Machine learning impact on recruiting industry
- Parth Patel
Machine learning impact on recruiting industry
This is no longer science fiction. Machine learning is a reality that has revolutionized the way we use computers to analyze data and find trends that will boost performance. The ability of machine learning programs to look at huge volumes of data to identify characteristics, patterns or correlations is a definite plus to the recruiting industry where the core task is to wade through a huge number of resumes to find the right match. Apart from that, analysis of market data would provide recruiters with the ability to predict market upswings and crashes, thereby enabling them to connect with candidates and make connections that can be used at an early stage itself.
How machine learning can work for the recruiting industry
Picture this: you have a requirement for a candidate with 5+ years’ experience in SQL and specifically in the Healthcare sector. Add to that the client also has a location preference of North Carolina.
This is like most requests that you receive every day. Prior to calling potential candidates, you still have to wade through your pool of LinkedIn Connections as well as your database and shortlist a bunch of candidates whom you would then proceed to weed through to find the best fit. Even with the most organized of recruiters, the one factor that cannot be eliminated in this process is the time it requires to shortlist candidates.
Enter Machine learning and its ability to accomplish this task in a matter of minutes. Time saved is finally money saved. This is just one of the simpler examples of how the recruiting industry can benefit from this new-born technology.
Algorithms of the future
The scientific method of using algorithms to finding the ‘ideal candidate’ has been debated in recruiting circles very ardently. The ‘for’ and ‘against’ camps both have several points they feel justify their point of view.
Some critics believe that human intervention in creating these models would colour them with their bias before it’s even used. However the supporters counter these claims saying that the methodology used in creating these algorithms would likely affect the effectiveness of the outcome.
But one cannot deny the time saving potential of methods such as these.
Internal restructuring
Another key point in the HR landscape is the time and effort taken to develop internal talent development programs. More often than not, growing organizations cannot spare the manpower or the funds to nurture their in-house talent thus fighting a losing battle against employee turnover. With the help of machine learning, employees can be given the benefit of personalized training programs that will help fulfill personal as well as organizational expectations.
A view into the future: Robot recruiters?
All being said and done, no matter how systematic a computerized system can be, it cannot as yet replicate the human element which is key in the hiring process. So while Robot recruiters is not a reality, Super Recruiters with the power to grant your wishes in days instead of weeks or months of trolling data is very much a reality in the near future.