Do you recall this sinking feeling when you come out of a museum exhibition and realize you were lost the whole time? Skills are more fluid today than ever in the dynamic job market, thus recruiters may be confronted with similar issues: they have to choose their way through piles of CVs, each containing a hidden treasure; however, it is still not clear how exactly to find somebody who would fit perfectly. The reason is usually skill taxonomy. This deceptively simple system for classifying skills can slow down your recruitment process. Let us explain why.
The taxonomy trap: Limitations of traditional systems
Think of a librarian arranging shelves according to the Dewey Decimal System. Though nice for traditional novels, it wouldn’t be useful for sorting e-books with changing content and multimedia elements. Similarly, conventional skill taxonomies often lag behind the rapid changes in our labor markets. For example, consider ten years ago when data science was less known than today. How does defined organically designed taxonomy capture specific skillsets required in such an emergent trade?
Here are the key limitations of traditional skill taxonomies:
- Static and Inflexible: Instead of emerging new skill sets such as cloud computing or social media marketing, many such taxonomies still hold predefined ones and forget that current skills keep changing at any particular time. A decade ago “communication skills” would have meant good written and oral abilities but now it includes social media proficiency and presentation software mastery too.
- Limited Granularity: Most taxonomies lack the detailedness necessary to distinguish between levels of proficiency. Is someone listing “project management” just an experienced leader or did he or she take an online course? It becomes difficult to identify real top talent.
- Industry Bias: Commonplace approaches fail to articulate the subtleties of certain industries while writing generic taxonomies. Marketing skills required by a software company differ greatly from those needed by a fashion brand. A conventional taxonomy could easily miss out on an ideal candidate for your specialty just because their skills are stated differently from the wider field.
- Manual Updates: Updating these systems is often manual and quite time-consuming, thus preventing them from capturing real-time trends. For instance, the technological industry has been evolving rapidly over time. However, by the time you include “blockchain technology” in your taxonomy, it may already be considered as being outdated.
These limitations can lead to several problems in your recruitment process:
- Inefficient Matching: Sometimes resumes with “right” keywords may not attract attention simply because specified skills do not exactly fit into the strict categories of your taxonomy. Even if one’s background knowledge in social media marketing is good he forgot to mention “SEO,” this fact may result in his or her exclusion even though such abilities are directly relevant to this position.
- Candidate Disqualification: Gifted individuals who have untraditional skill sets usually miss out before maximizing their potential can reach their peak. An engineer with a passion and a knack for coding gained through gaming might be disqualified from software development positions just because they don’t have any particular training beyond video games.
- Screening That Uses Up Time: Recruiters are then left to spend precious time manually decoding resumes and skills, leading to a slower recruitment process. Imagine going through hundreds of resumes, attempting to decipher what every candidate has in their arsenal from limited predetermined categories.
Busting the taxonomy: Constructing a dynamic skills framework
How can we go beyond the limitations of traditional taxonomies? This is through creating a more dynamic skills framework. Some key principles to consider are:
- Skills, not keywords: Search for a deeper understanding of job-related skills rather than mere keyword matching in your resumes. Instead of searching for resumes with “social media marketing,” it’s better to look at core skills necessary for success in such roles as content creation, community management, and analytics.
- Adopt flexibility: Develop a framework that can be adaptable to new skills and industry-specific needs. The skills needed for marketing a fashion brand are entirely different from those needed to market software. Your skill framework should enable you to filter candidates based on specific requirements per position.
- Proficiency levels as part of the equation: Assess the depth and experience level, besides just identifying competencies. Is someone listing “project management” an experienced leader or someone who just took an online course? Knowing proficiency levels helps you sift out qualified applicants from those requiring more training.
- Harnessing technology: Explore AI-powered recruitment platforms that analyze resumes to extract relevant skill sets more accurately and efficiently. Natural Language Processing (NLP) will allow you to dig through keywords and understand what qualifies a candidate.
Embracing the future: How AI can help you navigate the skills labyrinth
Building a dynamic skills framework takes continued effort and dedication. But what if there were methods of making use of cutting-edge technology to ease this process while gaining competitive advantages?
This is where platforms such as impress.ai; an AI-powered recruitment platform come into place. Our system uses an elaborate artificial intelligence mechanism far beyond keyword-matching purposes. It can scan resumes, pick out pertinent abilities, and evaluate them with high degrees of accuracy when it comes to their proficiency levels. Through this approach, you will be able to:
- Identify Top Talent: Onboard candidates with the right skills and experience for your role, even if they aren’t a perfect match.
- Reduce Bias: Make data-driven decisions that are more resistant to unconscious bias.
- Save Time and Resources: Instead of going through irrelevant resumes focus on creating lasting relations with potential candidates.
Imagine a world where you confidently navigate the skills labyrinth with an optimized recruitment process to acquire top talents. That world is at your doorstep courtesy of impress.ai.
Do you want to move beyond the constraints imposed by traditional skill taxonomies? Talk to us now and understand how impress.ai can help you create an active skill framework while finding the best fit for your team.
