Depending on who you listen to AI is spoken about in one of two ways: with fear or love.

The eyes of fear view AI as a pending human resources apocalypse and a replacement for human skill sets in a world with a shrinking requirement for humans to do X job, when a machine can do it better, cheaper and faster.

The eyes of love, instead, view AI as a tool that will help the human race march forward in a world where the advancement of technology is constant, necessary and heading towards more and more intelligent AI.

In this article, I will attempt not to lean into the Skynet, Rise of the Machines narrative and in the same way, avoid the rose-tinted glasses approach of viewing AI as the solution to all of our problems.

Instead, I will be taking a balanced look at AI’s loudest, and most impressive offering to world; ChatGPT and talking through how this tool will affect recruitment.

ChatGPT is a powerful AI-based language model that can be used to create simple or complex dialogues. The first iteration of ChatGPT was released to the public as a free chat-bot in November 2022 and has caused a stir in a number of industries, as the tool can execute a number of text-based communication tasks. The AI can be used to create short or long-form text and go as far as to create code for website development.

Quite simply you enter a question, command or statement and ChatGPT generates a response from its data set.

ChatGPT does not search the Internet but instead generates its responses based on a dataset that it was trained on in 2021.

Below is an example of how chat GPT works, where I asked ChatGPT what it is:

Now, this section could be very long, so I will keep it high-level. But below is a list of how ChatGPT can be used by both companies in their recruitment processes and by candidates looking for a role. Oh, and one more thing, ChatGPT wrote the following section.

Let’s start with recruiters..

Automation: One way ChatGPT can be used in talent acquisition is by automating the initial screening process. ChatGPT can be trained on a dataset of resumes and job descriptions, allowing it to understand the qualifications and skills required for a particular role. This can help to quickly identify and shortlist candidates who are the best fit for the job.

Scheduling: Another way ChatGPT can be used in talent acquisition is by assisting with interview scheduling. The model can understand natural language requests and respond with suggested times and dates for interviews, eliminating the need for back-and-forth email or phone tag.

Candidate Experience: In addition, ChatGPT can also be used in creating a personalised and engaging Candidate Experience (CX). The model can be trained on data to create custom and personalised emails, chatbot responses, and even video scripts that can be used to communicate with candidates. This will give a more professional and personalised touch to the overall experience of the candidate.

Reference Checking: Furthermore, ChatGPT can also be used for automated reference checking by being trained on a dataset of reference check questions and responses. The model can then be used to conduct reference checks with a high degree of accuracy and consistency, saving time and resources for the recruiting team.

Job Ads & Descriptions: With a few prompts and inputs, ChatGPT can write multiple job ads and descriptions at once.

Overall, ChatGPT has the potential to revolutionise the talent acquisition process by automating repetitive tasks, such as writing job ads and descriptions and providing valuable insights into the qualifications and skills of potential hires.

How Can Candidates use ChatGPT?

Resume Writing: ChatGPT can be used to generate a personalised and optimised resume based on a candidate’s qualifications, skills, and job experience. The model can be trained on a dataset of resumes and job descriptions, allowing it to understand the key elements that employers are looking for in a candidate.

Interview Preparation: ChatGPT can be used to generate responses to common interview questions, allowing the candidate to practice and refine their answers in advance. The model can be trained on a dataset of interview questions and answers, providing the candidate with the most relevant and effective responses.

Networking: ChatGPT can be used to generate personalized and engaging messages for networking with professionals in the candidate’s desired field. The model can be trained on data to create custom and personalized messages that will increase the chances of getting a response.

Cover Letter: ChatGPT can be used to generate personalised and optimised cover letters that are tailored to the specific job and company the candidate is applying to. The model can be trained on a dataset of cover letters and job descriptions, allowing it to understand the key elements that employers are looking for in a candidate.

Job Search: ChatGPT can be used to generate custom and personalised job search queries that will help the candidate find the most relevant job opportunities. The model can be trained on a dataset of job listings and requirements, allowing it to understand the key elements that employers are looking for in a candidate.

Overall, ChatGPT can be an effective tool for candidates looking to improve their chances of getting a job by providing personalised and optimised content that will stand out to potential employers.

Ok, now it’s me again (promise). So, we can see that in the above that ChatGPT can be used to assist both recruiters and candidates to produce communications and generate pretty comprehensive responses.

If I put my fear hat on for a second and look at the impact this is going have on your recruitment process. How are you going to know if a candidate really wrote their resume or cover letter? How are you going to know that your usual interview questions haven’t been put through ChatGPT and the candidate is armed with some great responses the AI generated in seconds?

There are already a plethora of YouTube videos providing guides, hints, tips, tricks, secrets and hacks on how to write an entire resume and cover letter using the tool.

Without watching a single tutorial, I was able to produce the resume below in 5 minutes. In fact, the formatting took the most time. The content within the resume, including hobbies, took less than 40 seconds to produce. I’ll just let that ring in the air for a second.

I was so impressed by ChatGPT that I created a video showing just how easy it is to create a resume. The video uses a live job ad example to convey just how advanced ChatGPT is and how you can protect your recruitment process from the tool.

Below are some ways recruiters can check if a candidate has used ChatGPT. You may notice that these solutions are manual and labour-intensive and therefore will add a lot of time to your recruitment process

• Resume Verification: HR departments can compare the candidate’s resume to the job requirements and qualifications. If the resume is overly generic or contains language that is not typical of a human-written document, it may be an indication that the candidate used ChatGPT.
• Interview Verification: HR departments can compare the candidate’s responses in the interview with the information provided on the resume. If the candidate’s answers are too polished or rehearsed, it may be an indication that the candidate used ChatGPT to prepare.
• Networking Verification: HR departments can compare the candidate’s networking messages with the other communication they had with the candidate. If there is a significant difference in style or language, it may be an indication that the candidate used ChatGPT.
• Cover Letter Verification: HR departments can compare the candidate’s cover letter with the job requirements and qualifications. If the cover letter is overly generic or contains language that is not typical of a human-written document, it may be an indication that the candidate used ChatGPT.
• Job Search Verification: HR departments can compare the candidate’s job search queries with the job requirements and qualifications. If the queries are overly broad or contain language that is not typical of a human-written document, it may be an indication that the candidate used ChatGPT.

The poor predictive value of the resume has been a topic of debate in recruitment for years and with new technologies constantly emerging the lid in the coffin has been half-nailed shut. ChatGPT is the final nail to close it forever.

I may sound harsh but it’s not only the resume that is at risk. ChatGPT is being called the Google Killer with its ability to answer questions and provide answers instead of just providing links, so what chance does the humble resume stand against such a tool.

My SWOT analysis below shows that ChatGPT brings with it a range of challenges and benefits to recruiters but ultimately you need to update your recruitment process to accommodate this new technology.

Below are the methods we recommend implementing, if you are not already, to ensure your candidates are who they say they are and that you are gaining useful, valid, secure and accurate people insights.

Behavioural Assessments

Our behavioural assessments are designed to measure your candidates’ work style preferences, abilities, personality traits, and other characteristics that are relevant top your requirements. Using behavioural assessments completely bypasses the need for a resume and allows you to find the right candidates quickly.

Testgrid’s behavioural assessments are secure against ChatGPT and a better predictor of success than the resume, as they provide a full report on candidates’ suitability for a role.

We even asked ChatGPT if it could complete behavioural assessments and we got the response below:

Video Interviewing

Video interviewing is a crucial step to ensuring you are gaining accurate input from the candidate in light of ChatGPT, while providing a positive Candidate Experience (CX). Whether you choose a face-to-face or automated interview in your process, our technology allows you to be certain that your candidate is who they say are and gain the insights you need to make a good hiring decision.

Proctoring

Proctoring allows you to not only monitor your candidates but allows you to monitor their desktop, device and their physical environment to ensure candidates are not cheating by using any other resources to provide or generate information. This can be done at an individual level or at scale using our Proctor’s own AI technology that will combat ChatGPT’s own AI.

If you would like to learn more about how you can protect your recruitment process from ChatGPT or other AI technology then simply sign up to speak to one of our experts or call 03 9040 1700 to learn more.