I got myself in a little bit of trouble speaking the truth about augmented writing and gender bias tools. One vendor asked that I not join a panel. I guess talking about fart tests and the truth about how tools work isn’t on their agenda this year.
We both know that’s not going to stop me.
This conversation is overdue. Truth be told, this tech isn’t all trash. Let me be clear about that.
But here’s the reality. What makes these systems work isn’t coded or created by some vendor. It’s the recruiters who write compelling job posts in the first place.
Augmented Writing Tools Don’t Work If You Never Work on Writing Better.
No tool can tell you that your job post isn’t accurate. It can’t tell you that you haven’t included the most critical detail. It can’t tell you if the content sounds human, either. A quality hiring manager intake can, and that happens when a trained recruiter leads it.
If you say you’re going to invest in the candidate experience, you must train your recruiters to write job postings. Buying a new tool won’t get it done. Teach your team to create great human, people-centered content that’s written about people, not about work. The final step is using gender bias tools or augmented writing to make that post even better – not the first one.
Before investing in tools, invest in a job post writing training or a job post library to establish a baseline for what “good” is. Teach your team what a great job post entails, how to do a hiring-manager intake meeting, and how to write a job posting. Make sure they have access to an online version for new hires and ongoing training, too —hint hint. There’s one here. I teach a training, too. You can get those details at Three Ears Media.
Top 5 Augmented Writing and Gender Bias Tools (In No Particular Order)
Once training is complete, invest in a tool as the final step to ensure you’re not infusing unconscious or conscious bias into your job postings. Here’s a shortlist of the top five tools I hear about from customers and industry experts.
Remember to train your team before turning to augmented writing solutions that may suck up your budget and don’t help you accomplish the end goal: attracting qualified candidates.