When it comes to attracting talent, the professional application process is an underestimated linchpin. For companies with a high demand for employees, AI helps to quickly screen applications and provide qualified feedback to job candidates. In times of scarce talent on the job market, companies must not save resources by using AI at the expense of the candidate experience - the human factor remains an essential part of the application process. The following list explains at which points in the recruitment process AI tools offer added value and which hurdles those in charge need to overcome.

Active Sourcing

Companies of all sizes are competing for skilled workers and young talent. Companies that simply publish job advertisements according to the post-and-pray principle and hope for applications will quickly be left behind by the competition. Medium-sized companies in particular activate enormous potential by approaching passive candidates. AI makes it easier for recruiters to identify the right people for current and future vacancies or to expand the talent pool.
AI reads key data from online profiles using CV parsing. AI-based matching applications use specific search criteria to suggest talented individuals who largely match the requirements of a job profile.

Initial contact with candidates

A chatbot generates the initial contact with candidates. Finding profiles and making contact via a personalized approach - that's easy for AI tools. Nevertheless, artificial intelligence requires close monitoring: "Most AI solutions are new to the market and still prone to errors. I recommend that every user checks the results of the systems for accuracy in order to evaluate and eliminate errors as quickly as possible," says Ehlers. Many applicants have so far been critical of the use of AI in recruiting. The use of artificial intelligence beyond the initial contact should therefore be carefully considered and, if necessary, accompanied by information from recruiting. The human factor also remains indispensable in recruitment management.

Data protection requirements

When it comes to the personal data of job candidates, there are strict regulations that go beyond the usual data protection provisions. If artificial intelligence supports and simplifies the recruiting process, there should be clarity about the legal situation in order to identify potential pitfalls at an early stage. Sound information on the function and training method of the AI solution is necessary in order to assess legal certainty in advance. If HR teams process personal data with the help of AI, there must be a so-called data protection permission standard for each data processing operation. In addition, recruiters may only collect and process personal data that is necessary for the fulfillment of specific purposes in accordance with the principle of data minimization.

Risk of discrimination

Artificial intelligence has a positive impact on equal opportunities in the application process. A third of the 1,005 respondents who took part in a representative study conducted by IU International University of Applied Sciences Erfurt in 2022 believe this to be the case. Intelligent systems generally make decisions objectively and free of prejudice. However, in the increasingly dense jungle of algorithms, self-learning systems hardly allow any conclusions to be drawn about the source of their results.
Data analysis in the recruitment process, carried out by AI applications, therefore raises ethical questions. How did the result of a data processing procedure come about? Anyone who does not critically scrutinize the quality of the training data risks so-called vicarious discrimination.

The author: Edgar Ehlers is the owner and CEO of ee factor agile consulting GmbH.