Technology is changing the way companies vet job candidates based on professional skills and experience is no longer the sole focus.
Remember when experience took up most of a resume? Job candidates that had accumulated years of professional experience saw their resumes move to the top of the stack.
Now, the hiring process has transformed into an analysis of skill acquisition. And the focus is no longer on how many years of experience a job candidate has accumulated.
It is mostly about quality, not quantity when it comes to having what it takes to qualify for a job. Quality means acquiring the skills needed to thrive on the job. Quantity refers to the number of years of experience.
The change to using skill-based talent assessment tools shines an unflattering spotlight on a dilemma that a growing number of employers face.
According to a research study conduct by Gartner, just 16 percent of new hires have all the skills they need to succeed in both their current and future professional roles. No wonder 58 percent of recruiters cite a lack of qualified candidates as the biggest hiring challenge.
Skill acquisition has become the priority for job candidates across all industries.
How Technology Is Changing the Hiring Process
Technology has dramatically changed many facets of our lives. For employers, that change largely impacts the hiring process. Think of new online job platforms such as Indeed and Glassdoor. The employment portals have emerged as a one-stop center for employers to vet job candidates. Employers set up the screening parameters, many of which include digital talent assessment tools.
With tech already playing such a major role in every aspect of the hiring process, it’s no longer about whether it’s changing the landscape but how. What does the dramatic change in the hiring process mean for job candidates and staffing agencies?
Technology Does a Better Job of Assessing Skills
Old-school job screening tools relied heavily on printed resumes and a set of interview questions. Now hiring managers can use technology to measure professional aptitude and analyze a job candidate’s skill acquisition. For example, some tech companies have developed technical screening software to test the coding skills of programmers.
But tech isn’t just for measuring skills, either. Contemporary hiring tools that depend on the most advanced technology also give hiring managers a powerful way to determine whether a job candidate is a good cultural fit for a company.
Printed resumes and standard job interviews do not accurately assess a job candidate’s skill acquisition. Sure, someone may have the certification for a certain skill, but do they have practical knowledge? How well can they apply the skill in their role? Digital talent assessment tools are the new norm because the tools provide hiring managers with an accurate assessment of professional skills.
Technology Increases the Reach of Hiring Managers
Technology has widened the net for hiring managers by giving them access to job candidates that live halfway around the world. Not only has technology made international recruiting more appealing, but it has also allowed companies to outsource work based on the skill sets of qualified candidates.
After hiring an international applicant, a company can complete the onboarding process online. Even something as simple as Zoom can help companies conduct interviews online. Companies that rely on technology to conduct business can delegate professional responsibilities to international workers by assigning projects on sites such as Slack, Basecamp and Trello.
This means a new employee living on the other side of the world does not have to “come in to work” in the traditional sense.
Technology and Skill Acquisition
Organizations that do a good job of adapting to change are quickly embracing the new hiring paradigm. Instead of concentrating on a job candidate’s professional profile, recruiters now define the essential skills of a position. They then compare those skill requirements with what a job candidate brings to the table.
As the previously cited research by Gartner demonstrates, using hiring tools to examine professional backgrounds and credentials misses candidates who possess the skills to get the job done. According to the study, 43 percent of job candidates have acquired professional skills on their own to qualify for open positions.
That means traditional hiring methods automatically reject the 43 percent of job candidates that have self-taught themselves to move forward in their respective careers.
The Future of Hiring: Artificial Intelligence in Recruitment
Technology is changing how companies are hiring, but what does that mean for the future? The answer lies in Artificial Intelligence (AI). Companies of all sizes currently rely on AI to improve workflows, process information, and in some cases, make business decisions.
AI can help hiring managers to enhance the recruitment process by making an accurate assessment of the professional skills a job candidate possesses. Skill acquisition, not a list of previous jobs, is what will drive hiring decisions by implementing AI technology.
Two companies have discovered compelling ways to implement AI into the recruiting and hiring process. Vox’s Human Resources department uses a talent assessment tool called LinkedIn Recruiter that leverages AI to rank job candidates. Jobs platform ZipRecruiter uses artificial intelligence to match candidates with jobs based on an applicant’s skills, location and experience.
Analyzing Skill Acquisition in the Digital Era
Although a growing number of organizations use certifications to assess and legitimize the skills possessed by job candidates, other organizations have been reluctant to use digital badges. The challenges presented by digital badges are twofold.
First, mistakes made during the verification process can green light an unqualified job candidate. Second, a lack of measuring standards can give hiring managers incomplete reports on job candidates.
Challenges aside, the future of recruitment and hiring is all about digital technology. Hiring managers will utilize technology to find candidates that have the skills required for the position they want to fill. Experience might not be overrated for some hiring managers, but for tech-savvy recruiters, technology is the standard for hiring job candidates now and in the future.