We have always done it this way

Grace Hopper, U.S. Navy rear admiral and renowned computer programmer, once famously said, “The most dangerous phrase in the English language is: We’ve always done it this way. It raises the question, are we doing this because we always have, or because it’s the right thing to do?”

This phrase has always prompted me to respond to the statement with “why?” As we move forward into a world with AI at the forefront, “we’ve always done it this way” should prompt us to ask “why” we do the things we do in recruitment. Here’s an example. “We have always required the application to be done at the front of the process – and collected every piece of information about the person before we even met them or assessed their qualifications.”

I believe this “application” is a legacy from paper job applications and doesn’t fit today’s candidates or process. What if, instead, we just gathered the information we need to have a conversation with them and then, if mutually interested, gather additional data during the phases of the selection process? This would eliminate some of the long applications that candidates complete – only to be quickly rejected as not a fit.

This approach could look a variety of ways to different organizations. It could include questions to determine background and experience, a simple name, email, phone, resume “application,” or some combination of these to help your organization decide whether you want to talk to a candidate or not. Once you decide to move forward to interviews or offers, you could then ask the candidate to complete more information for a background check or other information needed to hire them.

Blowing up the application and putting in phased information gathering – much like online shopping or other online interactions – would bring the interest phase of recruiting up to date.