How to get your resume past the AI job screeners
Aug 2, 2023, 10:59 PM | Updated: Aug 3, 2023, 9:08 am
SALT LAKE CITY — With the increasing use of artificial intelligence in the hiring process, crafting a resume that catches the attention of both human recruiters and AI algorithms has become more important than ever.
What makes a resume pop? A good college GPA? Passion for, or better yet, years of experience in the job you want? Or like Elle Woods in the movie, “Legally Blonde” maybe it’s pink, scented to “give it a little something extra?”
None of that or anything else may be as important as selecting the right keywords said Jeremy Schiff, CEO of RecruitBot – a company that helps other companies hire people.
“There’s a lot of AI and machine learning that’s getting introduced to the recruiting funnel,” he said.
RecruitBot uses artificial intelligence algorithms to scan resumes for keywords. Think of your resume as a webpage. If a recruiter were looking for a bassoon-playing Eagle Scout with fast food experience, well hey, mine might pop to the top of the list. More practically:
“The general suggestion that I give is, you want to keep the resume with a pretty standard template, and you want to use things like job titles that are very standardized,” Schiff said.
Bots filtering resumes isn’t new per se, but with some recent leaps and bounds in AI, there are some new quirks.
“The recruiting industry, frankly, is still trying to make heads or tails of areas where it’s going to be valuable,” he said.
Valuable in both filtering applicants and seeking people out. With the unemployment rate low in Utah, 2.4% at last check, waiting for resumes to come in is not enough for many companies. They are head hunting.
“Half of the way that people are getting hired right now is companies reaching out to people,” Schiff said. “And people don’t even think about it that way.”
He suggests making sure your online presence is properly padded so the bots can find you. Social media, particularly LinkedIn, is great for that. If a company does find you, you may get an email, and no matter how flattering the message is – it might have come from a bot.
“These technologies are writing more compelling emails,” Schiff said. “When you’re reaching out to candidates to get them to ultimately have a conversation with you.”
Most companies that he works with, Schiff said, use a combination of both bot recruiters to filter for qualifications and then ultimately human recruiters to ensure you are a good fit in their organization.
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE AI JOBS REVOLUTION
A recent study conducted by Chamber of Commerce Team (COC) revealed that Salt Lake City is number eight on the list of most threatened job markets to be replaced by Artificial Intelligence over the next five years in the U.S.
With Artificial Intelligence gaining more attention in the workplace, AI has already been linked to layoffs in the tech industry. The study took a look at over 800 occupations and analyzed data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The study evaluated losses versus new jobs in those occupations from the span of 2018 to 2023.
It’s resolved that of a total 780,740 employees in the workforce in Salt Lake, 109,500 of them are in jeopardy of being replaced by AI.
While it’s nearly impossible to ignore the hubbub surrounding AI, there are still lots of questions: What is it? What does it do? How will it impact my life?
While it’s a little tricky to simplify, one thing is certain: it will and likely already has impacted your life.
“It affects every industry, every job,” Jepson Taylor, AI strategist for Data IQ based in Park City told the KSL Investigators.
Taylor has worked in the AI industry for the past two decades and recognizes the significance of human expertise and experience, making it clear AI does not operate independently but learns from the collective experience of human input.
