One (most likely) was not able to predict a future that would include social media feeds filled with heartbreaking AI-generated videos of feline furballs facing off with Bulldog bullies, losing loved ones to tragedy, or overcoming other trials and tribulations, set to the tune of a Billie Eilish ballad. But nevertheless the AI proliferation of daily life, culture, and work continues.
Employ, the recruiting software company with popular products like Jobvite, Lever, and JazzHR, won’t be positioning itself as the next big AI tech company for recruiting and talent acquisition. According to company execs, it’s shying away from the flashy moniker.
That’s because rather than ride the waves of the incessant AI hype, engineers are instead focused on small gains that improve the talent acquisition workflow in its products.
“While we understand and appreciate the technology and what it can do for us, what it can do for our customers, we want to make sure that we’re not doing AI for AI’s sake,” said Dara Brenner, Employ’s CPO.
It’s cool that an AI-powered video generator can concoct a tiny tale about a Tabby that undoubtedly keeps your eyeballs glued to TikTok and furthers your brainrot, but when TA pros are on the job, many decisions must be made to hire the right talent.
“What we’ve learned over time is, if a recruiter has to do something outside of their workflow, outside of their normal process, in any way—unless you can really convince them that it is mind blowing—they’re…just not going to do it,” she said. “They need to be focusing on finding the absolute best talent for their organization.”
That’s not to say its platforms aren’t fitted with AI tools to ensure customers are able to seek out and secure that best talent or that the company won’t continue to learn how AI can improve its products. To Brenner, “AI is part of our DNA.”
“We will bring those enabling technologies to bear in a way that is solely focused on making sure that it’s in the recruiter’s flow of work and that it is there to make them more efficient,” she said.
What’s AI? New AI features released in the platforms are designed to address key decisions a recruiter makes during the workday, and offer data, stats, or recommendations that might make the decision easier or more intuitive.
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“If you think about the number of tiny decisions that recruiters have to make every single day, that is real decision fatigue,” said Katy Jenkins, Employ’s VP of product management. “So if I can be where they are in their hiring workflow and give a recommendation or provide a stat that’s going to help them make that decision faster, that’s what we want to do.”
Some AI features deployed in the products include candidate matching, which highlights matches between a job opening and a candidate, flags areas that aren’t a great match, and includes a new feature outlining “areas to clarify” with a candidate to suss out if they’re a good fit. The AI tools embedded in Employ’s platforms don’t offer a quick, 1–10 score, Jenkins noted. The approach is “human-first, people-centric,” so the recruiter is equipped to make the right decision.
Jenkins also touted the company’s job description grader, which helps point out potential bias issues in job descriptions to diversify candidate pools. The tool is a copilot experience in the module built into where TA pros write job descriptions for “feedback in real-time.”
Automated sourcing of previous applicants is an AI feature running in the background, and it will invite engaged, past applicants who might be a good fit for a new opening. It’s the only “choice” the AI will make on behalf of the recruiter, Jenkins noted.
While some of the features are not currently available in all of the company’s products, Jenkins noted they will be in the near future as her team works to “componentize” the features. Expect changes in 2025, she said.
Employ is also updating its platform’s dashboards to be more actionable with the help of AI.
“That’s not one feature, one thing, it is a lot of tiny things that, frankly, maybe don’t add up to a super flashy release,” she said, but the DNA is still DNA-ing.
Additionally, Employ execs are interested in better leveraging data from its 22,000 ATS customers to better recommend ways to improve hiring, according to Brenner.
“It’s really more about making sure that the technology that’s necessary to make recruiters as efficient as possible, so that they can focus on what’s most important to them and their companies is what we’re going to do,” Brenner said.