In a world rapidly transformed by technology, I often find myself reminiscing about moments that technology could never replicate. Remember the exceptional server at your favorite restaurant, whose craft turned dining into an unforgettable experience? Or think back to those life-defining events - weddings, funerals - where the dedication of a host or planner made all the difference. These are the moments that technology, despite its power to capture and share, can never create. It simply serves to amplify the human touch that made them memorable in the first place.

As we marvel at the capabilities of AI and the speed of digital innovation, it's crucial to remember the experiences that only humans can provide. Recruiting, at its core, is about building connections, understanding nuanced needs, and fostering relationships that go beyond what any software can comprehend.

AI Has Made Recruiting Efficiently Harder

Has anyone seen the post recently about the company that submitted over 80,000 resumes for a data project on the bias process in resume screening?

In a time when candidates are struggling to get interviews, this type of project is also an addition to the growing list of problems in recruiting.  

A few impacts here:

1. In an already tough market for recruiting teams, we are adapting to working with fewer resources and heavier workloads.

2. Deep fake profiles are becoming more common which leads talent teams to spend extra time validating the list of candidates they’d like to move forward with are real candidates. (you’d be surprised)

3. AI tools for submitting resumes are directly impacting the insane amount of applications within days of being posted.

4. Direct sourcing becomes far more effective than posting roles which then impacts the candidates on the market.

This leads to:

1. Long gaps between interviews

2. Templated emails with no personalization

3. A transactional experience

I can only imagine the pain points for all the tech leaders who signed onto AI recruiting platforms and tools thinking they would do the work for them. Our team has worked with many AI tools and understands the way they are built…

But, I worry that these are still in the < junk in > < junk out > phase. 

Let's champion the irreplaceable value of the human experience in recruiting. As leaders, our role isn't just to leverage technology, but to ensure it complements the human element rather than replacing it. 

HR and Recruiting: The Perfect Mix for Todays Technology Landscape

In today’s market where startups need to be lean and cost-effective with growth strategies, platforms and tools are not the answer.

For tech leaders that are starting to think about hiring, here are some lessons I learned over the last 4 years that might help you:

1. Companies that sell you platforms and tools don’t care about your lay-offs. You can always scale up users when you’re growing the team, but, don’t expect the ability to scale down. Yes, LinkedIn, I’m talking about you here.

2. If you think you can build your teams without a recruiting partner, be prepared to spend the time it takes to accomplish it. It’s not uncommon for recruiters today to have anywhere from 20-30 screens a week while managing communication with everyone in the candidate pipeline. It’s easy they say 🙂

3. Develop both a short-term and long-term talent acquisition strategy. What worked for you at Meta may not work for you at Startup AI.

4. Find partners that add impact for scale. In a lean environment, choose partners who align with your goals. If you have no recruiting team, documentation and building out processes is key for the next phase of hiring.