The Superpowers Recruiters — and Their Orgs — Need Right Now
Would you like a superpower? Think: Superman, leaping tall buildings in a single bound. Or Wonder Woman, soaring through the air, deflecting bullets with her bracelet. And of course, Spider-Man, with his cool ability to crawl up walls.
As a talent professional, you already have superpowers (even with X-ray vision, Superman probably couldn’t read between the lines about what a hiring manager really wants). But in the age of AI, there’s always room to add to your arsenal.
By now, you’re aware of many of the great things that generative AI can do. It can search for candidates, write job descriptions, and send automated, personalized messages to candidates. That may leave recruiters scratching their heads, wondering how to best use their time and talents in a newly configured hiring process.
So in the spirit of the times, we posed the following question to five talent industry leaders: What’s the No. 1 (human) superpower that recruiters need in the age of AI?
Below you’ll find their thoughtful answers — as well as tips on superpowers you may want to develop now.
Tim Sackett: Making candidates feel wanted
“The No. 1 superpower for any recruiter,” says Tim Sackett, president of HRU Technical Resources, “is our ability to make people feel wanted, and in the age of AI, this superpower will only be more pronounced. As AI becomes more widely used across our hiring processes, the speed and efficiency at which we hire will only increase. This will allow great recruiters to utilize their superpowers even more. AI will give us more time to dedicate to going after the talent we never had time to focus on.
“We will no longer be overwhelmed with too many requisitions, posting and praying, putting out fires, and just hoping to survive another day. For the first time in our careers, many of us will be able to spend quality time with candidates. Helping them understand why our organizations, our positions, and our leaders are who they want to come work for. For the first time, many candidates will actually feel desired by us.
“AI will transform so much of how we recruit. It won’t change the psychology of recruiting and our ability to make candidates feel desired.”
J.T. O’Donnell: Using video to create authentic connection
“In the age of AI,” says J.T. O’Donnell, founder and CEO of Work It Daily, “a recruiter’s superpower will be the ability to authenticate themselves through video. Video offers a human touch, establishing trust and transparency. By creating videos that share information about job opportunities, company culture, and role expectations, recruiters can attract the right candidates proactively. These videos serve as a personalized introduction, allowing candidates to gain valuable insights they would typically seek in an initial interview.
“For example, new tools like the mobile app, McCoy.io, uses video content to humanize the recruitment process, enabling recruiters to showcase their personality and the company’s values. [Full disclosure: I am the chief marketing officer of McCoy and sit on its board.] This approach helps job seekers connect with the recruiter on a personal level, fostering trust and engagement. Moreover, it provides candidates with essential information, enabling them to make informed decisions and prepare better for the application process.
“By leveraging video, recruiters can streamline their efforts, attracting candidates who are genuinely interested and well-suited for the role. This not only improves the quality of applications but also enhances the recruiter’s ability to identify and engage top talent. In essence, video authentication empowers recruiters to build stronger connections, create a more efficient hiring process, and ultimately achieve better recruitment outcomes in the AI-driven job market.”
Hung Lee: Focusing on issues that really matter (but that you never had time to get to before AI)
“I’m advising the talent professionals who make up the Recruiting Brainfood community,” says Hung Lee, curator of the Recruiting Brainfood newsletter, “to do three things to stay relevant in the era of gen AI.
“Firstly, we need to become AI-enabled ourselves. Too many talent professionals seem to be waiting for enterprises to bundle AI into them, rather than proactively operationalizing the AI that we already have today. Proactive application of technology to any manual TA/HR process needs to be part of a continuous improvement ethos.
“Secondly, we need to apply the productivity gains to expanding scope of work, rather than just taking on more work per capita. All of the things that we say we care about — DEIB, internal mobility, employee well-being, skills development, and learning — need to come into the core of our work rather than peripheral aspirations that get relegated to tomorrow.
“Finally, we need to lean into community. The mainstreaming of AI will be transformational and our best bet as talent professionals is to lean into our peer communities, expand our professional networks, and deepen our relationships with people in our network. We need to remember that artificial intelligence is trained on documented information, but the most significant information in the people business is often undocumented — exactly the type which flows through the informal connections we have in the community.”
Stacey Gordon: Leaning in to your ability to understand nuance
“With AI being top of mind for many recruiters,” says Stacey Gordon, executive advisor and inclusive workplace consultant at Rework Work, “one of the things that cannot be replaced is the ability to understand nuance.
“You can hire for the exact same role in two different companies, and need two very different people. There is nuance to the way in which a person will operate in different organizations, and until humans get better at defining those skill sets, they are not going to be able to translate that to technology to be able to replicate.
“Part of the problem is that we use so many of our senses to gather information and make decisions. However, that is both a pro and a con because that is also where negative biases exist. When it is vital that you source and identify candidates with skill sets that will match the needs of a business, a recruiter’s ability to relationship-build, read between the lines, ask follow-up questions, and identify potential ability can’t be matched (at least not yet) by technology.”
Stacy Donovan Zapar: Building stronger relationships with candidates and hiring managers
“In the age of AI, the No. 1 superpower recruiters need,” says Stacy Zapar, founder of The Talent Agency, “is relationship-building. I’ve heard this quote quite a few times recently: ‘AI won’t take your job; it’s somebody using AI that will take your job.’ And that person will likely be using AI to automate administrative, repetitive, or labor-intensive tasks to free up time for more strategic, rapport-building activities.
“In a recruiting context, this means automating time-consuming tasks like interview-scheduling or writing job postings to free up time for candidate nurturing, preclosing, and providing a white-glove experience for both candidates and hiring teams. Devoting more time to understanding hiring managers’ needs and candidates’ motivations leads to better communication, more trust, stronger matches, more accepted offers, and an elevated hiring experience for everyone involved.
“The key to it all? Knowing when to use AI/automation and when to take the extra time for the human touch. This know-how will ultimately lead to stronger relationships and happier candidates and stakeholders, making you one of the standout recruiters who could never be replaced by a bot!”
