The Latest AI Trends in Talent Sourcing
By: Evan Shellshear
Over recent months, we’ve immersed ourselves in the world of tech, presenting at Gitex, diving into trend reports from leading HR organizations like Korn Ferry, and delving into the latest scientific literature.
We’ve distilled all this into one comprehensive article, blending these insights with our experiences to illuminate the practical AI trends that will reshape talent acquisition over the next five years.
Navigating the Hype versus Reality
Amidst the fervor surrounding AI, the primary challenge lies in sifting through speculative, attention-grabbing headlines that might never materialize. We aim to focus on the tangible applications where we’re confident that practitioners will harness these tools for substantial performance gains in the coming half-decade.
After over 30 years of AI in HR, we’ve gathered enough data to discern where theory translates into practical impact. Where has AI been employed in the HR and talent acquisition pipeline?
Here’s a summarized overview delineates the current landscape:
| HR Pipeline Step | Challenges (where AI can assist) |
| Role creation | Time to create role description, quality of role description, |
| Attracting / Sourcing | Time to source, candidate communication, brand attraction, sourcing channels, |
| Screening | Diversity, skill assessment, time to screen, cost of screening |
| Shortlisting | Diversity, detailed hard and soft skill assessment, time to shortlist, candidate comparison, cost of shortlisting |
| Interviewing | Efficient interviewing, candidate assessment, interview scheduling |
| Extend offer | Cost (wage) management, candidate communication, negotiation |
| Background checks | Reference checks, police checks, health checks, |
| Hiring | Ensuring offer acceptance, signing, contract delivery |
| Onboarding | Relocation, set up in company systems, family assistance |
Where Does AI Offer An Advantage?
In a 2022 publication from the London School of Economics, analyzing over 26,000 research papers, the authors revealed AI’s promises and pitfalls in HR, of which we summarize the main points relevant to us here:
● Hiring algorithms show moderate predictive ability for human hiring outcomes. Algorithmic candidate recommendations increased post-interview hiring by 20% compared to human recruiter recommendations.
● Focused on technical job openings, algorithmic recommendations led to a 20% increase in hiring fill rates.
● Algorithmic candidate recommendation scores significantly correlated with new hires receiving promotions.
Thus, we can expedite hiring while securing stronger, long-term candidates.
Tools for Actualizing These Benefits
Let’s delve into mature technologies and their applications. Our analysis at Ubidy, spanning over two dozen tools, spotlights key trends:
AI-Powered Video Interviews
Numerous tools now facilitate AI-driven video interviews, from HireVue to CuriousThing AI. Consider the latter, founded by AI expert David McKeague. Initially used by the US military for filtering thousands of applicants, CuriousThing’s Voice AI assistant has evolved into various smart applications.
Beyond time-saving benefits, this virtual assistant schedules calls anytime (unlike its human counterpart), possesses deep psychological insights measuring personality traits—beyond the Big Five—like humility and resilience. It’s user-friendly, presenting interview questions on-screen or during phone calls.
Large Language Model-Based Sourcing
LLMs excel in CV screening, using prompts like:
“Assess this CV against the job description for a [Job Title] at [Firm Name].”
However, success hinges on a well-crafted job description. “Garbage In, Garbage Out”—if the JD lacks quality, expect subpar CV assessments. Similarly, using the tool to craft comprehensive job descriptions ensures better CV matches. An example of this is a prompt like the following:
I want you to act like a hiring manager at [company name] and I want you to write a job description for a [job title] covering all the main aspects of the job such as a description of the company, job description which includes the position description and responsibilities of the role and also the education and experience requirements. Finally finish with information on the working environment. Write it in such a way that is factual but sounds like it would be a great job to be hired for.
Anticipating Challenges
Reviewing over 1,000 AI project articles highlights the top three failure reasons:
● Lack of strategic alignment or value clarity.
● Data quality and infrastructure issues.
● Incorrect or insufficient resources.
Although technology is taking the spotlight, mastering people management remains pivotal. The true challenge lies in aligning people with technology for enduring success. Embrace these technologies for the long haul—they’re here to stay.
About the author:
Evan Shellshear is the CEO and managing director of Ubidy, a global recruitment marketplace helping companies connect with recruitment agencies to find the right talents.
Connect with Evan via LinkedIn.