions so they can compare and contrast which candidates may be a good fit based on their responses. This is very similar to human interviews, as recruiters typically ask all candidates the same questions as well. These chatbots are able to pick up on cues, which enables them to assist in sensing the body language a candidate presents. Although it is not the same as building a rapport with a human, it will often produce the results the company is searching for in the interview process. The best way to approach this interview style is to interact with the form of automation the company is using just as you would interact with a human recruiter.

Job Offers

The final step of the interview process is the job offer. And there is a way to automate that, too! Companies can use a job offer letter generator to automatically send an offer to the candidates they choose to hire. The candidates can then use online signatures to sign the paperwork agreeing to the terms, which will then be sent back to hiring companies and uploaded into their employee profiles. Just as you would a paper offer letter, make sure to carefully input all information so you get it, the first time around.

Greg Miller is a writer with DO Supply, Inc. When not writing about automation, Greg enjoys spending time with his dog, building models, and talking too much about coffee.

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