How to Use ChatGPT in Recruitment

Last Updated February 21, 2024

ChatGPT has made a lot of headlines over the last year, and for good reason. ChatGPT and other AI tools are poised to completely change how we perform many work processes.

Using ChatGPT for recruiting is an especially noteworthy possibility. While using AI in recruiting can certainly streamline work for recruiters, understanding how to properly use these applications and tools is essential for making sure you continue to do your job properly. It’s important to be aware of what challenges staffing and recruiting firms may face due to the advancement of powerful tools like ChatGPT.

Continue reading to learn more about how recruiters can use ChatGPT and to review the benefits vs. challenges of AI in recruitment. Finally, we’ll answer the ever-important question: Will ChatGPT eventually replace recruiters?

What Is ChatGPT?

ChatGPT and its capabilities aren’t yet universally known, so let’s provide a synopsis of what this new AI-powered system is before breaking down ChatGPT’s impact on recruiting.

ChatGPT is a generative AI tool that uses natural language processing. Users can enter prompts, and the tool will generate text or images in various formats, trying to create responses that sound as human-like as possible. Machine learning allows ChatGPT to continually learn and improve based on the feedback it receives, as well as training data that it receives from online sources and elsewhere.

What Are ChatGPT’s Capabilities?

ChatGPT’s machine learning capabilities make it capable of performing a surprisingly wide range of tasks. The many tasks that ChatGPT can help with include checking for bugs in computer codes, drafting emails and social media posts, creating summaries of articles and podcasts, selecting SEO keywords, providing product research, and even generating art.

Notably, ChatGPT for recruitment has also become a trend. While ChatGPT recruiting prompts can be used by job seekers to write their resumes and cover letters, talent acquisition AI can also help recruiters sort through applications and find the best available talent.

How Can ChatGPT Help Recruiters?

ChatGPT’s capabilities are impressive—and they can directly benefit recruiters as well by helping (at least partially) automate a variety of key processes. But if you’re left wondering, “How exactly can recruiters use ChatGPT?” take a look at the list below to find out.

1. Develop Interview Questions

One great option for ChatGPT is to use it to help develop a list of interview questions. ChatGPT can help you quickly generate a list of questions for different positions at your company, or even for different types of interview questions (such as behavioral questions or situational judgment questions). You could even use ChatGPT to generate interview questions based on the job description for an open position.

2. Craft or Improve Job Descriptions

ChatGPT can also help recruiters craft or improve upon job descriptions for open roles. For example, you could submit a job description that you’re currently using and ask ChatGPT to rewrite it to be more engaging. Or you could have it create an initial draft of a job description for you, and then use that as a baseline for applying your own edits. Either way, AI can be a big time-saver for this process.

3. Write Boolean Search Strings

Boolean search strings (which allow recruiters to use words like ‘AND’ and ‘OR’ to expand or limit search results) are a popular tool for finding candidates and resumes on LinkedIn and other sites that match the qualifications for an open position. ChatGPT can create a Boolean search string based on a submitted prompt describing the requirements or preferences for a particular job.

4. Write Candidate Outreach Emails

Outreach emails and messages on platforms like LinkedIn are the recruiting world’s version of cold calling. ChatGPT can help you write engaging outreach emails based on job descriptions, company benefits, and more. With the right instructions, ChatGPT can quickly generate outreach emails and other messaging options that are more persuasive and effective. This function can also be used to create email templates for other stages of the recruitment process (such as confirmation of receiving an application or scheduling an interview).

5. Evaluate or Summarize Resumes

Evaluating resumes and cover letters can be a time-consuming process. To speed up the process of shortlisting candidates, you could paste candidate cover letters and resumes into ChatGPT and have it create a shorter overview of their experience and capabilities. You could even take this a step further and have the AI assess the candidate’s information and how it compares to job specifications and requirements. ChatGPT could then provide a pros and cons list, or a quick breakdown of a candidate’s suitability for a position.

Improved screening and matching will greatly streamline the recruiting process, reducing how much time recruiters have to spend evaluating resumes and ensuring that they have more time to bring in candidates who are qualified to interview for the position.

Is ChatGPT Ethical? What to Remember When Using AI for Recruiting

Because ChatGPT is so new, we are still learning about its potential ethical impacts. While some feel that AI can help eliminate biases from the recruitment process, it’s worth noting that the inherent biases of people have already been introduced in many AI systems. If you’re not careful, this could cause bias to become an automated part of the recruitment process, with ChatGPT recommending against hiring candidates of certain backgrounds. In fact, lawsuits have already been filed alleging discrimination based on the use of AI in hiring.

Plagiarism is another concern when using ChatGPT for tasks like writing job descriptions or candidate outreach emails. ChatGPT has been described as a “plagiarism machine”, and if you’re not careful, your “new” job description could be nothing more than something that was copied and pasted from somewhere else on the internet. This could drive away potential applicants who view a copied resume as a sign of a scam listing.

Both of these risks highlight the importance of continued human involvement in recruiting. If you aren’t carefully evaluating the results you get from ChatGPT, you could miss out on qualified candidates.

The Impact of AI in the Recruitment Process: Benefits and Challenges

AI in staffing and recruiting is poised to change these industries, bringing about some valuable benefits while also introducing new challenges.

Benefits of AI in Recruitment	Challenges of AI in Recruitment
Automation of repetitive administrative tasks, like creating email templates and developing interview questions	AI outputs still require human review and supervision to check for issues like plagiarism or poor writing
Allows recruiters to spend more time with qualified candidates	Lack of human interaction for some candidates can hurt the overall recruiting experience
Improve candidate outreach and search capabilities to quickly screen more potential candidates	As AI eliminates certain jobs, finding top candidates could become more challenging
Improve candidate matching, making it easier to identify qualified candidates	AI can amplify prejudice against certain groups and automatically eliminate qualified candidates

Will ChatGPT Replace Recruiters?

It’s predicted that ChatGPT and other AI tools will replace 39% of current recruiting activities in the next three years. However, the future of AI in recruitment doesn’t mean recruiters will be entirely replaced. Recruiting new employees must ultimately remain a human-driven process.

For example, while ChatGPT can aid in tasks like developing interview questions and shortlisting candidates based on their resumes, it can’t conduct interviews with qualified candidates. Top candidates need to feel valued during the recruiting and hiring process, and that involves meeting with a living, breathing person.

While recruiters and interviewers aren’t perfect, their intuition and insights are also crucial in the hiring process. ChatGPT doesn’t fully understand human emotion. It doesn’t always respond well in situations that require human judgment.

Recruiters are trained to not only evaluate candidates but to take on other tough tasks, like persuading candidates to consider an offer, negotiating with candidates, and collaborating with hiring managers. They serve as a valuable representative for the company and its culture, which goes a long way in making a job offer more appealing to a candidate.

Recruiting and hiring is an inherently human process. So while ChatGPT can replace many tasks that recruiters currently do, it isn’t going to replace recruiters entirely. Instead, using ChatGPT can help make recruiters more efficient at their jobs than ever before and help employment agencies grow and succeed in the process.

ChatGPT for Recruiting FAQs

Below are some of the most commonly asked questions surrounding ChatGPT in recruiting:

Can recruiters detect ChatGPT?

A candidate might use ChatGPT to make their resume or cover letter more appealing. This could also be done to cover up their weaknesses, such as poor communication skills. If this is a concern for your organization, you might consider using an AI detection tool to identify content that was written by AI. Alternatively, using behavioral interview questions when a candidate comes in for an interview can help recruiters identify whether a candidate has the communication and decision-making skills needed to perform the job well.

Is ChatGPT replacing recruiters?

No. While ChatGPT is replacing and streamlining many of the repetitive or administrative tasks performed by recruiters, it is not replacing recruiters themselves. The hiring and recruiting process will continue to need human interaction and insight to be successful. Recruiters’ empathy, judgment, and communication skills make them an essential part of finding the right individuals for each role.

What are some ChatGPT prompts that can help for recruitment?

ChatGPT prompts can help recruiters create interview questions, job descriptions, email templates, candidate outreach messages, and Boolean search strings. The right prompts can also help summarize or evaluate candidate CVs. When writing a ChatGPT prompt for recruitment, be clear about the information you want to be included, as well as the desired tone for the writing. Provide any information the AI might need (such as a list of job requirements). The more specific you can be when writing your prompts, the better your results will be.

How do I sign up for ChatGPT?

To sign up for ChatGPT, go to the OpenAI website and create an account using your email address. ChatGPT is currently available for free after you create your account.