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Headhunters promise better job fits with artificial intelligence

SINGAPORE — You are looking for a job, but don’t know what suits you best? Try using artificial intelligence (AI), search optimisation tools, talent mapping and data analytics.

SINGAPORE — You are looking for a job, but don’t know what suits you best? Try using artificial intelligence (AI), search optimisation tools, talent mapping and data analytics.

Technology is rapidly transforming the recruitment industry. Traditionally, job seekers scan ads and suss out new listings online, or go through recruitment agencies to help them in their search. The process often takes weeks, even months and even after that, the candidate may still end up in a job that does not suit his or her personality.

With modern talent acquisition technology based on AI and other tools, there is no longer a need to rely on manual personality matching that recruiters usually do when sourcing for candidates to fill the required role. And the time taken for the hiring process can be halved.

The Ministry of Manpower’s labour market report for the second quarter showed that more than 9,500 people were laid off from their jobs in the first six months of this year — the highest since the global financial crisis in 2009.

The report also showed that for the first time since June 2012, there were more people looking for work than the number of vacancies available. Seasonally adjusted, there were 93 job openings for every 100 job-seekers at the end of the second quarter.

Enter Venn, a homegrown recruitment portal that uses AI-powered matching algorithms to find a job that suits your character and aspirations.

Set up late last year, Venn has already attracted the big boys in the tech landscape such as Spotify, Uber, Netflix, Grab, Zalora and Redmart as its clients.

Apart from submitting criteria such as skills and qualifications, job-seekers are invited to answer questions about their interests, personality and career aspirations. For example, a candidate will be asked to “pick five words that describe your ideal work culture” while words such as “creative”, “empowering”, “dynamic” among many others pop out on the screen for selection.

The candidate is then matched to suitable openings from a curated list of companies. This helps both the job seeker and the company to find the right cultural fit.

“Our existing and target clients are companies in the tech, digital and creative industry currently. They need the service because they are growing aggressively and need help finding the right cultural fit. Our goal is to help them achieve their business goals by accelerating their hiring process,” said Ms Candice Aw, chief executive and founder of Venn.

“We employ a 360-degree holistic proprietary profiling methodology which creates an aggregate score for a user based on a combination of factors which include personality, cultural fit and skills … Venn’s sign-up process takes less than five minutes before they get matches and recommendations, and does not involve a tedious form-filling process,” she added.

Through Venn, the time taken to find the right candidate or job is also reduced by at least 50 per cent, she said.

TalentDash, another local recruitment start-up, helps companies find the best candidates using its search optimisation technology and data analytics.

It targets small- and medium-sized enterprises and start-ups that do not have the time and capabilities to source for candidates.

TalentDash’s technology ranks and maps out the talent pool for specific jobs, as well as identify candidates with targeted skill sets, providing employers with the information they need to make informed hiring decisions.

“Most SMEs and start-ups want to grow, and they want to do it fast. This often leaves them with little time to focus on the minute processes in recruitment … Small business owners don’t necessarily have the time to source for candidates themselves, but they might not have an HR team who can help either.

“Using technology is key to bridging this gap,” said Mr James Galvin, founder of TalentDash.

Technology will make further inroads and data will play a bigger role, Ms Aw said.

“(The) existing offerings are mostly one-way, with little engagement and understanding about both the applicant and the company. Currently, the more progressive companies are increasingly hiring for culture-fit and training for skill, which is something that can’t be seen from a resume,” Ms Aw said.

“When it comes to which criteria to include in a job listing to produce the best quality of hire, data can give you the answer. With the right data points, you can find out which skills, values and behaviours lead to a hire who is likely to be a success in the organisation and remain in their position long-term,” she added.

“In today’s new world of recruitment, it is no longer enough to simply post job ads and wait for talent to come along.

“With talent mapping, recruiters can determine their candidate needs in advance and develop a long-term strategic plan for hiring. This includes filling any skill gaps, bolstering the team for sudden changes in the workplace, or just simply having suitable talent in mind for the future. All of these, when prepared ahead of time, can save companies the trouble and time much later,” Mr Galvin said.

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