The idea of applying for a job solely by scanning a QR code, where there is no curriculum vitae involved and you chat with a bot who guides you through the experience as a candidate, is a reality that is occurring in mass recruitment processes. We discussed this with Mateo Cavasotto, CEO of Emi Labs.
How did Emi Labs begin?
Emi Labs began in 2017 with Mateo Cavasotto and Andrés Arslanian, who after collaborating with an NGO dedicated to helping vulnerable populations, noticed that many people were being marginalised in the working world because they didn’t know how to put together a curriculum vitae. That’s how Emi came to be; they developed a bot that, by way of an interview over chat, would create a curriculum vitae (CV) for them.
But the partners identified that companies also demonstrated a need to make their selection processes more efficient, particularly those that handle mass recruitment. That was when Emi changed course and merged these two needs. Instead of building CVs for candidates it became a much more complex conversational platform; a recruitment platform using artificial intelligence.
Emi Labs seeks to democratise employment access and give companies the opportunity to hire the ideal candidates for their job openings quickly and efficiently, with the help of technology. Helping organisations shorten their hiring cycles as well as provide a better experience for candidates, strengthening their employer branding. Decreasing recruitment time frames and costs, especially in mass searches. Recruiters can focus on strategic tasks, no longer performing operative tasks such as reviewing profiles, calling candidates or coordinating interviews.
In addition to analysing 100% of applications and responding to all candidates, assessing everyone equally helps remove biases in selection processes. It not only provides candidates with friendly and empathetic communication, but also simplifies the application process, allowing people to apply for a job at any time, from anywhere, via chat.
What does a recruitment process using Artificial Intelligence entail?
Emi automatises the operative and repetitive tasks of the recruitment process and is the point of contact between the company and the candidate throughout the entire recruitment process.
The bot chats with all candidates interested in a position through a chat interface such as WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger. It explains the position to them, responds to frequently asked questions, completes and verifies basic information and takes a closer look at their profile (experience, interests, education, etc.), using NLP (natural language processing) technology. Furthermore, it coordinates interviews, sends tests to candidates to verify specific aptitudes or gathers documents from candidates, depending on how each selection process is defined.
In an article on Emi’s blog, you discuss how “the human factor in human resources is irreplaceable and the role of technology is to enhance it”. How do you debunk the myth that technology will replace people?
Technology cannot replace characteristics such as empathy, creativity, or the sense of belonging to the culture of a specific company. In this case, technology performs recruiters’ operative tasks so that they can focus on higher value tasks, such as accompanying candidates throughout the entirety of the recruitment process.
In any artificial intelligence process, technology assists but does not replace humans, in this case the recruiter and the candidate.
Which skills are most sought after in today’s job market?
The skill that seems to be most sought after is the ability to learn at all levels, given the pace at which technology, tools and the current situation are changing. Adapting by way of learning is becoming essential to all teams.
MATEO CAVASOTTO | CEO EMI LABS
