How are algorithms changing digital recruitment Viewpoint careers advice blog

How are algorithms changing digital recruitment How often do you ‘Google’? According to Mashable, more than 1.1 billion people use Google search each month, totalling 114 billion searches. Whether you are aware of it or not, as an avid Googler you will have inevitably been confronted with the algorithms of internet platforms. These algorithms have become an integral part of our online lives and personalise our experience by serving up online advertisements relevant to our interests. For example, Amazon will suggest products which might be of interest to you, based on items you have previously viewed. This kind of online behavioural targeting is continuing to change the internet at large. The impact of algorithms on digital hiring Building on the success of online behavioural targeting by companies such as Amazon in the ecommerce space, similar innovations have been implemented on social networks and talent management systems such as Xing, LinkedIn and Facebook. But what significance do these algorithms have on recruitment, and in particular, digital hiring? Many recruiters now consider social networks to be an important source of candidates and the process of searching for these candidates has been made easier by algorithms. Searches on sites such as LinkedIn are generating increasingly relevant search results based on keywords, connections and previous searches. In addition, the impact of algorithms and big data means that more candidates than ever are pre-screened. For example, with the acquisition of data-matching company Bright, LinkedIn are increasingly able to connect people, employers and recruiters using their powerful matching technology. This is ultimately making the entire recruitment process more efficient. But it doesn’t stop there. New technologies also mean that job advertisements can easily be created, published and distributed via parsing technologies, and incoming applications can be scanned automatically and processed accordingly. Lastly, powerful algorithms provide entirely new ways of evaluating clients via online assessment. Using soft-ware based scoring, the algorithm creates a shortlist which can then be used as the basis for settings. At Hays, our Assessment and Development services, help our clients conduct a thorough assessment of candidates via a variety of online and offline tools. So is this the brave new world of recruiting? These new developments sound appealing, particularly in terms of cost and time saving. However, it is important we consider the client and candidate experience. The personal touch can go a long way and there are many human interactions that computers cannot communicate or deliver. It is unlikely that employers will be willing to let algorithms fully control their recruitment processes, the risk of excluding the best candidates is too high. Similarly, will the best candidates be put off by this more impersonal approach? As always, I look forward to your thoughts and comments on this topic. Engage with fellow information technology professionals across the globe and stay up to date with the latest news, by joining our LinkedIn group. Join the conversation