How To Leverage AI To Ramp Up Hiring And Onboarding

Forbes

a day ago

They say first impressions are everything. As it happens, most companies don't make a great one, and new hires feel it. I still remember my first job after college. If I had to describe day one in a word, it would be 'stressful': awkward walkarounds with my manager as she introduced me to new colleagues, struggling to log in to the server, waiting anxiously for replies from HR.
Years later, when I was building my own company and team, I finally had the chance to discover the stress from the other side. Managers genuinely want to create a smooth onboarding experience for new hires, but they're juggling so many moving pieces.
Today, AI is starting to make a huge difference in hiring and onboarding. At my company, we use AI tools not to replace HR professionals but to handle certain tedious, error-prone tasks, like scheduling interviews, parsing resumes, sending onboarding documents, and yes, walking employees through day one (while doing our best to minimize the awkward moments and anxiety). This frees up human professionals to do what only they can, like have facetime with new and potential hires and strategize how to improve workflows.
Here's how AI is reimagining hiring and onboarding, and helping companies make better first impressions.
Streamline Candidate Screening
Nowadays, most job hunters are searching online. A single online job listing can receive anywhere from hundreds to thousands of applications. Sifting through all of those applications could require a significant time investment. Often, only a fraction of those applications are anywhere near qualified for the role. Some recruiters have reported figures as low as 1%.
Human resources and talent management systems like Workday, Oracle HCM, and Greenhouse can handle initial candidate screening, going so far as to evaluate and rank candidates based on predetermined criteria. By some counts, 83% of companies already report using AI to screen resumes and find the best people for open positions.
Critics argue that AI in resume-screening can cause qualified candidates to slip through the cracks—maybe they miss a key keyword or forget to list a relevant skill. But here's the thing: a quick review of the job description and company usually makes it clear which skills—and even which keywords—are important. At Jotform, we look for candidates who take the time to research a role before hitting submit. If we're investing time to evaluate them, we expect they've taken time to evaluate us, too.
Automate Early-Stage Interviews
I've heard of some truly surprising interview tactics aimed at keeping candidates on their toes—riddle-like questions involving camels and bananas or prisoners and police officers or trains and bees; or high-pressure group interviews where candidates must collaborate with the very people they're competing against.
Personally, I prefer a more straightforward approach: conversations that delve into a candidate's skills, interests, and career goals, and reveal whether they're a good fit for our culture, which is grounded in collaboration. While that kind of insight often comes from real-life conversations, not every step in the interview process needs to be person-to-person.
Many companies now use AI tools like HireVue, VidRecruiter, CodeSignal, and Brazen to automate early-stage interviews. These platforms ask written or video questions and analyze a candidate's responses, helping recruiters to identify the most promising candidates before advancing to more meaningful, human-led discussions.
Spot AI-Generated Applications
Recruiters are increasingly using AI to screen candidates—and on the other side of the screen, job seekers are using AI tools to apply. Sometimes, I agree with that approach. If I've written a strong cover letter, it makes sense to run it through ChatGPT to check for typos. A single careless keystroke can completely undermine your credibility. Or if I'm reworking my CV, I might ask an AI tool to suggest alternative phrasing or improved formatting.
But I draw the line at outsourcing the creative thinking and writing. And I believe recruiters should, too. How else can we identify candidates who will stand out in an AI-driven world?
The AI company Anthropic shares this mindset. They ask candidates to certify that they didn't use AI during the application process, reasoning that it's the only way to fairly assess someone's true communication skills.
As of 2023, Gartner shared that over two-thirds of HR professionals reported receiving an application or resume with AI-generated copy, and that most of them were using applicant tracking software to identify it. Ironically, companies can use AI to detect AI-generated applications. Tools like GPTZero, Turnitin's AI detection, and CopyLeaks all have capabilities for noting signs of machine-generated text.
Guide New Hires Through Onboarding
Once a candidate accepts a job offer, AI tools can vastly improve their onboarding experience. AI agents, for instance, can autonomously walk new hires through necessary but cumbersome orientation steps, provide relevant information, answer questions, and send reminders for missing paperwork or tasks to be completed.
Agents are dynamic, so they can respond to each individual's needs. For example, if a new hire would benefit from brushing up on particular skills, an agent can offer personalized learning resources. If an employee is confused about which benefits package to select, the agent can explain options as needed.
Onboarding is time-consuming, especially when employee start dates are staggered. AI agents can ensure that new employees get the immediate attention and answers they need (around the clock), so they can start doing the actual work faster.
Companies are doubling down on AI to improve hiring and onboarding. According to a recent Gartner survey, 22% plan to significantly increase their investments in AI for hiring over the next year. The way I see it, the sooner you adopt AI tools, the sooner you'll benefit from the continuous improvements they bring.