Australian companies use algorithms to recruit staff

Major Australian companies are using algorithms to find their staff. Picture: Thinkstock.

HAVE you spent hours perfecting your CV only to get a "thanks-but-no-thanks" response?

Then chances are you haven't cracked the mysterious codes that are likely to be scanning your job application.

Expr3ss! founder Dr Glyn Brokensha said major Australian companies are turning to big data to pick their next round of staff.

Their company counts retail giants like IGA, Harris Farm and David Lawrence as clients and said algorithms can help find staff with more accuracy and better retention rates than traditional recruitment methods.

"Essentially their applications are driven through a careers portal we create for them. That portal asks a small amount of information [applicants] can deliver in between 6-12 minutes," Dr Brokensha said.

"The information gathered there is about their expectations, can-do skills, capacity, what they claim is true about them, their educational achievements, work track record. Some information about the kind of character or personality they are that is relevant to job selection."

The system then provides a list of candidates who rank best according to the criteria set by the company.

"It can rank them in one of a number of different ways depending on how the customer wants to appraise that data."

"Once that was a huge burden to make those kinds of predictions. Now, those customers can do it for themselves," Dr Brokensha said.

Aussie companies are using computers to get their next round of staff. Picture: Thinkstock.

But relying on code has its limitations.

RecruitLoop founder Paul Slezak said while it's an ideal way to scan large numbers of people, the "most important is values and that can't be searched on an algorithm."

"They're amazing from a search or sourcing perspective because you can keyword and do all this stuff to find the right people but it still must have someone at other end of people qualifying that someone's values and traits are suitable for a company and culture," he said.

They can also miss out people who have made formatted their CV in an unusual way or chosen words not included in the job description.

"Any form of algorithm or automation will miss people out who might not have put in details with the words that are absolutely required for that search."

"That diamond in the rough might not appear in that search if it's been purely automated,"

Hays Director NSW Jane McNeill said the best way to ensure your CV is read is to include a short summary of your experience with specific keywords at the top.

"This area of your resume should be designed to prove your value proposition and differentiate you from your competition - and shouldn't list objectives," she said.

"Use a clean format with no graphics, images or tables. Applicant tracking systems [ATS] don't pick up images and graphics as they aren't searchable inside the database. Within the text of your resume, don't use any special characters or fonts. Avoid headers and footers, too, as these can be incompatible with most ATS."