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    Beyond the Hype: 7 AI Recruiting Tools That Actually Deliver ROI in 2025

    In 2025, the conversation around AI in recruiting has moved beyond futuristic promises to a critical evaluation of its actual impact. For talent acquisition leaders, the key question isn’t “Should we use AI?” but “Which AI tools will deliver a measurable return on investment?” Sifting through a saturated market of AI-powered platforms can be overwhelming. The real value lies not in the hype, but in tools that solve concrete problems, save valuable time, and demonstrably improve the quality of hire.
    This article cuts through the noise to spotlight seven types of AI recruiting tools that are proving their worth by delivering tangible ROI.

    1. AI-Powered Sourcing Platforms

    What they do: These platforms act like a tireless sourcing assistant, automatically scanning millions of profiles across job boards, professional networks like LinkedIn, and the open web to find qualified candidates who match your specific criteria. They go far beyond simple keyword searches, understanding context and skills to identify both active and passive talent.
    Why they deliver ROI: The primary return is a massive reduction in time-to-source. Instead of spending dozens of hours per week on manual searches, recruiters can get a pre-vetted list of qualified candidates in minutes. This dramatically shortens the entire hiring timeline, reduces cost-per-hire, and gives your team a competitive edge in securing top talent before others do.
    Examples: SeekOut, hireEZ

    2. Intelligent Candidate Matching & Screening

    What they do: At the top of the funnel, these tools use AI to automatically screen and score incoming applications against your job description. The technology analyzes resumes, cover letters, and even online profiles to rank candidates based on skills, experience, and qualifications, effectively creating your initial shortlist.
    Why they deliver ROI: This is about reclaiming your team’s most valuable asset: time. Recruiters can spend up to 80% less time on manual resume review, allowing them to focus on engaging with the most promising candidates. This automation also helps mitigate unconscious bias by focusing purely on qualifications, leading to a more diverse and higher-quality slate of candidates.
    Examples: Ceipal, Manatal

    3. Automated Interview Scheduling Chatbots

    What they do: These AI assistants, often integrated into your career site or email system, handle the endless back-and-forth of scheduling interviews. The chatbot interacts with candidates in natural language, finds mutually available times on the hiring manager’s calendar, and sends out confirmations and reminders.
    Why they deliver ROI: The ROI here is twofold: administrative efficiency and improved candidate experience. It eliminates hours of low-value administrative work for recruiters each week. For candidates, it provides an instant, seamless experience, preventing the drop-off that often occurs due to scheduling delays. A faster, more professional process directly strengthens your employer brand.
    Examples: Paradox (Olivia), Brazen

    4. AI-Driven Job Description Optimizers

    What they do: Before you even post a role, these tools analyze your job descriptions for effectiveness. Using vast datasets, the AI suggests changes to make the language more inclusive, highlights key skills you may have missed, and optimizes the text for search engines (like Google for Jobs) to attract a more qualified and diverse applicant pool.
    Why they deliver ROI: Better job descriptions lead to a better applicant pool. The ROI comes from increased applicant quality and reduced advertising spend. By attracting the right people from the start, you spend less time sifting through irrelevant applications and may not need to pay for premium job board placements. Improved inclusivity also helps you hit crucial DEI targets.
    Examples: Textio, Datapeople

    5. Gamified Skills Assessments & Soft Skill Analysis

    What they do: These platforms move beyond the resume to provide objective data on a candidate’s actual abilities. This can range from AI-powered coding challenges and simulations to gamified assessments that measure critical soft skills like problem-solving, communication, and emotional intelligence. Some tools even analyze video interviews for key behavioral indicators.
    Why they deliver ROI: The biggest return is a reduction in mishires. By getting objective data on a candidate’s potential for on-the-job success, you make more informed decisions. This data-driven approach is far more predictive than gut feeling, ensuring the people you hire have the skills to succeed, which drastically improves long-term retention.
    Examples: Pymetrics, HireVue

    6. Internal Mobility & Talent Marketplaces

    What they do: Arguably one of the most powerful uses of AI in HR, these platforms map the skills, experiences, and career aspirations of your current employees. When a new role opens up, the AI proactively identifies and suggests qualified internal candidates, creating a dynamic internal talent marketplace.
    Why they deliver ROI: The financial impact is immense. Filling a role internally can be up to six times cheaper than hiring an external candidate. It dramatically boosts employee retention by showing clear pathways for growth, reduces time-to-fill, and ensures valuable institutional knowledge stays within the company.
    Examples: Gloat, Eightfold AI

    7. Conversational AI for Candidate Engagement

    What they do: This is the evolution of the simple chatbot. Advanced conversational AI can engage candidates 24/7 throughout the hiring process. It can answer complex questions about benefits and company culture, provide real-time application status updates, and proactively re-engage past silver-medalist candidates for new roles, keeping your talent pipeline warm.
    Why they deliver ROI: The key benefit is preventing candidate drop-off. In a competitive market, a lack of communication is a primary reason top candidates withdraw. By providing instant, helpful information, this AI improves the candidate experience and strengthens your employer brand. It frees recruiters from answering repetitive questions, allowing them to focus on building relationships.
    Examples: Mya Systems, Paradox

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    The Recruiter’s Guide to Prompt Engineering: Sourcing, Screening, and Engaging Candidates with ChatGPT-4o

    Recruiting is tougher than ever. You’re juggling dozens of roles, battling for top talent, and trying to personalize communication at scale. It’s exhausting. But what if you had a brilliant, lightning-fast assistant to handle the heavy lifting? Meet ChatGPT-4o, your new secret weapon from OpenAI. This guide will teach you the art of prompt engineering—how to ask the AI the right questions to get game-changing results in your sourcing, screening, and engagement efforts.

    What is Prompt Engineering?

    Think of prompt engineering as giving crystal-clear instructions to an intern. The more specific and contextual your request (the “prompt”), the better the outcome. Instead of a vague “Find me some candidates,” you’ll learn to craft detailed prompts that make ChatGPT-4o a true extension of your recruiting expertise.
    The core principles are simple:

    Be Specific: Who is your audience? What is the goal?
    Provide Context: Give it background information, like the company culture, role seniority, and key challenges.
    Define the Format: Do you want a bulleted list, a formal email, or a casual social media post? Tell it!
    Iterate: Your first prompt might not be perfect. Tweak it and try again.

    Part 1: Supercharge Your Sourcing sourcing

    Stop staring at a blank screen. Use ChatGPT-4o to build your pipeline faster and more effectively.

    Crafting Elite Boolean Search Strings

    Boolean searches are powerful but tedious to write. Let the AI do it for you.

    Simple Prompt: “Create a Boolean search string for a Senior Java Developer in London with experience in AWS and Spring Boot.”
    Advanced Prompt: “Act as a tech recruiter specializing in FinTech. Generate three variations of a Boolean search string for LinkedIn Recruiter to find a ‘Lead Software Engineer’ in London. The ideal candidate must have experience with microservices architecture, Kafka, and Kubernetes. They should have worked at a startup or a high-growth tech company. Exclude candidates from large investment banks like Goldman Sachs or JP Morgan. Provide one short string and two comprehensive ones.”

    Writing Job Descriptions That Convert

    A boring job description attracts boring candidates. Use ChatGPT-4o to inject some life into your ads. 📝

    Simple Prompt: “Write a job description for a Marketing Manager role at a B2B SaaS company.”
    Advanced Prompt: “Act as a world-class copywriter. Write a compelling and inclusive job description for a ‘Product Designer’ role at a remote-first company focused on sustainability. The tone should be energetic, mission-driven, and slightly informal. Highlight our commitment to work-life balance and professional development. Structure it with these sections: ‘Your Mission,’ ‘What You’ll Do,’ ‘What You’ll Bring,’ and ‘Why You’ll Love It Here.’ End with a clear call to action.”

    Identifying Niche Sourcing Channels

    Where do the best candidates hang out? Ask the expert.

    Prompt: “I’m looking for a ‘Head of Data Science’ with experience in the renewable energy sector. Beyond LinkedIn, what are five niche online communities, blogs, or newsletters where I could find and engage with these professionals?”

    Part 2: Streamline Your Screening 🕵️‍♀️

    Cut down on manual review and focus on the candidates who matter most. Disclaimer: Always use AI as a co-pilot. Human oversight is crucial for fairness and to avoid bias.

    Developing Killer Screening Questions

    Move beyond “Tell me about yourself.” Get to the core of a candidate’s skills and experience.

    Prompt: “I’m hiring a ‘Sales Development Representative (SDR)’ for a tech startup. Generate five behavioral screening questions to assess resilience, coachability, and prospecting skills. For each question, explain what a good answer would sound like.”

    Creating Resume Summaries

    Quickly get the gist of a candidate’s profile without reading every single word.

    Prompt: “Summarize the attached resume into a 100-word paragraph. Focus on the candidate’s experience with project management methodologies, team leadership, and budget oversight. Highlight their key achievements and quantify them where possible.”(Note: Be mindful of data privacy. Use anonymized resumes or copy-paste text without personal identifiers.)

    Building Interview Scorecards

    Standardize your interview process and reduce bias with a clear evaluation framework.

    Prompt: “Create an interview scorecard for a ‘Customer Success Manager’ role. The key competencies are: Client Relationship Management, Problem-Solving, Product Knowledge, and Communication. For each competency, create a 1-5 rating scale and provide a brief description of what defines a poor (1), average (3), and excellent (5) performance.”

    Part 3: Master Candidate Engagement 💬

    First impressions count. Craft personalized and memorable outreach that gets replies.

    Writing Personalized Outreach Messages

    No more generic templates! Personalization is key.

    Simple Prompt: “Write a short LinkedIn connection request to a software engineer for a job opportunity.”
    Advanced Prompt: “Act as a friendly and professional tech recruiter. I want to contact a potential candidate named Sarah, who is a Senior UX Designer at Spotify. I saw her recent blog post about ‘Designing for Accessibility.’ Write a 150-word LinkedIn InMail message that:

    References her specific blog post and compliments it.
    Briefly introduces my company (a health-tech startup called ‘WellFit’).
    Connects her passion for accessibility to a project we’re working on.
    Ends with a low-pressure call to action for a brief chat.The tone should be respectful of her time and genuine.”

    Crafting Follow-Up Sequences

    Stay top-of-mind without being annoying.

    Prompt: “Create a 3-email follow-up sequence for a candidate who has not responded to my initial outreach. The tone should be persistent but not pushy. The first follow-up should be 3 days after the initial message, the second 5 days after that. The final email should be a ‘breakup’ email that politely closes the loop.”

    Generating Social Media Content

    Build your personal brand and attract inbound talent.

    Prompt: “Generate five engaging LinkedIn post ideas for a recruiter trying to attract passive talent. The topics should be about career advice, interview tips, and industry trends. For each idea, write a catchy hook and suggest a relevant visual (e.g., poll, image, short video).”

    By mastering prompt engineering, you can transform ChatGPT-4o from a fun novelty into an indispensable recruiting partner. You’ll save time, improve the quality of your work, and ultimately, make better hires. Start experimenting today and watch your productivity soar. 🚀

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    Holistic Workplace Wellbeing: 6 Ways Employers Can Unlock Greater Engagement and Productivity

    A quarter of employees believe their job negatively affects both their mental and physical health, according to the CIPD’s Good Work Index 2025. This represents roughly 8.5 million working people in the UK.
    The same report also highlights that poor workplace relationships harm productivity, specifically pointing to the influence that poor relationships with colleagues and line managers have.
    Furthermore, “those whose work affects their mental health negatively are more likely to quit, less likely to recommend their employer, and have lower job satisfaction”.
    With a clear link between wellbeing and business outcomes, businesses need to act for the sake of the organisation’s longevity and its people.
    But how do businesses nurture employee physical and mental health?
    #1 Inspiring meaningful conversations 
    Speaking about challenges that affect work and productivity can feel overwhelming for many, especially those who feel uncertain of the underlying implications this may have on how they’re perceived. A workplace that champions conversations about mental and physical wellbeing gives employees the courage to seek the support they need.
    Language matters. Medical terms such as ‘disorder’, ‘condition’ or ‘syndrome’ have a way of stigmatising issues, isolating those who feel labelled and defined by such terms. The imperative lies in replacing harsh and divisive medical language with open and honest conversations based on common ground. Everyone, at one point in their lives, is likely to experience some form of mental or physical strain born from circumstances out of their control.
    #2 Remembering physical health 
    A holistic wellbeing approach can build an engaged and happy workforce. With conversation focused on mental health, it can be easy to let physical health fall to the wayside, especially if businesses are caught out in thinking that adverse physical effects are only related to physically demanding jobs.
    Ergonomic issues related to sedentary work have a profound effect on employee wellbeing and should be efficiently and effectively remedied. Third-party occupational health support is an excellent avenue that provides expert support to all employees.
    For a business to see the full picture, corporate health assessments (completed internally or externally with employees in the office or working remotely) help identify individual work challenges and introduce appropriate offerings based on the findings.
    For example, making steps towards change can be as simple as carrying out assessments of and adjustments to display screen equipment. No matter the size or budget of a business, this is effective and helpful to all employees. Where required, access to in-person or online physiotherapy will prevent and remedy musculoskeletal problems resulting from sedentary work.
    Further inclusion of fitness classes through employee membership programmes, cycle to work schemes, and home office set-up budgets will enhance physical wellbeing throughout.
    #3 Mobilising leaders and managers 
    Providing managers with training that champions conversations about mental and physical wellbeing can be meaningful and impactful. While it may be difficult to reach out for help, supporting someone’s wellbeing can be a heavy load for someone ill-equipped to manage it.
    Physical and mental first aid training equips managers and leaders with the skills they need to confidently support their colleagues. In turn, those in need of support know that their managers and colleagues are educated and equipped to support them.
    #4 Auditing available support 
    To provide the full support employees need, start by auditing what physical and mental health support is currently available, committing to fill any shortfalls. Part of this involves ensuring that the support is available is all-encompassing, catering to those who may find it more difficult to take up available support.
    A popular programme provided by businesses across the UK is the employee assistance programme (EAP), while others might provide access to counselling or advice through charities or local community services. All these lines of support give employees the courage to address their wellbeing through a service provided through their workplace.
    When it comes to physical wellbeing, policies are the most practical way to disseminate information and educate employees about how they can enhance their physical wellbeing at work, and what support is available to them. These policies can include advice and guidance for employees on how they should set up their workspaces in the office or at home.
    #5 Building meaningful workplace relationships 
    Businesses committed to fostering a culture of recognition and engagement know the fundamental role this plays in ensuring employees have strong relationships with one another.
    Workplace relationships are instrumental in supporting physical and mental health, as highlighted by the CIPD.
    As a byproduct, a workplace built upon mutual respect and strong relationships breeds a culture of recognition and engagement. Employees who are appreciated and valued are not only happier at work but 43 percent more effective, too.
    Championing recognition as a leadership tool, personalising recognition and wellbeing support, and providing space for authentic connection is something all managers should be trained and aligned on. Communication and social engagement will thrive as employees work together as colleagues and friends.
    #6 Recruiting with wellness in mind
    Holistic wellbeing starts at recruitment, and candidates increasingly judge an employer based on their approach. Businesses must stay competitive to appeal to the needs of an increasingly stressed-out population.
    Recent research shows that one in every five Brits find themselves feeling stressed every day. Stress affects mental and physical wellbeing in a myriad of ways, and more people are looking to prioritise a healthy work-life balance.
    Organisations offering wellness programmes, access to health services, fitness packages, and mental health support will be prioritised by sought-after talent. Word of mouth and reputation will precede this kind of organisation, organically attracting prospective employees before and during recruitment initiatives.
    By Chris Britton, People Experience Director at Reward Gateway | Edenred.
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    5 Smart Ways Talent Teams Can Use AI to Streamline Recruitment

    Recruitment teams are no strangers to pressure. With job applications surging, up by 42% year over year, there’s a growing strain on resources, tools, and time. Yet while job seekers are rapidly adopting AI to optimize their resumes and cover letters, many recruiters are still navigating how best to bring AI into their own workflows.
    So, where does AI actually make sense for recruiters?
    While the hype around Generative AI has been loud, the practical, scalable applications in recruitment are still emerging. The industry has seen a few meaningful wins, largely around speeding up tasks, but we’ve yet to witness widespread AI-led transformation in hiring.
    However, that doesn’t mean recruiters should sit idle. In fact, now is the ideal time to prepare, experiment, and upskill. Based on our work at JobAdder, here are five practical ways recruiters can leverage AI now to work smarter and more efficiently.
    1. Automate the Admin That Slows You Down
    It’s no secret that recruiters spend a significant chunk of time on repetitive, low-impact tasks. Reviewing resumes, extracting skills, formatting candidate profiles, and comparing CVs against job descriptions; these are essential but time-consuming processes.
    AI can:

    Automatically parse resumes and extract core competencies
    Match candidate profiles to job briefs using contextual language models
    Summarize experience and highlight potential red flags

    These features aren’t about removing the recruiter’s judgment. Instead, they create a faster, cleaner starting point, freeing up time to focus on what matters: candidate engagement, stakeholder communication, and strategic hiring conversations.
    2. Improve Job Ad Quality and Clarity
    Writing compelling job ads isn’t just about grammar and keywords. It’s about clear communication, inclusive language, and an accurate reflection of what’s actually needed for success in the role.
    AI tools can assist by:

    Generating first drafts based on role descriptions or templates
    Flagging jargon or biased phrasing
    Suggesting clearer alternatives based on proven best practices

    While these tools shouldn’t replace human editing, they’re valuable for reducing friction in the writing process and ensuring consistency across teams. The result? A better candidate fit and fewer applications from those who are unclear about the role.
    3. Focus on Integration, Not Just Innovation
    A key reason AI hasn’t been widely adopted in recruitment is simple: it’s clunky to use.
    When AI tools sit outside the core recruitment platform, they create extra steps, exporting data, re-entering information, and switching between interfaces. This creates friction and, ultimately, abandonment.
    What works better is embedded AI features that show up within the existing workflow:

    In-line resume parsing during shortlisting
    Candidate insights that surface in CRM profiles
    AI-generated summaries built directly into candidate cards

    Until full integration becomes the norm, recruiters can still reduce friction by building workflows with clear prompts and templates that minimize toggling between tools.
    4. Train Your Team to Speak AI
    Adopting AI tools isn’t just a tech upgrade, it’s a skill shift. Teams need to understand how to prompt AI tools effectively, where to trust them, and how to catch the inevitable errors or hallucinations.
    At JobAdder, we’ve found that formal training, from engineering teams to recruiters, is essential. Even non-technical team members benefit from exposure to:

    Prompt engineering basics
    Data privacy implications
    Realistic expectations of GenAI capabilities

    Recruitment leaders should consider internal “AI champions” or training programs that encourage exploration and experimentation across teams. The better your recruiters understand the tool, the more confident (and efficient) they become.
    5. Start with the Problem, Not the Tool
    AI has a lot of potential, but not every challenge needs it.
    Before rolling out another new platform or chatbot, it’s worth asking: what’s the actual problem we’re solving?
    For example:

    Are you struggling to prioritize candidates fast enough?
    Is your team overwhelmed by scheduling?
    Are hiring managers asking for more market intelligence?

    Once the pain point is clear, AI can be tested in a focused way, rather than bolted on with vague hopes of efficiency. Recruiters who start small, measure the impact, and iterate will get the most from AI, now and in the long run.
    What’s Next for AI in Recruitment?
    While the tech industry loves to talk about revolutions, AI’s impact in recruitment may look more like evolution. The gains will be real, but incremental.
    Think faster, cleaner and more structured. Not yet a total reimagining of hiring, but a definite shift in how recruiters spend their time.
    At JobAdder, we’re doubling down on areas where AI can already add value: working with unstructured data like resumes and job ads, summarizing large volumes of information, and eliminating time-heavy bottlenecks in workflows.
    Recruiters who embrace this wave early, not with hype, but with curiosity, will be best positioned to thrive as the technology continues to evolve.
    By Joel Delmaire, Chief Product Officer at JobAdder, an end-to-end recruitment platform empowering HR and talent acquisition professionals to simplify and streamline their workflows. He leads product innovation across AI, automation and user experience.
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    Unlocking Creative Talent: A Recruiter’s Guide to Hiring in the Game Industry

    The hunt for top creative specialists is fierce. The market is overflowing, demands are constantly shifting, and truly unique skill sets are rare. But don’t worry! This guide offers recruiters actionable strategies to attract and retain exceptional creative talent.
    Think Beyond the Traditional
    Sometimes, the best hires come from unexpected places. Instead of fixating on rigid criteria like years of experience or formal education, prioritize passion, potential, and cultural fit.

    Embrace unconventional backgrounds: A D&D Dungeon Master might possess the imaginative thinking and leadership skills needed to excel as a game designer.
    Look beyond the resume: Give candidates opportunities to showcase their unique qualities through diverse interview stages and assessments.

    Essential Skills for Creative Specialists
    In the dynamic world of game development, creative specialists need a blend of specialized knowledge, core game design principles, and essential soft skills.

    Adaptability: The ability to embrace new technologies and trends is crucial in the ever-evolving GameDev landscape.
    Out-of-the-box thinking: Generating innovative ideas within technical limitations and genre constraints is a must.
    Teamwork: Collaborative spirit and effective communication are vital for bringing creative visions to life.
    Hard skills: A deep understanding of game mechanics, trends, and player psychology is essential, along with the ability to apply and reimagine popular mechanics (like the A4 mechanic) in engaging ways.

    Prioritize Culture Fit and Soft Skills
    Technical prowess is important, but it’s only one piece of the puzzle.

    Cultural alignment: Observe how candidates interact with potential colleagues to assess their compatibility with your team’s values and working style.
    Strong communication: Seek individuals who can effectively share, pitch, and negotiate ideas.
    Adaptability and collaboration: Prioritize candidates who are receptive to feedback, embrace constructive criticism, and foster collaboration.
    Empathy and emotional intelligence: Understanding player motivations and emotions is key to crafting compelling game experiences.

    Experience Trumps Education
    In GameDev, a strong portfolio often outweighs a formal degree.

    Real-world evidence: Prioritize candidates with a portfolio demonstrating practical skills and experience through personal projects, indie games, or concept art.
    Relevant experience: When faced with a choice, favor candidates whose experience aligns with your project’s specific needs and style.

    Evaluating Creativity: A Multi-faceted Approach
    Go beyond traditional interviews to assess a candidate’s creative potential.

    Test assignments: Gauge their ability to adapt to new challenges and problem-solve.
    Brainstorming sessions: Observe their ideation process, collaboration skills, and ability to bring ideas to life.
    Real-life case studies: Evaluate their problem-solving approach and creative thinking in practical scenarios.
    Portfolio reviews: Assess the diversity, originality, and depth of their work.

    Unconventional Hiring Strategies
    Think outside the box when hiring creative specialists.

    Indie game festivals and hackathons: Connect with passionate junior developers and observe their teamwork and problem-solving skills under pressure.
    Workshops and lectures: Engage with aspiring professionals seeking opportunities in established studios.
    Social media: Follow industry experts and engage with potential candidates sharing their knowledge and projects on platforms like LinkedIn, Telegram, and Medium.

    Key Takeaways for Recruiters

    Focus on potential: Go beyond resumes and standardized evaluations to uncover hidden talents and assess a candidate’s true potential.
    Build a strong employer brand: Cultivate a reputation for creativity and innovation by actively participating in industry events and sharing your company’s success stories.
    Invest in development: Attract and retain top talent by offering opportunities for growth through mentorship programs and training initiatives.

    By embracing these strategies, recruiters can navigate the competitive landscape of GameDev and secure the creative talent needed to build exceptional games.
    Inessa Baianova is a recruiter at Nexters with over four years of experience in HR, specializing in IT and game development. She leads teams, builds processes from scratch, and mentors young professionals.
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    New Research Exposes the Dog-Eat-Dog World of Big Tech Recruiting

    A recent study from Switch On Business delved into the dynamics of talent recruitment and retention in the competitive tech industry.
    It provided detailed insights into the transfer of talent among rival tech giants like Google, Meta, IBM, Amazon, and Apple. For instance, it showed that 26.51% of Meta’s workforce has previously worked at another tech giant. At the same time, the study highlighted how Apple’s recruitment policy is driven by poaching staff from Intel, Microsoft, and Google.
    The main takeaway for tech recruiters is straightforward: There are so many opportunities to bring in talent from rival firms. However, recruiters must take a proactive and creative approach to capturing and holding the attention of highly skilled professionals who know they are in high demand.
    You can find the full details of the study in the charts below, as well as some tips and advice on becoming a more successful tech recruiter.
    The challenge of being a big tech recruiter
    Recruiting top talent for big tech roles presents many challenges.
    Firstly, the demand for tech talent far exceeds the supply, creating a severe talent shortage. The competition is fierce, with tech giants and startups vying for the same pool of candidates. This scarcity forces recruiters to think creatively and proactively reach out to passive candidates who may not actively seek new opportunities.
    The rapid pace of technological innovation means that the skills required for these roles are constantly evolving. Keeping up with these changes and accurately assessing a candidate’s proficiency in emerging technologies is now an essential part of any big-tech recruiter’s job.
    Then there’s the critical issue of diversity and inclusion. To satisfy big tech’s commitment to diversity, recruiters must actively seek out underrepresented talent and ensure their hiring processes are inclusive and unbiased.
    Why big tech recruiters should be headhunting from rivals
    Recruiters for big tech companies target talent from rival big tech firms for several reasons, including:

    Industry-Specific Expertise: Employees from rival firms come with relevant industry knowledge and technical expertise, reducing training time and allowing for a smoother transition into new roles.
    Proven Track Record: Professionals from other big tech firms have a proven track record of success in high-pressure, innovative environments. They’re the kind of people who can hit the ground running.
    Cultural fit: Having worked in similar corporate environments, these individuals are more likely to adapt quickly to the culture of another big tech firm. They’re also more likely to stay long-term, which is good for them, the company, and a recruiter’s bonus structure.

    How to entice big tech talent away from rival firms
    Software engineers, coders, and data analysts are never short of offers. As any recruiter will tell you, big tech recruitment is the epitome of a buyer’s market.
    So, if recruiters want to poach the best talent for their clients, they need to understand what that talent is looking for.
    Here’s a list of top tips for recruiters on the hunt for big tech talent:

    Understand the Candidate’s Motivations: Research what motivates candidates. Ask about career advancement, better work-life balance, exciting projects, or a more attractive compensation package.
    Personalize Outreach: Customize communications to show that you’ve done your homework about the candidate.
    Highlight Unique Opportunities: Emphasize unique opportunities that the candidate might not have in their current role, like working on cutting-edge projects or a more relaxed corporate culture.
    Offer Competitive Compensation Packages: Be prepared to offer add-ons to compensation packages, including benefits, bonuses, stock options, and relocation expenses.
    Stress Cultural Fit: Show how the candidate’s values and work style align with your company’s culture. This is often as important as a big salary.
    Prepare for Counteroffers: Be ready to negotiate if the candidate receives a counteroffer from their current employer because this will happen.
    Be Patient and Persistent: High-caliber candidates often require a more extended courting period. Be patient, keep the lines of communication open, and regularly check-in.

    Recruiting for big tech roles is a complex process defined by talent shortages, evolving skill requirements, and intense competition.
    Recruiters must adapt and employ innovative strategies to identify and attract the best candidates in this ever-evolving landscape. It’s not an easy job. But those who master the process will smash their targets and make some very nice monthly commission payments.
    Ashley Murphy graduated with a BA (Hons) in English Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Manchester. He began working as a freelance content writer in 2015. He covers technology, business and careers for Switch on Business. 
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    HelloFresh: Solving a Global Talent Challenge with Upskilled Talent Engagement

    HelloFresh is a global meal kit delivery company that operates in 18 countries. This gives them a unique challenge when it comes to talent acquisition: they need to find local talent with niche skills to support their complex distribution and logistics.
    In this article, we’ll explore how HelloFresh has solved this challenge by upskilling their talent engagement team. We’ll also share five actionable tips from Carolina Guillen, Head of Global Talent Marketing and Engagement at HelloFresh, on how you can engage your own talent team in employer branding.
    The Talent Challenge of Global Logistics
    HelloFresh is headquartered in Berlin and New York, but they operate in eighteen countries worldwide. The core business model of delivering meal kits remains the same from country to country. However, the logistical problem of storing, packaging, and shipping ingredients so that they arrive fresh at a customer’s door in all of these different markets creates a unique hiring challenge for Guillen and her team.
    Different countries have different regulations governing food safety, food storage, shipping, and so on. This means that HelloFresh needs to fill roles locally in supply chain, fulfillment, and technical specialist areas to meet these requirements in each market.
    “We often need to find local talent that comes with a very specific skill or certification,” says Guillen.
    In short, there’s a lot of work to be done in talent acquisition and talent engagement. And that got Guillen thinking: could we engage this team to activate our employer brand?
    How HelloFresh Upskills Their Talent Engagement Team
    The talent engagement team at HelloFresh comes from a background in traditional sourcing and recruiting. However, Guillen has started to upskill them with marketing and project management skillsets.
    “Our main goal is for them to be delivering 360 solutions for top-of-funnel needs,” she says. This means that they’re responsible for developing event, talent community, and referral strategies. They’re also involved in developing strategies for reputation management and social media marketing.
    This approach creates alignment between Guillen’s employer branding team and the people who put it into action throughout the recruitment and hiring process. Talent acquisition has a say in what they’re being asked to do and also participates in developing strategies for employer branding.
    Moreover, upskilling these employees into comb-shaped experts with new skill sets gives them more flexibility to grow into the career they want at HelloFresh.
    In the episode, we asked Guillen for some actionable tips you can use to engage your recruitment team in employer branding work.
    Here are her 5 Ideas for Recruitment Team Engagement:

    Create a content strategy with talent acquisition in mind. Your talent acquisition team members have very direct control and influence on the candidate journey, so they can help you build pieces that are aligned with your employer brand.
    Fall in love with your candidate, not your brand. We put a lot of energy into developing an employer brand, but sometimes that makes it difficult to take a step back and see what’s working. “From my point of view, it’s much more beneficial to be a critic of your brand,” says Guillen. Instead, fall in love with your audience and build content that is made just for them.
    Don’t be afraid to reuse content. Developing quality content takes energy and focus. But when you’ve got something that works, how can you be sure it’s getting in front of the right people? And how can you get the most ROI for your efforts? Guillen recommends rehashing and recycling your campaigns and the pieces of content you create. You can get a lot of extra value by changing formats or platforms. One thing they’re doing at HelloFresh, for example, is transcribing videos they made earlier to use as the basis for new series of blog posts.
    Every good story needs a hero. Use stories about real people to tell the story of your company and to connect with candidates on a personal level. “When you can tell a story that is authentic and relatable, it really resonates with people,” says Guillen.
    Build for scale by making “recipes.” This will help you document your processes and make it easier to replicate them in the future. “We’ve created a lot of playbooks and templates that we can share with our team,” says Guillen. “This helps us to scale our efforts and make sure that everyone is on the same page.”

    To follow Carolina Guillen’s work on employer brand, follow her on LinkedIn. For help creating data-driven, actionable strategies you can use to make real change in your company, talk to us.
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    Unlock the Power of ChatGPT in Recruitment: How to Increase Efficiency

    To dive into game-changing sourcing and recruiting practices using AI, Talk Talent to Me went live with these top leaders in New York and San Francisco:

    Director of Talent Sourcing, Activision Blizzard, Justin Ghio
    VP of Talent and Culture, Humane, José Cong
    Director, Talent Acquisition, Employer Branding & Awareness, PandoLogic, Jenny Cotie Kangas
    Chief Technology Officer, Hired, Dave Walters

    Time is precious so we’re sharing the top tactics from the workshops so you can start cutting down on time-consuming, redundant tasks. This frees you up to focus on what’s most important – the human-centric aspects of recruiting that maximize impact. 
    Need to get started ASAP? Get straight to our free template with the top tech candidate personas and resources for crafting your ideal outreach sequences!

    Change your approach: speed > experience
    José Cong suggests taking on an analytical perspective. Earlier this year, he did an A/B test with his team. “A” was his most experienced recruiter with over 25 years of experience. “B” was a coordinator he coached on ChatGPT. Five months later, “B” was outperforming the recruiting veteran at a 3X pace. 
    The team even recently closed their first two principal-level engineers (the highest level you can get as an IC). To him, that was not a coincidence. He saw a pattern. 
    José’s coordinator was taking his guidance a step further, dropping in the resume, job description, and manager notes into ChatGPT. He asked the tool for guidance on how to approach and hold a conversation. It was working.
    Augmented over artificial
    This experience reinforced to José that AI was trainable. In fact, he says, “I hate the terminology ‘artificial intelligence.’ It’s augmented intelligence. If we think about it from that perspective, we’ll be less intimidated by it and more open-minded. This will allow us to do what we do best. We’re in the people business. Our job is not to write a great email or come up with a list of candidates if we get to a place where we are recognizing great talent.”
    José believes talent teams now have the ability to craft a message so individuals see something different than what they’re getting and it makes them stop. He calls it the “aha moment.” 
    Focus on relationship-building
    To José, the challenge is getting to that “aha” email. He says, “How do we personalize it? How do we make it representative of our brand? How do we figure out the best way to make that connection? And once we do that, how do we initiate the conversation? Once we have them on the phone or on video, that’s the feature allowing us, as recruiters, to not waste months trying to figure out how to become an expert in a subject we don’t know.
    For a recruiter, it’s not about how many candidates you get through or how many closes. We judge ourselves in terms of the quality of people.” 
    He wants recruiters to spend time developing relationships instead of searching mindlessly through LinkedIn. A tool like ChatGPT handles the remedial work that will eventually burn us out. 
    ChatGPT in action: Intake to email
    Acting as a new recruiter, Justin Ghio demonstrates how to use ChatGPT to:

    Get closer to knowing what good looks like
    Build trust with a hiring manager
    Sound like a quality recruiter to a candidate (in a job field you may know nothing about!)

    What ten questions should I ask a hiring manager about this role?

    Linking to a job description for a Director of Product, Justin asks ChatGPT what ten questions to ask a hiring manager for the role. He points out the results are cookie-cutter questions. So, the next step is to make these more product-focused. He says, “This is where you can really see the power of it. 

    This AI technology is not output-based. It’s input-based. We are always going to be the input to make this technology powerful. Don’t be scared that it’s going to take your job. You are the key that unlocks its potential.”
    Now, with these 10 questions, you might go into the intake meeting and get all the answers. But, you still don’t know much about this rec. 
    Hiring managers want to know: Do you know about this role? Can you sell it to candidates?
    Write me a Boolean string.

    Again, tailor it to the role:

    Justin doesn’t recommend copying this output and launching it into LinkedIn, a CRM, or an ATS. Instead, he considers it a solid starting point. 
    “At Activision Blizzard, we work off buckets to create booleans. This gives you the ability to extend and find candidates quickly. Everything you know about [the company] and everything you learned from the hiring manager based on the questions you got, you then superimpose on the search to continue making it compelling.”
    Then, you might take a deeper dive into who your company is up against.  
    What companies are the main competitors?

    Write a candidate a compelling email
    By now, you’ve: 

    Completed the intake meeting and have good notes.
    Acquitted your target and know what good looks like 
    Evaluated core competitors

    Next, it’s time for outreach. Justin requests a compelling email to a potential candidate. 

    The result is a standard email but Justin wants you to ask yourself: How many quality pieces of iteration can I get done in the next five minutes? 
    Again, ChatGPT offers a starting point. Justin explains it isn’t about getting an entire email. “Maybe it’s to get the first four sentences,  the hook, or a good subject line.”
    Next, he requests something more interesting and creative. 

    “For [Activision Blizzard], which is in the creative space, this is where we see the dividends pay off because the verbiage will change thematically.”
    From here, continue optimizing.
    Make it more concise.

    Justin tells his team, “If you copy and paste this, then send it out, you’ll get a meeting from me on your calendar. But if you’re using bits and pieces, it will help accelerate. 
    Again, in the creative space, it’s really hard to come up with compelling messages for game developers and figure out what will stick. We have to use [tools] to give us a leg up.”

    Justin praises how ChatGPT “points out the key responsibilities, which are parlayed from the job description we fed it. This is extremely helpful and saves time. It allows us to show up to the first meeting with a good candidate instead of making it a two-week process.”
    Using AI in an equitable way
    Establish guidelines
    Justin explains that at Activision Blizzard, AI is “never a decisive step. It is only a guide. We believe any system we have that has automation doesn’t use any simplified output as a determinant factor. It uses it as an indicative factor. 
    It is not deciding anything, but simply giving us inference and the ability to iterate and ideate quicker. There’s power in the ability to draw inferences from candidates.”
    Justin offers further insight with this scenario: 
    “We are familiar with the DEI statistics about candidates not applying for a job when they don’t meet 100% of the qualifications. Let’s take the flip side of this as an example. Let’s say Person A didn’t add technology to their resume because they used it in one project. But their peer, Person B, wrote it on their resume. We can discover, because of AI, there’s a correlation and you should ask Person A about the technology Person B included on their resume. 
    It’s giving that inference to make an even better call. That could be the missing link between an instant reject and a potential hire.” 
    Justin believes the best results come from following guidelines around ChatGPT in combination with your “personal flair and stylistic input.”
    Be intentional
    In the case that AI does have some evil in it, José and his team “go out of [their] way to make sure [they] are investing time and effort into cycling through various demographics. I think that is the best of both worlds. You’re hopefully automating something that will take away the unconscious biases.
    Just in case it wasn’t untrained with AI, you have to be intentional about making sure you’re targeting underrepresented individuals. The best thing is you can do it at a much higher rate.”
    Use a bias checker
    Jenny Cotie Kangas points out that generative AI is trained on everything from the Internet before 2021. She says, “If you’re using it for content generation, it’s really important to have a bias checker like Textio to make sure you’re not biased against people at scale.”
    Tip: Install WebChatGPT, an extension allowing you to integrate post-2021 information into ChatGPT searches.
    A CTO’s take on ChatGPT
    Hired CTO, Dave Walters sees his team using ChatGPT more and more. He says, “We’re finding more opportunities to leverage it and make our lives more efficient. I embrace it.”
    That’s not without caution though.
    At Hired, Dave and his team are trying to “get ahead by setting policies and procedures for when it should and shouldn’t be used, and what you should and should not do with it.
    I recommend getting policies in place so teams know what to do and what not to do. Don’t let that policy be ‘don’t use it.’ You will fall behind. It’s inevitable. People will use it anyway so find the safe ways to implement it and the ways that will benefit your employees, team members, and company.”
    ChatGPT prompt ideas for talent professionals
    How else can ChatGPT help talent pros? Just ask it! Jenny says, “You can ask generative AI to be your consultant to help you figure out where you can use it.” Here’s a simple example for talent acquisition leaders: 

    “I have ChatGPT build my project plans for how I handle the day. If I need to respond to an email, I can take the email and ask it to draft a response.”
    Write a better business case
    Bring ChatGPT a specific situation. Let’s say you’re not getting the candidates you need from your job board advertising. If you need to request more budget, Jenny recommends developing a use case by asking ChatGPT to help you write a compelling argument.
    Support your talent acquisition strategy
    Legislation changes quite often and talent professionals need to stay in the loop to optimize their TA strategy. Jenny explains, “The Colorado Equal Pay Act says to put pay and benefits on a job advertisement. If I’m looking at that with my talent acquisition strategy as just Colorado, I’m missing the bigger picture. Take the block of information about the Colorado Equal Pay Act and take CCPA and New York’s Local Law 144. 
    Then, ask ChatGPT to give the meta implications of these laws to scale that instead of looking at the tiny aspect of a specific piece. That is what we should be using to build talent strategies.” 
    Sharp vs non-sharp questions
    Now that you have some questions to ask, let’s cover how to ask AI effectively. Jenny emphasizes, “You have to ask the right, sharp question to get the answer.” Here’s her example:
    “What is AI?”
    This is a non-sharp question, which will just present a broad response not specific to your individual use case. “Think of generative AI as having all the hats. To get it to respond more precisely, you want to call out the specific hat you need it to wear.” 
    This is what Jenny considers a sharp question, modified to be specific for a stronger output:
    “As a Talent Acquisition leader considering leveraging ChatGPT in my day-to-day, what are some things I should consider choosing to begin?”

    Interested in crafting better candidate outreach? Try our free template. More