Tips to get hired by a robot

A robot may not take your job away from you, but it decides whether or not you are qualified for its performance. There are already algorithms that decide whether you are qualified for a certain task or not. More and more HR departments are turning to them to get rid of so much futile paper reading and thinking that the choice of artificial intelligence is based only on objective facts.

However, there is also a known risk that many algorithms contain biases that can marginalize certain profiles. No rush. To counteract machine intelligence, there are also technological strategies and tools that can help an algorithm act in your favor.

How to fool the robot

An article published by MIT Technology Review contained a number of practical tips from various experts on how to be successful in your job search and how to thrive in the increasingly AI-influenced job market. These are a few:

as simple as possible: Forget detailed explanations of previous jobs, the endless list of academic data and achievements. Preferably use few words that are short and easy to understand.

More skills and fewer titles: Your actual strengths and skills count, not what titles you have. To explain them to the artificial intelligence, preferably use short and descriptive sentences. If possible, list them and explain where you learned them and where you applied them. “They have to be declarative and quantitative because the software is trying to figure out who we are and decide whether to face us with a human interviewer,” explains one respondent in the MIT publication.

simple design: Use a legible font, respect the margins and introduce spaces that make reading easier. The text must be presented in an oxygen-rich manner.

Keywords: In most cases, CVs are processed by an automated applicant tracking system (ATS). These are digital systems that perform functions similar to Internet search engines. Typically, these applicant tracking systems are based on the use of keywords that need to be specifically related to the characteristics of the vacancy. It is the most important method of establishing a match between the candidate’s CV and the requirements of the position being offered. Its algorithms base the results it offers on how many times a particular keyword is repeated.

Listen: Another recommendation is to test the CV with an AI before sending it to the final recipient. The resume and job description being applied for may be uploaded to an automated resume checker such as that provided at job scan which calculate the level of match with the job description and help you optimize it for each company’s ATS. Also, the tool offers you simple suggestions to improve your CV’s score.

Practice for the interview: And since it is normal that after passing the first filter, the next step is an interview with HR managers, tools have also been created to facilitate training in these matters. For example, one is Interview Stream that there is an interview generator that can help both the recruiter and the candidates. The latter allows them to face a series of questions that come over the webcam to record them and check their answers. Another platform is Talk about the attitude, which offers 10-minute “realistic mock interviews” with five questions each. They also keep track of how the answers improve.