Indeed: Job seekers are ‘demoralized’ but AI and automation can help

Welcoming the right candidates to a business can be a difficult task, so much so, 64% of US-based hiring managers describe sourcing qualified talent as “challenging”, according to research from global hiring platform Indeed.

What’s more, Indeed found that 63% of UK hiring professionals aim to become more productive and to hit higher talent targets, with an additional 61% expressing that they waste time.

The hiring process is fundamentally broken for both employers and job seekers,” explains Raj Mukherjee, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Employer at global matching and hiring platform Indeed.The hiring process is fundamentally broken for both employers and job seekers,” explains Raj Mukherjee, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Employer at global matching and hiring platform Indeed.

“As it stands, finding qualified candidates for a role is like finding a needle in a haystack, as hiring managers lack the tools they need to speed up sourcing and effectively match job seeker skills to job requirements."

This lack of efficiency was found to cause frustration among candidates, with 54% stating that application processes are too slow, and 36% feeling that the job descriptions were often misleading, once they found out more about the role.

Increasing efficiency and candidate accuracy with AI

Although the recruitment industry faces a number of challenges, there’s one way employers can improve the hiring process: by utilizing AI.

“On average, hiring managers or recruiters spend 13 hours to source for a role, mostly manually,” Mukherjee explains.

Sourcing can benefit tremendously from AI and automation. Meanwhile, job seekers are demoralized by the lengthy process of finding new work, especially when many of their applications aren’t responded to.Sourcing can benefit tremendously from AI and automation. Meanwhile, job seekers are demoralized by the lengthy process of finding new work, especially when many of their applications aren’t responded to.

“This system is impacting morale for both hiring professionals and job seekers and needs to change in the age of AI.”

Although 95% of US hiring managers believe that AI tools help with administrative tasks, including candidate outreach, only 32% state that they have incorporated it into their process. Additionally, almost half (47%) expect AI to improve the quality of candidates, with 44% expecting it to help eliminate bias in hiring.

To support this, Indeed is introducing several new AI-powered products to enhance the hiring process, making it simpler, faster and more efficient for both parties.

One tool, named Smart Sourcing, is an AI-powered product providing employers with access to an active talent pool of nearly 300 million workers globally, enabling employers to discover and review relevant, quality candidates more easily.

Mukherjee describes the tool as a “new and better way to source quality candidates”, helping employers to hire more efficiently while saving significant time for businesses and job seekers.

Concluding, he adds: “Leveraging Indeed’s AI-powered technology will help to transform job matching and hiring, supporting job seekers and hiring managers to help the world work better."

So, will Indeed's tool finally put a stop to the demoralizing task of applying for jobs? UNLEASH will check in with Indeed and HR Practitioners to find out. Stay with us.