Earlier this week, I argued that you can’t screen your way to AI experience that barely exists yet. Here is the flip side I’m experiencing.
I spent the last few months automating big parts of my own recruiting business with AI, and the surprise was this: it made the human side of the job matter more, not less.
AI is very good at the work that used to eat up big chunks of my week. It scans the market for new Dynamics and NetSuite openings, drafts the first version of outreach emails to prospects, logs who I’ve already contacted, and surfaces the replies that actually need me.
That is hours back, every single day and week. To be honest, that really just scratching the surface of some of the stuff I am working on; and it’s pretty cool I must say.
But look at what is on that list, and what is not. AI can tell me a role exists. It can’t tell me whether a NetSuite Consultant who came up through accounting will click with a particular CFO, or whether the candidate who jumps off the page is actually the steadiest person in the room. It can draft the note. It can’t earn twenty years of trust with a hiring manager who picks up the phone because it is me on the other end.
So, I am handing the repetitive work to the tools on purpose, precisely so I can spend more time on the part that doesn’t automate. More qualification calls. More honest conversations about fit. More time getting the match right instead of chasing volume. Trust me, it is still very much a “work in progress” on this, but I am making some pretty significant strides since really embarking on this about a year ago.
That is the version of AI I believe in for our field. Use it to clear the busywork, then double down on judgment and relationships, because that is what clients actually pay for and what candidates actually remember. Historically, the biggest pet peeve for candidates (at least 1 of them for sure) against recruiters is lack of follow up or timely feedback and I am certainly no angel in this regard, but now I am implementing automation that helps to remind me to do so. Again, this is still a WIP, but in time I am confident this will never be an issue with candidates working with DynamicsFocus and realistically with most recruiting organizations in the next few years because of the capabilities of AI.
Long story short, I am “all in” on the possibilities that AI can bring from an efficiency standpoint and truly very excited about the capabilities that I myself am starting to realize in my own recruiting organization. Like all things, it’s all about balance. Too much of any 1 thing typically leads to trouble.
At any rate, I have found I have been enjoying my initial qualification calls so much more now that I can sit back and let my notetaker gather the info while I visually engage with the individuals on a Teams meeting, rather than talking & typing and trying to rush to the next call. In the end, AI is actually allowing me to become more personal, not less.
I spent the last few months automating big parts of my own recruiting business with AI, and the surprise was this: it made the human side of the job matter more, not less.
AI is very good at the work that used to eat up big chunks of my week. It scans the market for new Dynamics and NetSuite openings, drafts the first version of outreach emails to prospects, logs who I’ve already contacted, and surfaces the replies that actually need me.
That is hours back, every single day and week. To be honest, that really just scratching the surface of some of the stuff I am working on; and it’s pretty cool I must say.
But look at what is on that list, and what is not. AI can tell me a role exists. It can’t tell me whether a NetSuite Consultant who came up through accounting will click with a particular CFO, or whether the candidate who jumps off the page is actually the steadiest person in the room. It can draft the note. It can’t earn twenty years of trust with a hiring manager who picks up the phone because it is me on the other end.
So, I am handing the repetitive work to the tools on purpose, precisely so I can spend more time on the part that doesn’t automate. More qualification calls. More honest conversations about fit. More time getting the match right instead of chasing volume. Trust me, it is still very much a “work in progress” on this, but I am making some pretty significant strides since really embarking on this about a year ago.
That is the version of AI I believe in for our field. Use it to clear the busywork, then double down on judgment and relationships, because that is what clients actually pay for and what candidates actually remember. Historically, the biggest pet peeve for candidates (at least 1 of them for sure) against recruiters is lack of follow up or timely feedback and I am certainly no angel in this regard, but now I am implementing automation that helps to remind me to do so. Again, this is still a WIP, but in time I am confident this will never be an issue with candidates working with DynamicsFocus and realistically with most recruiting organizations in the next few years because of the capabilities of AI.
Long story short, I am “all in” on the possibilities that AI can bring from an efficiency standpoint and truly very excited about the capabilities that I myself am starting to realize in my own recruiting organization. Like all things, it’s all about balance. Too much of any 1 thing typically leads to trouble.
At any rate, I have found I have been enjoying my initial qualification calls so much more now that I can sit back and let my notetaker gather the info while I visually engage with the individuals on a Teams meeting, rather than talking & typing and trying to rush to the next call. In the end, AI is actually allowing me to become more personal, not less.