IN THE HANDS OF ETHICAL AND EXPERIENCED RECRUITERS, CHATGPT CAN IMPROVE THE RECRUITING AND HIRING PROCESS
The hiring process is vital to the success of any print and graphics business. You’re looking for the right culture fit, plus ample skills and experience to excel in the position. Hiring can be especially stressful in the face of labor shortages and a changing candidate demographic.
With advancements in artificial intelligence, language models like ChatGPT are creating opportunities to enhance and streamline hiring. However, navigating the potential challenges and pitfalls that may arise when integrating AI technology is a necessary part of implementation. By addressing biases, adhering to legal and ethical considerations, and maintaining a balanced approach to candidate engagement, organizations can effectively use ChatGPT and other AI tools to optimize their hiring processes.
IMPROVED CANDIDATE SCREENING
ChatGPT can assist in screening candidates by pulling relevant information from resumes, cover letters, and application forms. Using natural language processing techniques, ChatGPT quickly identifies key skills, experiences, and qualifications. It also helps spot discrepancies or red flags in application materials, allowing recruiters to focus on the most suitable candidates.
However, organizations should be cautious of potential “bias amplification.” AI models like ChatGPT learn from the data they are trained on, so if biases exist in the training data, they may unintentionally be amplified. Recruiters have been using AI to help with the hiring process for years, and we’ve learned that it’s crucial to train the model on diverse and unbiased data and continuously monitor and address any biases that arise.
If biases exist within the training data, such as gender disparities in the hiring process, ChatGPT may unintentionally use these biases during candidate screening. For example, hiring a position in the printing, packaging, and prepress industries poses the challenge that the model learns on a dataset predominantly composed of resumes from male candidates. As a result, the model might display a preference for male candidates, potentially leading to the exclusion of highly qualified female candidates.
It’s important to remember this is a real challenge with AI, and can potentially bring up legal issues. Using trained and experienced recruiters is safer, ESPECIALLY when implementing an AI-driven hiring process. There are many examples of using AI without proper human supervision and getting improper results. We underscore the need to put appropriate safeguards in place.
AUTOMATED INITIAL INTERVIEWS
Scheduling and conducting initial interviews can be time-consuming, especially when dealing with a large number of applicants. ChatGPT can automate this process by conducting virtual interviews with candidates. It asks a set of predetermined questions, evaluates responses based on specific criteria, and provides a ranked list of candidates for further consideration.
However, it’s important to acknowledge ChatGPT’s limitations in understanding complexities. Human resources professionals with an industry specialty must oversee the process to ensure useful responses and accurately evaluate those responses. That’s where specialized organizations like PrintWorkers and our partner Semper come in.
PERSONALIZED CANDIDATE ENGAGEMENT
Engaging candidates throughout the hiring process is essential for building a positive employer brand and creating a good candidate experience. ChatGPT can assist by providing personalized communication, answering FAQs, providing application status updates, and more. This level of engagement shows an organization’s commitment to candidates and enhances their overall experience.
At the same time, organizations must strike a balance between AI interactions and human touchpoints. While ChatGPT improves efficiency, some candidates prefer direct communication with a human recruiter. Reliance on AI interactions may result in a disconnected or impersonal experience—especially if you are trying to cultivate a diverse candidate base. Organizations should generally integrate ChatGPT as a tool to support and enhance human interactions.
SKILL-BASED ASSESSMENTS
Assessing candidates’ skills and competencies is crucial in the hiring process, and it’s an area where AI tools have been in use for years. ChatGPT goes a step further in assessing “soft skills” through interactive conversations, allowing candidates to showcase problem-solving abilities, critical thinking skills, and decision-making capabilities. The AI model evaluates responses and provides valuable insights to hiring managers.
Onboarding is another area that can use AI. Automating a tired and often redundant process can simplify and offload tasks with minimal human oversight.
BIAS REDUCTION, FAIRNESS, AND COMPLIANCE
ChatGPT, when properly trained and monitored, can help eliminate human biases related to gender, race, or other protected characteristics, leading to a fairer and more inclusive selection process. But businesses must go further to ensure compliance with privacy regulations and avoid discriminatory practices. Transparent communication about using AI technology and obtaining informed consent from candidates will go a long way toward building trust and mitigating any potential legal or ethical issues.
Integrating ChatGPT into the hiring process offers immense potential for revolutionizing talent acquisition. By leveraging the capabilities of AI and ChatGPT, organizations in our industries can significantly improve candidate screening and engagement, conduct assessments, and reduce bias. However, we recommend you hire human resources and hiring professionals to design your processes and evaluate results. You can avoid hiring the wrong candidates or, worse, stepping over a legal or ethical line.
CHATGPT GIVES CANDIDATES A BOOST
New survey results from Resume Builder indicate that job candidates who use generative AI—commonly referred to as ChatGPT—to write resumes and cover letters are more likely to get an interview for their desired position than those who didn’t.
Key findings include:
- 46% of job seekers are using ChatGPT to write their resumes and/or cover letters
- 7 in 10 who have used ChatGPT report a higher response rate from companies
- 78% got an interview when using application materials written by ChatGPT
- 59% were hired after applying to a job using materials written by ChatGPT
- 11% were denied a job when the interviewer discovered they used ChatGPT
In a ComputerWorld analysis of the results, a Resume Builder spokesperson cautioned employers not to jump to the conclusion that a candidate is “cheating” or misrepresenting themselves if they discover ChatGPT was used during the application process.
In fact, it could indicate the candidate has just the kind of efficiency and ingenuity we are all looking for in our employees.