Imagine a world where your team’s most time-consuming recruitment tasks are automated, allowing them to perform at a higher level. This is no longer a fantasy, but a reality with the advancement of generative AI in the recruitment sector. 

Recruitment industry leaders Chris South (Founder of Roi-AI), Chris Collins (Founder of PromptRecruit), and Elizabeth Kingston (Founder of Kingston Human Capital), recently discussed this transformative technology and its potential impact on the recruitment landscape with me at RCSA SHAPE.

Below, I’ve recapped some key points from our panel discussion, please reach out to our team if you have any questions!  

DOWNLOAD THE EBOOK: How generative AI is shaping the future of recruitment

What is generative AI?

Generative AI is designed to create new content based on existing data it has been trained on. Think of it as an advanced tool capable of reading all of Shakespeare’s works and then writing a new play in his style almost instantly. 

While the focus for today’s recruitment industry is on language models, like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, generative AI also includes image and video models like DALL-E.

Transforming the role of recruiters

Generative AI will not replace recruiters but it will unquestionably transform their roles. The technology removes or speeds up many administrative and compliance tasks. Here’s a handy breakdown:

Ad writing and outreach

Instead of consultants having to start from scratch for tasks like ad writing, social media posts, and LinkedIn outreach communications, AI can draft these within minutes, reducing a 40-minute task to about 15 minutes.

Search queries

Even junior team members can now formulate high-quality Boolean search strings, thanks to AI, thus levelling the playing field within recruitment agencies.

Candidate screening

Imagine arriving at your desk to find that your AI tool has already screened hundreds of resumes and shortlisted the most viable candidates for interviews. This is not a distant future but a near reality, decreasing manual candidate screening time from approximately 23 hours to a mere fraction of that.

Practical applications

Job ads

Chris South co-developed an app integrated with JobAdder that uses OpenAI API to write job ads. The technology has analysed millions of existing ads and can draft new ones effectively, although as with any AI writing you’ll need to fine-tune for formatting and tone.

Reporting and analytics

AI can not only fetch daily job ads for lead generation but also write business development summaries by analysing candidate profiles and CVs.

Adoption challenges

Setting expectations

AI is not a magic wand; it needs training and iteration. Once we remove the expectation for a perfect outcome, adoption rates increase.

Skill development

Teams need to practice and share new AI use cases regularly. Teams like those at Kingston Human Capital have “GPT Tuesdays,” where they discuss new use cases and learn from each other.

Technical barriers

The technology is not yet plug-and-play for everyone. There’s a learning curve, and in some cases, a need for custom software to take care of prompt engineering.

Utility question

While AI can list daily jobs, its capability to look beyond core job sites is still developing. Businesses need to weigh the return on investment and not adopt technology just for its sake.

Final thoughts

Generative AI in recruitment is not a question of “if” but “when” and “by how much”. The technology has already begun to alter how recruiters function, automating mundane tasks and allowing them to focus more on what truly matters. 

It’s clear that it’s here to stay, and its widespread adoption and fine-tuning are just around the corner. Whether you’re new to this technology or looking to scale, remember these three key takeaways:

• Experiment and iterate with different inputs (or “prompts”)
• Start testing, learning and understanding today
• Embrace it and share your successes 

The future of recruitment is unfolding right before our eyes, and it’s incredibly exciting.

To discover more insights and tips from the panel and interesting statistics on AI in recruitment and HR, download our new eBook: How generative AI is shaping the future of recruitment.