“Job applicants are winning the AI arms race against recruiters” – An executive search viewpoint

A recent article in the Economist business section discussed that companies are being swamped by candidates using AI tools like ChatGPT to quickly and with minimal effort submit job applications en masse. As the article states, “The number of job applications an average candidate sends has risen by 239% since ChatGPT’s release in 2022”, resulting in in-house recruiters facing a flood of candidates.

What ramifications will this phenomenon have on the executive search industry? Unlike contingent recruitment agencies, retained executive search firms will be far less affected, at least in the short term. This is due to the necessity of qualifying potential candidates through direct face-to-face engagements and providing clients with a true assessment of each candidate’s merits.

Executive search firms typically approach highly qualified senior executives profiles who are generally not actively seeking  new roles. Furthermore, the search firm engage with a smaller talent pool, attempting to convince reluctant professionals to discuss potential opportunities with their clients. It is extremely doubtful that many of the highly-sort after executives would ever consider engaging for instance, with a chatbot to discuss the possibility of changing employers.

The true value that executive search firms offer their clients lies in long and shortlists of high-calibre candidates whose skills, functional expertise, and motivation have been validated. The search consultant, if effective, will have evaluated the candidates that best fit with the company culture and values  – something that only human interaction can accomplish. As a result, consultants are engaged in all aspects of the process, from defining the search to candidate integration. This can be complimented with psychometric testing and formal and informal background and referencing checking.

There is still much uncertainty about whether AI will continue to favour candidates over recruiters or if future advances tip the scales back towards recruiters. What is certain, in our opinion, is that entire executive search process will continue to yield the best candidates, critical in ensuring that clients makes the right hiring decision.

Source: “Job applicants are winning the AI arms race against recruiter” – The Economist