It's a great mystery facing annoyed job seeker: who or what is rejecting my application?
As more companies turn to AI to increase productivity, Applicants often say they to the bi I think people have reviewed their resumes. We reached out to seven major companies and found that the role of AI in the recruitment process is very different.
Salesforce recruiting SVP Mark Grimwood said the company received “tens of thousands” applications for the account executive role in the first quarter of this year.
Grimwood is two key factors that help you manage this volume: skilled recruiters who have the right skills and experience and know how to find talent, and AgentForce, an AI-powered tool for AI. He said Agent Force will help recruiters scan key skills such as collaboration, storytelling, AI literacy and identify promising candidates.
“Our human recruiters oversee this process from start to finish, but using AI in the recruitment process helps recruiters become more productive and prioritize time for the most relevant candidates,” he said.
Grimwood said that while the company's recruiters strive to give all applications the attention they deserve, not everyone is reviewed by humans.
“It means we have to be strategic, especially in areas like sales where we really grow and invest in,” he said.
AI plays a growing role in the recruitment process. While some job seekers use AI tools to optimize their resumes, submit hundreds of applications, and navigate interviews, some companies use AI-assist applicant tracking systems to evaluate and prioritize candidates.
AI helped streamline some of the process, but it caused headaches on both sides. Rather than worrying that some applicants are being rejected by algorithms with little or no human reviews, they are always overwhelmed by accurate or proper applications.
While job seekers' concerns are understandable, most companies don't offload the entire application review process to AI, but many companies use it to help. Business Insider asked seven companies: Salesforce, Google, Kraft Heinz, McKinsey, Verizon, Exelon and Allstate how AI plays a role in assessing applicants.
How AI is a tool for job seeker evaluation process
Some companies are trying to achieve a delicate balance. It uses AI to evaluate applicants without relying too strongly and helps ensure significant human involvement. Google, Allstate, Kraft Heinz and Exelon all said that recruiters will still review all the applications and decide who will move forward.
Sean Barry, Allstate's vice president of talent acquisition, said the company used technology to identify strong candidates and helped speed up the early stages of the hiring process. He said it usually takes about 22 days for a company to follow up with promising candidates (seeking details such as location and salary expectations), but now it's happening in just 11 days.
“If 1,000 people apply for a single job, it looks like they could be, say, 50, 50, the right 50 to start screening, rather than using this technology to decide who is right,” he said.
But Barry said all applications are still being reviewed by humans and humans continue to decide which candidates will move forward and who will ultimately be hired.
A Google spokesperson said the company's recruitment team is exploring ways to make the application review process more efficient, and AI is part of its efforts.
“We use machine learning to propose candidates for open roles based on skills and experience, which will free recruiters and focus on building relationships with the best candidates,” they said.
The technology helps to prioritize candidates, but the spokesman said that all applications submitted to Google are still being reviewed by humans.
Denise Galambos, Chief People and Equity Head of Exelon, said the company uses AI to help rank candidates based on various criteria, but recruiters look at all their resumes.
“We're not going out right away using AI. We're leaving people out,” she said.
Some companies still rely heavily on recruiters
Some companies are either slow to employ AI for candidate evaluations or focus on other ways to apply technology to recruitment.
Spring Lacy, Verizon's vice president of talent acquisition, said the company does not use AI tools to filter or rank applications.
She said Verizon is open to using AI to make hiring more efficient and could free recruiters to spend more time with top candidates. But every technology needs to function properly, she said.
“I want to make sure the tools I use are fair and there is no bias in the AI,” she said. “Being able to accurately and equitably screen your resume based on your qualifications.”
Blair Ciesil, partner of McKinsey's global talent attraction, said the company does not use AI to rank applicants during the screening process. Applications are reviewed by people who have a set of criteria they are seeking from candidates.
“We don't use AI to evaluate cover letters or resumes,” she said, adding that AI's main role in the hiring process is a “candidate bot” that helps employees prepare applicants to interview them for their open roles.
Allstate is also looking for alternative ways to use AI for hiring, such as revisiting past applicants. Barry said the company last year helped flag eligible candidates who were initially turned down and adopted a tool that would recommend them for other roles. Through this process, Allstate hired over 100 people. Many of them seek a billing role.
“They may have been nomers in that role at the time, but that certainly doesn't mean they're not worthy of the company or potentially suitable for another need,” Barry said.
