I just read an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal about how recruiting and hiring software is replacing human contact and communication in companies all across the country. As someone who is constantly looking to hire ‘A’ players for my company, I have a problem with that.
Why? Because there’s no magic-bullet software. In fact, we’ve found that software actually makes it more difficult to find the top talent that we and our clients are looking for. Take Monster’s matching software: we find this to be a complete waste of time. In fact, the best candidates are often the lowest rated on Monster’s scoring system. How’s that for artificial intelligence?
The truth is, no amount of software will ever take the place of one human being talking to another human being. Recruiting is somewhat art and somewhat science. Resumes and electronic documents can be manipulated and the system can be gamed.
Furthermore, the problem isn’t matching people to jobs. The problem is getting people the skills they need. In the article, Mr. Peter Capelli, Professor of Management and Human Resources and author of the forthcoming book “Why Good People Can’t Get Jobs”, asserts that “ That kind of unemployment is treatable only in the long run—with better education and training.”
That may be true. But there are short term solutions that are available today. We need to use them and put people to work now.
To read the article in it’s entirety, click here.