Without even thinking about it, we interact with artificial intelligence every day.
Siri finds nearby pizza places or dry cleaners. Alexa turns on lights and gives the day’s forecast.
So it may come as no surprise that AI is now a deep but unseen part of your job hunting.
Just as spellcheck alerts you to a typo, other algorithms pore over your electronically submitted résumé for misspellings, grammar and information about your work history.
With thousands of previous versions of a job that can be scanned, the algorithm uses the available data on résumés to find the best candidates for a talent recruiter, according to Ian Siegel, CEO of ZipRecruiter, an online jobs site.
“Machine learning can cherry-pick and rapidly learn from the employer how to do a lookalike search,” Siegel said. “That turns out to be by far the best method you can use to match.”
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On the other side of the job hunt, AI can match a person to a pool of applicants who have experience or skills in common with the job seeker, and show the jobs they’ve applied to.
“AI is the new version of keyword algorithms,” which have been around since the 1990s, said Robert Meier, a job transition expert and CEO of JobMarketExperts, which deals with a range of employment issues. “Typically, the algorithm looks for continuity of work history, job title progression and education,” he said. Specific companies may have different metrics they look for, such as software experience or credentials.
What has changed is the number of applicants. Digital applications are easy and free, Meier says, and any job opening now has so many more candidates for a company to screen.
But most are eliminated almost immediately, and only the top 2 percent of candidates make it to the interview, Meier said.
The algorithms are the table stakes to get you in the door, Siegel said. Give yourself every advantage of getting yourself into the best-match list.
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