Recruiters vs. New College Grads: How Their AI Use Expectations Differ

The rapid adoption of AI has created a strange world where employers know they need to become familiar with AI, but they also want to ensure the human touch remains in their company culture.

Similarly, new college graduates are experimenting with AI use, including having it write resumes and cover letters. However, this opens up a debate: Is it OK for college grads to use AI on their job applications? Can recruiters use AI to evaluate candidates?

Applicant and recruiter perspectives may differ.

Using AI to Avoid Discrimination During the Hiring Process

About 80% of companies use AI for recruitment. Often, one of the goals is to help remove human biases. It makes sense to think using a computer to analyze candidates would remove any racial or gender biases; but unfortunately, that is not being proven in use. The people who program the AI models may have biases that filter into the coding, or the data used to train the bot may not be diverse, and that bias could affect hundreds of candidates.

In addition, a computer can’t analyze nonconcrete cues to determine who might be the hardest worker or fastest learner. The computer’s skills only go so far. Recruiting professionals really must trust their gut when selecting the person they want to hire.

Both new college graduates and recruiters have mixed feelings about using AI to make hiring decisions in light of its potential for bias.

Gen Z in particular is concerned about AI biases that can exacerbate inequalities. And while many well-intentioned recruiters hoped AI bots would remove biases, hiring teams still can’t fully trust a computer to make complex decisions.

However, most can agree that using AI to narrow down the applicant pool while embracing a human factor in the final decision-making process works.

Creating Job Postings

Companies can use AI to develop job postings that outline the scope of a position. This alone can weed out many candidates who might not be qualified for the position. However, while letting AI post an open position can save HR time, the bot doesn’t have the insight of someone who’s done the job and knows the skills needed to succeed.

College grads want to understand exactly what they’re applying for and what a company is offering. When companies use AI to create job descriptions, candidates may miss some of the nuances that make a job excellent or awful. Ideally, HR might analyze the position with AI but have someone who has worked in the role add additional details that showcase what the job entails.

Using AI to Sort Through Resumes

Recruiting professionals and the next-generation workforce don’t always disagree on AI use; both groups generally accept that some recruiting tasks can be automated.

Pew Research Center conducted a survey to find out how Americans feel about companies using AI in the hiring process. Most people are OK with AI being used in aspects such as sorting through resumes to find the best matches. This is good news for recruiting teams, as resume analysis is one of AI’s most popular uses in hiring.

However, survey respondents still want the human touch in the final part of the decision-making process. Around 71% of people say they oppose AI making any final hiring decision. Hearing that AI is making a final hiring decision can be frustrating to candidates who worry they might be overlooked. It might also mean recruiters miss out on potentially excellent matches.

Using AI to Assess Applicant Interviews

Some HR professionals are recording interviews and using AI to detect voice and body language cues. Because the human factor can be swayed by a charismatic person, the idea is that the computer will determine who is best for the job without any human preferences involved.

However, employers need to be aware of a recent EEOC document that explains how AI use may violate employment discrimination laws. 

Relevant here, the EEOC says using video interviewing software that analyzes applicants’ speech patterns, reaches conclusions about their ability to solve problems and then scores applicants based on the videos could be problematic if an applicant receives a lower score due to a difference in speech patterns caused by a disability. 

Using AI to Improve Retention

Eliminating churn can reduce hiring costs. However, figuring out when an employee is dissatisfied is complex. Businesses may be able to use AI to improve retention rates.

Teams can use computers to analyze behavior and identify habits that lead to workers leaving their positions. When they understand what leads to high employee turnover, most companies can intervene and keep top talent.

They can also make improvements to the hiring and onboarding processes to hire employees most likely to stick around.

Using AI to Write Resumes and Cover Letters

New college grads are likely more comfortable with AI technology than those who haven’t been exposed to it. Students may have already used ChatGPT and other tools for their college courses and feel curious about how it can augment their job applications.

They might utilize ChatGPT and other AI bots to create customized resumes and cover letters for each position they apply for. Rather than spending hours formulating the right language, they’ll let the computer take the details of their experience and education and come up with a sleek format.

However, HR professionals don’t always appreciate the use of AI to generate a resume or cover letter. One of the ways recruiters figure out if someone can communicate effectively is through the language they use on their application documents. When they’re written by a bot, all the resumes and cover letters sound similar, and the team doesn’t get a feel for how well the applicant writes.

Applicants can use AI for inspiration and should focus on writing original content for the actual application. They can consider using ChatGPT to brainstorm ideas and devise a unique and effective writing approach.

Use AI as a Tool

New college graduates and recruiters seem to agree that AI can simplify the job-hunting process — but also that humans should remain in charge.

AI can help with brainstorming keywords for a position. However, applicants should avoid using ChatGPT to write their entire resumes. Recruiters are starting to recognize the signs of an AI-generated resume and may frown upon the lack of personal input. In addition, the resume will look the same as others arriving on the hiring team’s desks.

Likewise, AI can be a helpful tool for narrowing down a large pool of applicants, but a human should make the final hiring decision.

AI is a valuable tool for the HR department and job seekers. However, it is important to remember that AI is only as smart as the program behind it. The human touch wins over AI always.