Artificial intelligence is increasingly entering personnel selection processes, both on the side of the companies and on that of the candidates. In Italy, one young person in five uses chatbots and AI tools to identify the most suitable job, improve your CV and prepare for interviews. Small and micro businesses, however, still show caution towards these technologies, especially due to the implementation costs.
The data emerge from the research of the Evolution Forum Business School Observatory on SMEs, conceived by the trainer Gianluca Spadoni and based on a panel of over 1,200 micro and small businesseswith a turnover of up to one million euros and fewer than five employees. The survey photographs a job market in which digital tools are taking on a growing role they change the ways in which companies and candidates come into contact.
Artificial intelligence is no longer just for writing a resume. According to the Observatory, the 58% of young people use AI to prepare their CVwhile one in five candidates uses chatbots and similar tools to identify professional opportunities, refine their application and simulate real interviews.
These tools allow you to practice the most frequently asked questions, develop more effective answers and adapt your CV to the requirements of individual positions. The goal is also overcome the automatic filters adopted by companieswhich use algorithms capable of identifying keywords and verifying the correspondence between candidate profiles and the required skills.
The selection process thus moves away from the traditional face-to-face interview. After the spread of remote interviews, accelerated by the pandemic, they are making space automated systems and chatbots that can intervene already in the early stages of recruitment.
On the business side, the adoption of AI for personnel selection proceed with caution. The 42% of SMEs interviewed by the Observatory would take these tools into consideration for some types of selection, while the 29% does not yet have a defined position. An additional one 19% he declares himself willing to trust artificial intelligence, but exclusively for personnel selection activities.
The research also reports a relationship between company size and propensity to invest in these technologies. Companies with a higher turnover show a stronger orientation towards the use of AI in the preliminary stages of recruitment.
The main limit, however, remains economic. The 43% of SMEs believe that artificial intelligence still costs too much compared to its size, while 31% consider allocating resources initially foreseen for other activities to these projects. 9% say they are ready to do everything necessary to raise funds for AI implementation.
The gap compared to larger companies also appears evident in the perceptions of those interviewed: 57% of SMEs believe that it is above all medium-large companies, with a turnover exceeding 100 million euros, that are be able to afford extensive use of artificial intelligence in various business areas.
The research also highlights the motivations that push candidates towards digital channels. 66% of those who turn to online selections do so because they aim to obtain a higher salary or move abroad to work.
The data brings to the center an issue that goes beyond technological innovation: the inability of Italian companies to attract and retain younger workers. The availability of more efficient digital tools can make finding a job easier, but it does not resolve pay differences and the difficulties associated with building a stable professional path.
Gianluca Spadoni, director of the Evolution Forum Business School Observatory on SMEs, underlines how companies must rethink their relationship with the new generations. According to the trainer, who over the course of his career has trained over 550,000 peopleyoung people don’t just submit applications: they evaluate companies and choose those they deem best suited to their aspirations.
For this reason, even the smallest companies must learn to better communicate their identity, illustrate growth opportunities and offer credible professional prospects. The difficulty in finding personnel, according to Spadoni, cannot be addressed only with new technologies: we must also ask ourselves how well companies are able to attract candidates.
The issue of wages remains central. Spadoni draws attention to the weight of the tax wedge and the difficulty, for many workers between the ages of 25 and 30, of building an independent life project through their salary. Greater wage competitiveness, together with more favorable tax policies, could contribute to reducing the attractiveness of professional opportunities abroad.
Another significant data concerns the perception of the criteria with which the best paid jobs are assigned. According to the investigation, 65% of SMEs believe that in Italy the positions with the highest salaries are still the prerogative of those with the right recommendations.
It is a perception that highlights the mistrust of a significant part of the entrepreneurial fabric towards meritocracy. In this context, digital tools and artificial intelligence could broaden access to information and professional opportunities, but do not in themselves guarantee fairer selection processes.
Spadoni observes that knowledge and the possibility of acquiring new skills can promote professional growth and social mobility. Relationships can open some doors, but staying in a position, according to the Observatory’s director, depends on the ability to do one’s job well.
In any case, the diffusion of these tools does not only concern Italy. In the US landscape, a CBS article titled “AI interviews rolling out for some federal government hires, sources say” he reported tests with AI-based virtual agents for first interviews intended for some technical hiring of the federal government.
A Newsweek report, titled “Job Seekers Are Using AI During Interviews“he instead described the use by some candidates of real-time AI tools during interviews with recruiterswith the aim of receiving suggestions on the answers to provide.
The result is a job market in which candidates and companies use technological tools to achieve different goals. For the first, AI represents support in finding a job and preparing applications. For the latter, it can offer help in managing selections, as long as costs, reliability and evaluation criteria are compatible with company needs.
The challenge for Italian SMEs will therefore be twofold: understanding where artificial intelligence can make recruitment more efficient and, at the same time, improve the conditions that make a workplace attractive. Because algorithms can facilitate the matching of supply and demand, but they cannot replace adequate salaries, growth prospects and transparent selection criteria.
