In our category "HR Tech in US" we present HR tech companies from the USA and what the European HR world can learn from them. In this interview, I spoke with David Paffenholz. He is Founder of Juiceboxa company that offers an AI solution for recruiting.
David, you developed PeopleGPT with Juicebox to bring artificial intelligence (AI) into recruiting. - How does your approach work and what makes it special?
Imagine if you had a recruiting assistant who's read through hundreds of millions of profiles and built an understanding of each individual's experiences, skills, and interests. You can ask the assistant to help you set up searches for best-fit candidates, craft personalized messages for them, and present you with an organized list of results.
That's what PeopleGPT brings to market - today - an AI powered people search engine. You enter a description of who you're searching for, and PeopleGPT will 1) find best fit profiles across 30+ data sources, 2) write personalized outreach, and 3) export those candidates, including candidate summaries, to your ATS / CRM.
Will AI put recruiters out of work?
No, but it will transform their jobs.
Sourcing will evolve from reviewing thousands of profiles to selecting among best-fit candidates that the AI found. Candidate relationships will become even more important, as personalized messaging becomes commonplace. Employer branding will take on increased importance, even involving role-specific branding initiatives.
Overall, more time will be spent in AI-assisted workflows, guiding software to help achieve goals. It will result in more impactful TA departments, with more attention placed on candidate experience, higher conversion rates across all funnel steps, and greater hire success rate.
How do you envision the future of your AI? Do you think beyond the recruiting sector?
We're focused on recruiting.
That involves 1) adding more data sources into our platform, many of which have entirely untapped data on candidate skills and experiences, 2) expanding our AI features, including entirely new workflows, and 3) deepening our integrations with the 60+ ATS and CRM platforms we currently support.
You know the German and American markets. What do American tech companies do differently to German ones?
I'm more familiar with the American than the German market, but some of the key differences we've observed (purely anecdotal):
Active Sourcing: more commonplace across roles in the US
Candidate Outreach: outreach still leans towards LinkedIn or Xing in European, though there is increased willingness to try other channels (email, phone, WhatsApp)
Personalization: generally high personalization and strong engagement in the European market
Why did you set up in the USA?
I first moved to the US to go to college and have stayed here since. In my mind, it's undoubtedly the best place to build a tech startup: you have a high concentration of like-minded founders, access to capital, and a large talent pool with previous startup experience. We started building PeopleGPT while going through Y Combinator, a startup accelerator in San Francisco, and it was an easy decision to stay here since.
David, thank you for the interview and your insights!
In our category "HR Tech in US" we present HR tech companies from the USA and what the European HR world can learn from them. In this interview, I spoke with Maura Sparks. She is Co-Founder of AccuChain, a company that validates resumes, ensuring that written content is accurate and AI free.
Maura, at AccuChain you developed Validator, a tool to prevent misinformation in resumes. How does it work?
We have developed a cloud-based resume validation and recruitment platform using proprietary validation processes to dramatically reduce false information in resumes. A jobseeker starts by building their resume in our resume builder. The user can upload and edit an existing resume or create a resume using prompts from the platform. The resume can be fully customized and content can be easily edited. In addition, the platform allows users to upload supporting documents, credentials, diplomas, portfolios and more. Each resume claim can be validated with the platform's built-in validation system. The platform emphasizes factual information using trusted third party validators. The validator is someone familiar with each resume claim, such as: a manager, colleague, partner, client, or customer. The communication between the platform and the validator is automated by our platform. The platform's validation uses a screening technique to fake accounts and validators. Once validated, the resume can be sent to hiring managers or HR departments. The jobseeker is providing a complete online profile we call an 'Enhanced Digital Resume'.
Why is the validation of resumes so important? And how can technology help here?
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) states 46% of resumes have false information. A resume filled with over-inflated claims can easily lead to a bad hire and cost companies up to $240,000. In addition, it can negatively impact project timelines and budget. Validated resumes have the potential to become a new standard in hiring, we wanted to create a platform based on having truthful information about the applicants. The platform was also designed for HR professionals to receive applications directly from jobseekers or find top qualified candidates from the platform's dashboard tied to a job posting. Validator was designed to highlight positive validations and maintains a high level of integrity so hiring managers can have trust in their hires. Hiring decisions should be based on having truthful information about the applicants.
What AI development is taking place at AccuChain?
AccuChain is committed to ensuring written content is accurate and AI free. We are now expanding to detect AI generated content in other written content, including manuscripts, tv and film scripts, blogs, and articles to prevent issues in copyright laws. Publishers and writers who plan to publish and monetize their written content need to protect their work by copyrighting their content and it must be written by the author and free from plagiarism. By using our AI Detection Platform, Documenta, users can authenticate their work is free from AI generated content. Using AI as a tool for productivity is useful, but using it for written content could be problematic. Much like the ruling for screenwriters in Hollywood, AI can be used to generate ideas, but not write scripts. These are useful guidelines for all written content and it is logical to think these steps will be implemented in other industries. In addition, we also have plans to add more AI to Validator to improve the validation process.
What is HYRverse? And what is your goal with it?
HYRverse is a platform we'd like to build someday. We developed a prototype and were selected to the Polygon LEAP accelerator. We developed NFT versions of each profile that acted as a resume or portfolio. Integrating NFTs with smart contracts is a future area we may pursue. Our goal would be to expand Validator to a Web3 platform and create a career network built on trust. Talent and company profiles could be validated and minted. We believe hiring should be based on merit and by allowing a user's identity to be private until hired it removes any bias. By ensuring that everything on their NFT is verified, it brings a high level of trust and minimizes bad actors. We put our web3 work on hold and are focused on Validator and Documenta right now.
Do you see the U.S. as a leader in artificial intelligence (AI)? What are you doing better than other nations?
The United States (US) is seen as the leader in Artificial Intelligence (AI) with over 4000 startups developing AI applications. In addition, the leading US AI companies have developed their own regenerative AI software including: Google's Bard, OpenAI's ChatGPT, and IBM's Watson, to name a few. In addition, many of these companies have made investments in other AI companies, most notably Microsoft's $13 billion investment in OpenAI. The US has a strong community of talent, most importantly developers, researchers and US federal government support. Innovation is revered and funding for new AI advancements continues to be strong for growth and speed in development. Competition from other countries is an opportunity for future collaboration.
What do you see as the future of recruiting?
Many aspects of the 'employee-employer' relationship are broken. Talent deserves stability, a liveable income and potential for advancement. The look of traditional full-time jobs is changing. More people will be working on projects and be hired in teams. They will have a portfolio of their past work history (traditional and project based) and validation provides a better assessment of skills and knowledge than a traditional resume that can easily contain exaggerated claims. Validation of past projects and work will become an important piece in hiring. In addition, HR departments need to focus on communication. I hear too often that applicants never hear back after applying for a position, and even more egregious after an actual interview. Some of this could be automated with AI. Post interviews, talent deserves to hear why they were passed on the position. Companies could benefit from having HR professionals respond with a few words of encouragement or suggestions.
Removing the bias and barrier in hiring is another area that is an important step to democratize recruiting and hiring. If users can keep their name, age, gender, and other personal data private that will remove any unconscious bias during the initial interview stage.
Also, downsizing can be lessened with more redeployment programs. This includes helping talent find other positions within the company by offering positions within different departments or in other teams. Talent that understands the company line of work, products, culture and team is an asset that should not be dismissed lightly. Retaining good talent saves time and money in the long run. The bottom line is talent is not dispensable and start by hiring the right people and work to retain talent with ongoing support. Loyalty and trust work both ways.
Maura, thank you for the interview and your insights.
No matter where you look, whether it's on TV, on LinkedIn, in the newspaper, everywhere you look people are talking about AI and how it's going to change everything. But how realistic is that really? Where is AI already finding its way into our everyday jobs today? And how will your recruiting job change as AI takes over more and more tasks? That's the subject of this article.
What is artificial intelligence (AI)?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a technical application that aims to digitally emulate human intelligence. The aim is to enable machines and programs to adopt and improve human thinking and behavior and to imitate them in various tasks.
AI is based on huge amounts of data, which are put into relation with each other via algorithms. The AI is trained to recognize patterns and correlations between the data and to draw conclusions from them. The goal is usually for the AI to be able to learn independently and improve itself.
There is almost no area in which AI has not yet found its way or will not do so. Whether it's finance, medicine, production, communication, AI is everywhere. Without you always noticing or questioning it. For example, the facial or fingerprint recognition of your smartphone, digital assistants such as Siri or Alexa, autonomous driving, recommendations on Spotify or in social media, or even your navigation system. The list is already endless today. And it's getting longer all the time.
What advantages does AI bring?
AI is the logical consequence of what we humans have always done: We make things easier for ourselves. It's easier (and sometimes safer) to use your fingerprint to unlock your smartphone than to have to type in a four- to six-digit code every time. It's convenient to learn about new artists you might probably like on Spotify that you might otherwise miss. And it certainly equalizes traffic already when many people use Google Maps as a navigation system and bypass the red areas directly.
AI makes the world simpler, cheaper and faster. And it opens up potential that would probably never be possible with human power. Because it is more powerful and always available. It doesn't need to rest and doesn't make mistakes. It does what people tell it to do, without any will of its own. And with sufficient data, it can make predictions that humans cannot make validly.
That already sounds very positive. But where there are advantages, there are also disadvantages.
What are the disadvantages of AI?
When it comes to AI, one of the main points of criticism is ethics. After all, the technical application is still based on human creativity, which develops the AI. According to some researchers, this cannot be completely free of prejudice. Furthermore, there is the question of responsibility. Who is responsible if the AI should make a momentous decision? For example, if a human is killed in a car accident with a self-driving car. Is the manufacturer of the car liable? Or the developer? And would anyone then even develop such an AI if they knew they would be liable? There are many new and unresolved issues here that we need to address.
AI continues to bring the risk of unemployment in many areas. Jobs are very likely to be replaced or changed by AI. But it will also create many new professions that we don't even know about today.
Other disadvantages of AI are its lack of empathy and its unpredictability in the case of self-learning AI. In addition, it is important to remember that the AIs that have been popular so far, such as ChatGPT, are language models. That is, these AIs have been trained to learn, understand, and reproduce language. This does not yet mean that all the information that this AI reproduces is correct. Thus, such an AI can sound convincing, but tell plain wrong.
Where can we already find AI in recruiting today?
The world is changing. AI is already here in many areas of life and continues to make inroads, and we can already find AI applications in recruiting. They relieve recruiters and budgets, optimize processes and help to achieve KPIs. The question is: In which recruiting areas can we already find AI today?
Assessment Center
Assessment centers can be supported by AI, for example. Certain tasks can be used to test the competencies and skills of a candidate. These are automatically evaluated and compared. Both in advance, when selecting who is invited to the assessment center, and during the process. In addition, speech analysis tools can be used to obtain information about the candidate's personality and behavior.
Applicant analysis
Voice and video analysis tools are also finding their way into applicant analysis. The entire process, from the analysis of application documents to the evaluation of interviews, can be accompanied by AI.
Chatbots
The chatbot has already become a "classic". With this, website visitors to the career site can get in touch with the company via a chat without the need for direct action by an employee. The chatbot can respond to common questions and forward them to an employee if necessary.
Interviews
Today, it is also already possible to have entire interviews, at least digital initial interviews, conducted via AI. This can evaluate language, choice of words and facial expressions and deduce whether the candidate is a good fit for the company.
Job postings
AI can also support the creation of job ads. By analyzing job ads, job categories, keywords and possible matching job boards can be derived. In this way, AI supports the smooth retrieval of the job advertisement for the applicant.
How is AI changing recruiting?
You will therefore already find AI in the entire recruiting process. As a rule, however, it is more of a support than a fixed component with its own package of tasks. As a rule, there is still a certain susceptibility to errors. But this development will also continue. Errors will be corrected, systems corrected and further developed. AI will become an integral part of the recruiting process and increasingly take over tasks independently. Above all, recurring tasks such as applicant screening and matching (in the Active sourcing), will (be) taken over by AI.
This leaves the recruiter much more time for the essentials. Hiring the right employees. The bottom line is that this decision will remain one that is not made by AI. Who will be hired when the company has to decide between two or more candidates? Who decides in favor of the candidate who is "worse" on paper, even sometimes? That's what humans do. Because he has one thing that AI cannot reproduce: Gut feeling. AI will therefore change a lot, but not everything. In the end, people still work with people. It doesn't matter what the other person's high school diploma is or whether he or she has frowned in a conversation. Only people and their gut feeling know how to evaluate that.
FAQ
AI Recruiting: What is it?
AI Recruiting (Artificial Intelligence Recruiting) is the technical support of the recruiting process by means of software and automation.
How is AI Recruiting changing recruitment?
AI Recruiting (Artificial Intelligence Recruiting) is now finding its way into the entire recruitment process. This can be supported by AI from the initial contact of the applicant with the career site, for example through chatbots, to entire interviews.
How is AI changing human resources?
Artificial intelligence (AI) already supports many areas in human resources. For example, in recruitment, personnel development and employer branding. This article shows you how AI is finding its way into recruiting.
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