Out with the Old, In with the AI
Early in my career in sales and marketing, I vividly recall my first sales training bootcamp. Picture this: a nondescript hotel in rural Louisiana, where thirty of us from across the country gathered to master the art of selling business telecom systems to blue-collar companies. It was a crash course in tactics, from overcoming objections to understanding the psyche of our buyers.
One lesson stood out: the importance of reading a client within the first minute. Their office decor, desk clutter, even their attire and eye contact—all cues to tailor our pitch and set the right tone. These insights were gold in face-to-face meetings but lost in today's virtual landscape. One of my favorite scenes from The Office comes to mind: Jim and Dwight had been reluctantly paired to go out selling together. The prospect wanted a cheaper price and was very rushed during the conversation. Dwight showed him the poor customer service of his low-cost provider, not great for a busy boss, and viola - they close the deal. They understood the buyer's need.
In B-to-B sales, closing the deal reigns supreme, regardless of the buyer's situation. In recruiting, it's about presenting the 'best' candidates to hiring managers. Yet, defining 'best' is subjective, and recruiters—like all of us—carry their biases.
Some recruiters even demand specific criteria like age, gender, and sadly, even race, straying into compliance issues.
In today's virtual world, initial screening often begins with a name—a potentially loaded piece of information hinting at race, age, gender, or national origin. Consider: does targeting 'Jackson' or 'Austin' over 'Malik' or 'Sue' truly serve diversity efforts?
Enter AI, poised to revolutionize recruitment by evaluating candidates solely on job-matching criteria, stripping away biases linked to names or addresses. It offers a fairer, more objective approach, essential in fostering a diverse workforce that benefits every organization.
Let's face it: biases can unconsciously influence our recruiting decisions. ApplicantQ is here to level the playing field. Stay tuned for our unbiased, EEO compliance scoring feature.