Royalty-free image taken from Gergo Vari’s LinkedIn profile page

With the quit rate in the US reaching staggering proportions (as high as 6% monthly in some sectors), industry professionals are begging to see what I noticed nearly ten years ago: the recruitment process is broken. Recognizing that there is a problem is the first step (and an important step), but problems rarely tend to go away on their own. We have to take action.

Back in 2016, I decided to put my passion for technology to use. And with the lofty ambition to build a leading job-seeker brand, develop a career intelligence platform, and have a massive impact on people looking for a job, I founded Lensa.

How the Recruitment Process Is Broken

The labor shortage in the US, the great resignation, the rise of the antiwork movement, for anyone with an idea on the job market, the signals are coming through loud and clear: the recruitment process is broken. There are several factors contributing to the mess we are in.

Lack of Transparency

In a digital age where we have grown accustomed to having any bit of information we seek at the tips of our fingers, job seekers are no longer tolerating the lack of transparency that still seems to be the playbook of many recruiters and potential employers. In an effort to make their job offer appear all the more attractive, they downplay – if not outright hide – the potentially unpleasant aspects of the position they are trying to fill.

The result is a low level of employee engagement and, ultimately, a large percentage of workers leaving their jobs – either for another company, one of the many money-making apps on the market or to try their luck with the many freelance and gig-economy opportunities that are becoming more and more prevalent. 

Transparency is needed, both in terms of the job description and in the salary range or the budget allocated to fill the position.

Shortsidedness

Recruiters set out with one specific goal: fill the open position – and as quickly as possible. And online job portals stand to benefit from high turnover. So neither party has a vested interest in looking out for the job seeker’s long-term success and happiness.

The result is a vicious, unhappy, and unproductive cycle: find a job, be disappointed, look for another job, then rinse and repeat.

How AI Can Help

We have already seen the benefit of machine learning and artificial intelligence across a wide and diverse range of sectors: improving customer service, aiding healthcare professionals with imaging diagnostics, boosting conversion rate optimization and customer satisfaction in the retail and e-Commerce sectors, and the list goes on.

The recruitment process, too, is benefiting from AI. And it’s not only a benefit for job seekers. AI helps filter job applicants – saving recruiters valuable time by eliminating the applicants who don’t possess the requisite requirements.

AI also saves the job seeker a lot of time and stress by steering them away from jobs they are not likely to land and instead orientating them toward jobs that match their skills and level of experience.

How We’re Using AI for Job Seeker Focus

Link to the royalty-free image hosted on Better Team Lensa

At Lensa, our AI-powered search engine can analyze millions of resumes and job offers in a split second. Additionally, it analyzes millions of job offers. And by identifying patterns and correlations, the search engine can detect (even predict) trends in the job market. Additionally, by using an AI-powered search engine, job seekers can gain a clear understanding of the skills or credentials they may be missing that are preventing them from landing their dream job. Job seekers are also given insights into the kinds of positions that lead to further advancement, and in many cases, they may be directed to follow a completely different career path they might not have otherwise considered.

In today’s labor market – unlike that of previous generations – it is uncommon for a worker to stay with one company throughout their career. In fact, 20% of Americans have already changed careers – and that’s just since the pandemic! To find the best jobs for a career change, the job seeker needs guidance. AI not only offers guidance but guidance that comes with unprecedented knowledge of the job market, current hiring trends across all sectors of activity, and what exactly employers are looking for.

In Conclusion 

I’m excited about what technology – notably AI – can do for job seekers. And I see it in action every day. At Lensa, we gain around 400,000 new members every month. Knowing we’re making a difference – and knowing there’s still a lot left to do to fix the broken system – keeps us motivated. We have no intention of slowing down any time soon.