10 Ways AI Improves Candidate Engagement During Recruiting

Recruitment is never an easy process. It takes recruiters a long time to find the right candidates. It is not because there is a talent scarcity; it is just that it is hard to screen suitable candidates from the wide pool of applicants. 

According to Jobvite’s 2021 Recruiting Benchmark Report, 70% of employers took over 30 days to fill a job position. And this is a long period to keep potential candidates engaged in the recruitment process. 

According to another report, candidates want to get a job response within one or two weeks of their final interview. But, this is not happening in the real corporate world. Recruiters are not to blame here, as it takes time to screen applications, schedule interviews, and find the right-fit candidates. 

So, is there no way to improve the candidate experience?

We, humans, might be limited to speed, but not bots. Artificial Intelligence (AI) can make the recruitment process faster and more effective. Thanks to AI-based recruitment software, recruiters can now feed suitable candidate criteria, find the right candidate with a click, and schedule an interview with them.  

Excited?

So, let's scroll down to know how to improve the candidate experience using AI. 

👉 Why Is Candidate Engagement Important During Recruitment Process?

Candidate experience or engagement is all about how your full cycle recruitment process makes candidates feel. Positive candidate experience is important to improve your employer's brand and attract more talented professionals to your company.

Besides this, candidate engagement is crucial to:‍

✔️ Engage employees

Candidates who have received good experience throughout the recruitment process will better understand your company culture and workflow. They will take less time to adjust to your company's operations, leading to higher employee engagement and retention. 

✔️ A large number of applications 

According to IBM, 80% of candidates will apply to a company that offers a positive hiring experience. This way, you can attract more applicants with your job post. A large number of applications will increase the chance of finding a suitable candidate for a job role.

✔️ Excellent marketing opportunity 

There is no better marketing approach than word of mouth. When you give a positive experience to candidates, they will share their experiences with their friends and family. This will help to build business credibility and promote your employer's brand.

⬆️ How AI Elevates Candidate Engagement During Recruiting?

Recent artificial intelligence studies revealed that 9 out of 10 leading companies use artificial intelligence to automate their operations. In addition, AI is expected to generate 97 million new jobs by 2025.

If you are not using AI to improve the candidate experience during recruitment, you are missing out on several opportunities. Here are the top 10 reasons to use AI in recruitment:

#1 Automated candidate screening 

Another report states that an average online job post is seen by over 1000 individuals. Of those, 200 will start the application process, and only 100 will complete it. That means an average job post will receive over 100 applications.

For the small recruitment team, it is not feasible to process all the hundred applications and screen them quickly enough to schedule interviews with competent candidates. And the longer process will reduce candidate engagement.

Therefore, the AI recruiting software is the best to screen applications faster. Recruiters simply have to provide the software with their perfect candidate details, and it will automatically screen the candidates who suit that profile. This will save time and reduce the recruitment cycle. 

#2 Bridging the communication gap

Communication is one of the important factors in building a good relationship with your candidates. Job applicants want simple and clear communication channels so they can receive instant recruitment notifications. In particular, candidates working from home demand streamlined communication due to a lack of physical connection. 

Artificial intelligence algorithms and chatbots can help to bridge communication gaps between recruiters and candidates. For example, candidates can receive real-time information on their queries using chatbots. In addition, two-way communication can keep candidates engaged and motivated throughout the recruitment process. 

#3 Streamlined candidate interactions

Recruiters are always busy people. Thus, they might forget to call or send emails to applicants when they receive their application or inform them about the next steps.

But AI never forgets anything. Using the AI-based application tracking software, recruiters don’t have to worry about sending follow-up messages to applicants. The software will automatically send notifications to candidates when their application is reviewed or moved to the next recruitment phase.

#4 Reduced human error 

Humans are prone to making mistakes. Recruiters might forget to send interview details to applicants, or they may send the wrong interview date. 

But, machines don't make mistakes. Your AI hiring tools can inform candidates and interview takers with the correct interview details. In addition, the software will send follow-up messages before the interview date.

Some software can even integrate with employee time tracking software and help you schedule interviews suiting candidates and interview takers' availability. This way, you can enhance the candidate experience and save your recruiters from burnout.

#5 Consistency in the hiring process

Consistency is something that not many recruiters consider while designing their hiring process. But, it is essential to keep your message and tone consistent throughout the recruitment process.

Using the software, recruiters can bring consistency to different aspects of their hiring process, such as:

• They can draft email templates using the company's logo and visuals.
• They can send custom messages to candidates based on their queries.
• Recruiters can use the same tone with all applicants, etc. 

#6 Soft skills and personality-based hiring 

A candidate's resume can only show certain technical skills and educational qualifications. But, for many job roles like marketing and sales, the candidate's communication, problem-solving and other personality traits matter the most.

In a physical interview, recruiters still have a chance to test candidates' personalities and soft skills. But, in remote recruitment, recruiters' ability to analyze an individual's personality and other traits is limited.

Therefore, they need advanced AI algorithms to screen candidates based on their job titles, location, and other skills. AI tools can gather relevant candidate data from third-party websites like GitHub and LinkedIn to help you find the right person for the job role.

#7 Job posting 

Do you want only qualified and suitable candidates to apply for your job? If so, you should use AI tools to create and post jobs on multiple job boards.

First of all, AI software can help you identify the right platform to post your online job ads. After that, it will guide you through creating the relevant content and visuals to make your ad look appealing. In addition, Facebook and Google's algorithms let you target specific users with your ad.

So, when your job ad reaches the right people and stimulates their emotions, you will easily get high-quality applications to fill out your job position.

#8 Keep candidates engaged

The downside of a long recruitment cycle is that your highly experienced candidate might drop out in the middle of the process. 

Imagine spending two months finding and screening the best candidate for your job. But, when you tell candidates to join your company, they have already found another job. 

In that case, you might have to offer a better deal to motivate candidates to work for your organization. Alternatively, you must restart the entire hiring process to find capable applicants or settle for the second-best candidate.

Using the AI tools, you can provide instant updates to candidates. Thus, they will not look for jobs anywhere else when they know they are close to getting one. It will save you a lot of trouble and keep candidates engaged. 

#9 Reduce the response time

Nobody likes to wait. Especially applicants who are in immediate need of a job. Usually, it takes 10 to 14 days to get a response after an interview. But, this period can be extended or reduced based on the interview type.

However, an applicant who is out of a job right now will not wait that long without any follow-up message. Therefore, you can use AI software to keep your job applicants posted if your response time is longer. This will improve the candidates' experience and keep them motivated to wait for your final response.

#10 Personalized candidate experience

Personalization can help to build an excellent experience for your job candidates. Using AI recruitment tools, you will get instant information about your applications from their different social media profiles.

This will help you draft personalized emails and response letters to make candidates feel like a part of your organization. Personalization can help you hire engaged and motivated employees who don't require much training to work in your organization. 

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Conclusion 

Undoubtedly, candidate engagement is important to build your employer's brand, hire top performers, and improve your internal efficiency. But, in the modern recruitment process, it is not easy to reduce recruitment time and build seamless communication with several applicants. 

But thanks to AI, you can now have proper communication and planned interaction with your candidates. AI will help you in every aspect of recruitment, including the job posting, follow-up, improving communication, and so on.

So, start now if you are not yet using AI to improve candidate engagement.

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