Hacks to beat ATS Bots and
Crack Your Dream Job
The future is here: 66% of business leaders across the globe are planning to automate at least one of their business functions while 33% have already automated certain processes in their workplaces. Once exclusively associated with the software industry, the global automation industry is today thriving at a CAGR of 9% and is expected to reach USD 265 billion in market size by 2025.
Yes, industries are gradually replacing their manual, time-consuming processes with machines and ITeS alternatives. This not only allows their professionals to get more things done in less time — a crucial trait to grow in the competitive landscape — but also interact with their customers/stakeholders more efficiently with fewer bottlenecks and near-zero chances of errors and omissions.
Following these digital footsteps is also the Human Resource Management (HRM) market. According to the HR’s Future State 2021 survey, half of the global companies have already adopted AI-based tools for their hiring processes. But what benefits are they experiencing? 45% of them feel AI recruitment has increased their ability to scale, 40% of them observed better candidate-job matches, and over 30% of them were able to create more targeted job listings. In the next five years, as many as 82% of HR teams are planning to use AI solutions for their hiring procedures.
But, what do these figures mean for job applicants in the evolving market? The answer is precision-driven job applications and informed decision-making.
Going forward, before presenting your best self to a human recruiter, you will have to do so to automated suites such as resume ranking engines – ones that are scrutinizing you with intense precision. The key is to learn more about these technological applications, identify their metrics, and accordingly accommodate changes to stay ahead of the curve.
That said, let’s look into three popular AI-based hiring tools and how you can best prepare for them!
1. Resume Ranker: The one that will choose you for the right keywords!
The first stage in the hiring process requires a company to write a job callout, share it, and eventually select resumes that best fit the description. Similarly, for interested candidates, this involves applying for a job vacancy that aligns with your skillsets and helps you meet your work expectations.
However, with the AI intervention in the resume selection process, as a candidate, you need to be more aware of what goes up on your resume. Beginning from choosing the right design template to highlighting specific keywords, your resume needs to be less about what you want to tell about yourself and more about what recruiters want to know.
Equipped with Natural Language Processing (NLP) and machine learning capabilities, AI resume rankers can easily match thousands of resumes to the job description and shortlist the ideal candidates in a matter of seconds. For a company that receives hundreds of resumes at a time, this tool also allows them to evaluate candidates on several metrics such as skills, years of experience, and interests without having to spend hours in the process. With AI resume ranker, the time-consuming element of the recruitment is eliminated, which also creates space for human recruiters to focus on the more important onboarding requirements.
But how do you ensure that your resume gets shortlisted? The secret lies in carefully reading the job description and making a note of the industry-specific keywords used in it. Is it a job opening for a digital marketer or a content manager? Is the recruiter looking for someone skilled in ‘social media strategy’ or for someone with a strong interest in ‘content creation’? Does the job require someone in proximity to the office branch or someone who can work remotely? Once you’ve made the note of recurring or specific keywords in the description, the next step is to accommodate them in your resume. The more you personalize your resume according to the job description, the better are your chances of getting shortlisted and called for an interview.
2. Skill Examiner: The one that will choose you for the right soft skills!
One of the main challenges in recruitment is to assess a candidate’s key personality traits. While a resume provides insights into their professional career, most often, there is no way for a company to gauge how well the person will fit into their work culture and designated team.
AI-based pymetric tests are helping companies address this by measuring the cognitive and personality traits of candidates more easily. These tests are similar to brain-training games that evaluate candidates on the soft skills important for the job position. For instance, if you’re applying for the role of an investment banker, then the company may want you to score high on attention span, cognitive flexibility, and decision-making. Similarly, for a data scientist role, the employer may be looking for someone who ranks high on effort expenditure, learning, and risk tolerance.
So, depending on the job position you’re applying for, you can make a list of soft skills that you need to develop. In order to score better in those metrics, you must spend time playing brain training games that help you test the required skills and polish them on a daily basis. Some popular pymetric tests include balloon game, tower game, money exchange, digits memory, and cards game among others. However, the key tip here will be to practice these games during that time of the day when you feel the most productive and not when you’re tired or about to sleep. Finally, on the day of the test, you must be relaxed; do not engage with devices before the session. This will allow you to concentrate on the questions better and make choices that help you score higher.
3. Intelligent Interviewer: The one that will choose you for the right attitude!
The final stage in the hiring process is the interview round. Often considered the most crucial one, different companies have different criteria to select employees through interviews. For instance, a startup may have a few interview rounds with a focus on a person’s experience and future expectations but a big tech company such as Google or Microsoft may conduct more than five rounds of interviews for their candidates.
To streamline this interviewing process, organizations today are availing the benefits of AI-based video platforms. Equipped with NLP and video analytics, these tools not only allow recruiters to analyze verbal information but also non-verbal ones such as eye contact, facial expression, and tone of voice of the candidates. This makes it easier for the recruiter to better gauge the strengths and weaknesses of their potential employees.
Some companies may also choose to conduct AI-integrated voice interviews with their applicants. The software bots use voice-matching integrations to analyze the candidate and their soft skills such as critical thinking, active listening, and communication skills. These bots can further register voice samples to ensure that no malpractices are being done at the applicant’s end.
Conclusion
As a candidate, the idea of being evaluated and interviewed with AI can be intimidating, however, it is advisable to stay calm on the day to ensure a smooth interview. For instance, to avoid any interruptions during the conversation, you can set up your device in a quiet room and use a good set of headphones/microphones to engage. It is also advisable to include keywords related to the job description in your answers and maintain positive body language throughout the session to improve your chances of getting selected.
The hiring processes have long been known for their cost-intensive and time-consuming nature. But, with the advent of advanced hiring tools such as resume ranker, pymetric tests, and video interviews, the HR teams today are able to conduct more transparent, accurate, and faster hiring experiences for their candidates. Likewise, for applicants, this intervention has led to more unbiased and error-free recruitment drives. To excel in these selection rounds, you must learn about the technologies, better prepare yourself for such evaluations, and accordingly, take steps to ensure positive results.
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