Question: How do you know if you are a job hunter being ghosted?
Answer: Ever zipped off a job application only to be met with… the Great Void? You’re not alone. The eerie silence post-application is becoming the modern-day Bermuda Triangle for job-seekers. Let’s dive into the ‘why’ before we send out an SOS.
Picture a scene: A recruiter’s inbox is like a concert crowd, where every fan — or applicant — is waving their hands (or CVs) frantically to get noticed. The sheer volume is staggering. The truth? Not everyone will get a backstage pass. Especially if their CV doesn’t hit that high note the job’s asking for.
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But let’s crank up the volume and talk about those who should be headlining. Seasoned professionals are being ghosted, too. If the job boards are lit with opportunities and there’s supposed to be a ‘war on talent’, why the silence? Here’s the thing: it’s easy to miss a diamond in the rough when you’re sifting through a mountain of CVs.
Switching gears, let’s talk AI (artificial intelligence). Now, as someone who’s coded in languages older than some of these recruiters, I’ve witnessed our recruitment playbook evolve. Enter AI, our new gatekeeper, filtering CVs with the promise of efficiency. But here’s the snag – it’s not capturing all the right players, particularly for those intricate, high-level positions.
AI is great – it’s like the multi-tool for HR – streamlining onboarding and taking care of the grunt work. It’s like the ultimate personal assistant for HR in the digital age. It’s revolutionising the backstage setup – automating onboarding, ensuring everyone’s tech is synced, e-mails are ready, and payrolls are processed faster than you can say “direct debit”. It’s doing the heavy lifting so humans can focus on the… well, human things! Yet, when it’s time to hire, there’s nothing like the human spark.
Let’s pause and recalibrate our expectations. AI is a whizz, sure, but it’s only as savvy as the data and decision-making we feed it. It mirrors our understanding, our biases, our instructions. So, while AI handles the behind-the-scenes with finesse, when it comes to recruitment, there’s an irreplaceable human element.
Hiring talent is an art form where human insight meets data; its where gut feeling weighs as much as gigabytes. Yes, AI can filter through a sea of resumes, but it takes a human to spot the potential beyond the keywords, to sense the suitability, to ignite the spark of a promising hire. It’s the combo of human intuition and artificial intelligence that creates fireworks.
However, if you’ve had a stellar interview and then crickets, that’s not on AI. That’s a recruiter dropping the ball — no tech involved. So, here’s a nudge to all the recruiters out there: Let’s not ghost. Let’s close the loop. The beauty of AI in HR? It frees us to do just that – to connect, engage, and give every candidate their deserved courtesy. Because every application is more than data – it’s someone’s hope for the next big gig.
Roujin Ghamsari is an accomplished HR professional and fellow of the CIPD, who was named among the ‘Most Influential HR Practitioners 2023’ by HR Magazine. She excels at collaborating with C-Suite leadership to craft and implement robust people plans, enabling organisations to deliver their strategic objectives.