Proposed as a new solution to Job Openings That Reach the Right People And Don't Result in an Influx of Unqualified Applicants
I apologize, but I do totally agree staffing is very broken. Applicant Tracking Systems came into play to cut through the noise, but they have become part of the problem.
The solution scape is also not as obvious as we would like:
- Organizations first need to be able to define the roles and skills utilized by their teams a whole lot better than they currently do.
- This would feed a position description that has the right criteria by which an automated system can make candidate screening decisions
- The results will still include key words and embellishment which artificially inflate candidates. The away around this blocker is to deepen the screening to include actual verifiable KPIs, but what candidate will want or trust such a system?
- If we do get there, and filter out the fakers,then there is a challenge around team fit. Does the person with the perfect profile have a chip on their shoulder or a berating attitude problem? Does the person with less skills have the ability to lean in and apply emotional intelligence to garner better results? Soft skills are a thing.... Do all applicants need a soft skill evaluation from a third party which determines their fit to a particular style of corporate environment?
- right now the industry gets around this machine using solely the power of interpersonal networking (I am an employee and I know someone who I think might be a good fit). To my nepotism comment, we are back to playing favorites and biased filtering.
I know, I know, this button I clicked was "propose a solution".... I don't have a solution, just different aspects of the challenge space to be considered.
But there is some truth to this recommendation approach, so maybe the answer is a more functional and skill-filterable version of LinkedIn style endorsements where people can build a "trust" score in various skills.... However, AI is going to spin those unless we solve the ability to map feedback to a verifiable real person.
Henry "Ted" Doll
Oct 24, 2024
Can you help build this Solution?
Co-Founder at ViaVote @ ViaVote
Parts of the hiring equation might be NP-hard for all I know, but there should be an effective way for candidates to signal or "bid" their relative interest and suitability for a specific role. While PM roles at FAANG are in high demand generally, the convergence of relevant long-tail keywords between a particular job seeker and (more budget-constrained, lower profile) hiring manager could same them both a lot of time and effort in finding each other.
Chief Talent Officer @ WeVote
No part of the hiring equation is NP-hard provided the established variables are kept rational. Humans are capable of irrationality, so they (candidates and hiring team members) have to be held within rational boundaries during the hiring equation.
So, in practice (a 100% incomplete list):
Rational Variables: A well-defined Job Description, a well-defined hiring process, well-defined compensation, a well-defined ramp plan, a well-defined corporate culture, etc.
Candidate Irrational Variables:
Culture/Vibe Match with each and every candidate
Candidate's personal situation (career goals, family/relationships, finances, appetite for risk, comfort in their current role, etc.)
Unconscious bias
More
Hiring team irrational variables:
Unconscious Bias
Motivation level for each interview (changes by the minute)
More
Operations & Strategy
Well said Ted! I think there are potential solutions, but generally this is one area where the need for AI/tech to help us be MORE human, rather than super human, is very clear. Both sides continually figuring out how the leverage AI/tech to better game the system just creates an increasingly un-virtuous cycle.
For slightly larger orgs, I think there could be some interesting solutions that start with looking at employees that were great hires, comparing their resume & application at the time with the job description, and back tracking some data from there to help orgs better understand who those great hires tend to be.
End of the day so many jobs are filled without ever posting an opening publicly, and that has everything to do with who you know. LinkedIn has tried to address this, but it doesn't really, end of the day it's a social media tool where people have a lot of power to craft the image they want to show .