AI in Guidance and Career Counseling

The conversation around the proactive use of artificial intelligence in the recruiting and hiring process is increasing. Companies have reaped the benefits of AI use in customer acquisition and retention, eCommerce strategy, and sales techniques. Success in these areas has become a gateway for using AI to build powerful internal teams as well.

AI has shifted the way hiring and recruiting teams interact with applicants and vice versa. Younger applicants have a unique opportunity to prepare themselves for this transition by leaning on their guidance and career counselors in school.

A career counselor is responsible for helping students navigate any factors that impact their career development. AI’s role in everything from the screening to the interview process is especially important to share with students to ensure they have the best possibility of landing their dream careers.

Here are three things guidance counselors should know about artificial intelligence applications in the hiring and recruiting process to best equip their students to interact with AI systems.

AI Led Interviews are Growing in Popularity

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted all of us to use digital platforms for most things in our daily lives, including job interviews. Companies started using video-interviewing platforms like HireVue to conduct part of, if not the entire interview process for various positions.

The video-interview process is generally as follows:

1. They go on to the platform
2. Enable use of their webcam
3. Record their responses to interview questions on video
4. Submit those video-recorded answers

The candidate’s answers are recorded and then saved to the platform and sent to the employer. The employer can choose whether they want AI involved in the screening process for these recordings. If they opt for this choice, AI can recommend a candidate based on similarities to current employees, the desired enthusiasm and demeanor of a successful match, or the length of their answers.

The tricky part about these AI-led interviews is that why a candidate is deemed not a good match is hard to pinpoint. So, helping students prepare for such interviews can be challenging if you try to help students mimic the characteristics of someone who’s already moved on to the next round.

Recommend that your students study the company that solicited them for this AI-led interview. They should gauge whether their personality fits the company culture, their abilities match the job description, and they’re in alignment with the company’s mission. They should prepare answers to common video interview questions to ensure they’re prepared with a natural response that will communicate that way on video. They should also be encouraged to be authentic even if they aren’t sure they’re a perfect match for the company.

Resume and CV Optimization are More Important than Ever

A professional, polished resume is and always will be an integral part of career development. It’s even more critical when companies decide to use AI in their screening, recruiting, and hiring processes. One of the most common uses of AI in recruiting is during the application and resume/CV screening process.

Many companies use artificial intelligence software to screen applications and resumes and extract those that meet preset criteria. These criteria could include keywords in the vacancy advertisement or specific job responsibilities or skills.

Make sure you go over the job description and ad in detail with your student. Identify any skills, role criteria, education requirements, and so forth that match your student’s current abilities, experience, or potential. Ensure the specific wording from the job description is in their resume or CV so that AI can recognize it and move it up in the ranking.

Social Media Presence Matters

Many companies are also using AI to screen potential candidates’ social media profiles to identify any potentially harmful or inappropriate behavior on these platforms. Company leaders emphasize maintaining a positive brand image. If an applicant’s social media activity threatens this, they most likely won’t move on in the hiring process.

We’ve all read stories about employees being written up or fired for harmful social media activity or, better yet, their dangerous activity outside of the workplace being uploaded on social media platforms. Companies have expanded these same investigation efforts to influence who they hire just as much as who they keep on board.

Encourage your students to be mindful of what they post on social media and how they engage with others. Educate them on how companies pay close attention to the way candidates conduct themselves online and aren’t afraid to disqualify them based on a negative online presence.

Helping Students Move Forward

Artificial intelligence is changing the classroom, and that success is prompting surrounding offices like yours to explore how impactful it can be for them. Furthering your education in guidance and career counseling and deepening your knowledge around technology’s influence on the recruiting process is one of the best ways to help your students move forward.

For example, becoming a Career Services Director is a tremendous educational pathway if you want to be responsible for ensuring positive work outcomes for students and alumni. You get to work with students on job placement, career advancement activities on campus, and accumulating resources. And you also have the opportunity to implement policy changes that better the way your department supports its students.

Help your students move forward by staying up to date on trends like AI in the recruitment and hiring process and sharing actionable tips with your students on how to navigate these emerging changes successfully.