Josh Millet discusses how qualified and often atypical job candidates are frequently being overlooked, due to CVs that show only a fragment of a person’s character and skill.
Research suggests that a business can receive upwards of 400 CVs a day when advertising for an open position. To put an even finer point on it, that’s 2,800 résumés in a single week. Much criticism has been levied against companies for their use of AI and other technologies when considering applications, which is fair from a candidate’s point of view, but it stands to reason that the existing system isn’t exactly working for recruiters or employers either.
If a potential employer or hiring agent can only devote a couple of minutes or even seconds to browse a CV, not only is the applicant losing out, but the company runs the risk of reading only surface-level information and disregarding a highly skilled, motivated and experienced professional.
For Josh Millet, the founder and CEO of software development company Criteria Corp, the overlooking of atypical candidates is not new to AI. Rather the advancement of smart technologies has further amplified the already existing problems when it comes to job applications and hiring.
“For many years, certain populations, early-career candidates, very late career candidates, people with disabilities, neurodiverse populations, veterans and single parents who need flexible working hours, have been disproportionately excluded from the workforce and/or have been serially underemployed,” he told SiliconRepublic.com.
Essentially, CVs are failing to show the broader picture, instead they are a snapshot of a person’s true ability, often failing to compel the reader to look past outdated disqualifiers. “In a competitive market, it may be difficult for organisations to break away from their image of what the ‘ideal’ candidate should look like, but in an environment of labour scarcity we need to adapt.”
Sacrificing the hidden gems
It’s fair to say that recruiters and employers are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of applications that are coming in day after day, week in week out. It’s human nature to seek out solutions for the main stressors in life, which according to Criteria Corp’s own research, has led almost a quarter (24pc) of responding hiring professionals to utilise AI in the recruitment process, despite only 9pc of people actually trusting AI more than traditional methods.
“This can yield great efficiencies in terms of helping surface quality candidates [appeal] to employers, but is not without controversy, as it can be a source of bias and can amplify some of the existing shortcomings that résumés have as tools for informing employee selection,” said Millet.
“For example, for overworked recruiters that rely solely on résumés, any candidate with non-traditional work experience could be passed up. Though résumé gaps are normal and common, they might raise questions for a recruiter who doesn’t know the context of the break, and become an excuse to move on to the next résumé.”
As noted by Millet, this eventuality is a likely scenario whether it is in the hands of a living, breathing human, or a suboptimally trained and potentially biased machine. Instead there needs to be additional focus on skills and what an individual can bring to a role. “When many unique candidates from all walks of life are held to a hyper-specific standard, diversity in general decreases as a result,” he explained.
Studies suggest that skill-based hiring can greatly expand the talent pool, contribute towards DEI measures, and positively affect retention. So, when companies zero in on seemingly ‘perfect’ résumés, prioritising educational pedigree over personality, skills and abilities, they are losing out on what Millet refers to as the “hidden gems”.
New versus old
Going over résumés and giving them a fair shake is not a case of out with the old and in with the new. Rather, it is about implementing a system that gives everyone who is qualified or skilled the same opportunity to be considered, regardless of background. In fact, a blend of the two could help establish the full picture.
“There are many ways outside of traditional résumé vetting,” said Millet. “For example, data-driven tools like pre-employment hiring assessments can be invaluable – they’re objective and can provide insight into a candidate’s abilities, soft and hard skills and potential.
“Structured interviewing is another example, and can be a very powerful hiring tool if conducted correctly. Structured interviewing involves asking every candidate the same list of questions, in the same order, by the same interviewers. It then scores responses with a predetermined scale.”
Millet predicts an “AI arms race” of sorts, in which the jobs market will become increasingly competitive. He foresees people utilising application-based technologies to gain an edge, compelling employers to respond in kind by implementing automated tools to keep up with the demand.
“Alternative talent surfacing tools that aren’t based on résumés will need to play a bigger role in the hiring process in the near future”.
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