Blending AI with High-Touch Recruiting

John Ricciardi, Founder of Afton Consulting Group:

In this Honeit recruiting podcast, John Ricciardi, Founder and Managing Partner of Afton Consulting Group, discussed his unique approach to executive search in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries. Drawing on years of experience leading talent acquisition teams and running his firm, John shared valuable insights on balancing the power of human-centered and high-touch recruiting, the critical role of intake calls, and how innovative tools like Honeit transform communication.

By leveraging Honeit’s interview intelligence to capture and share the Voice of the Candidate, John’s team has been able to streamline hiring, reduce the number of interviews, and provide deeper insights to clients into each candidate’s fit and potential for the role. Blending AI with human recruiting and expertise ensures that recruiting remains efficient and personal to both candidates and clients.

Balancing AI with Human Recruiting:

Importance of the Intake Call:

John emphasized the value of a thorough intake call, going beyond job descriptions to truly understand the business need that a new hire will solve. John often finds candidates who might not perfectly fit the job description but align well with the company’s needs and growth potential.

Human-Centered Approach:

Ricciardi stresses treating candidates like human beings, giving them time to research roles, and avoiding automated or dehumanizing recruitment processes. He shared negative experiences with one-way interviews, highlighting the importance of keeping personal interaction at the center of the recruiting process.

Balancing AI with Human Expertise:

While acknowledging AI’s role in improving efficiency (e.g., generating interview questions and performing initial screens), John emphasized that AI alone cannot fully assess a candidate’s cultural fit, technical abilities, or soft skills. John expressed concerns about AI-generated resumes and interview responses and the importance of recruiters in spotting inauthentic or AI-driven content.

Voice of the Candidate:

Honeit’s ability to capture and share the voice of the candidate through audio snippets is a key differentiator. Clients appreciate hearing candidates explain their experience and skills directly, as it ensures zero misinterpretation or miscommunication by the recruiting team. This approach has helped Ricciardi’s clients skip phone screens and shorten the hiring process by reviewing interview highlights.

Recruitment Strategy and Innovation:

Ricciardi encourages recruiters to act as partners rather than order takers, leveraging their knowledge of the talent market to find the best candidates—even those who might not perfectly match job descriptions. His firm combines AI tools with a personal touch, ensuring comprehensive interviews capture technical and soft skills.

Honeit Highlights:

Efficiency in the Hiring Process:

John’s team uses Honeit to record interviews and provide hiring managers with audio clips of candidate responses. This helps streamline the process by eliminating the need for separate phone screens and shortening the time-to-fill by at least a week.

Improved Candidate Representation:

The Honeit interview platform allows John’s firm to present resumes and voice snippets, enabling clients to “hear” the candidate’s voice and assess their expertise directly. This has led to higher interview-to-hire ratios. Check out the clip below on the value to clients hearing the voice of the candidate through short interview soundbites. Instead of adding a separate step using a one-way video interview tool, John’s team can easily include highlights from a live phone screen or video call with a candidate.

Better Decision-Making for Clients:

Honeit allows Ricciardi’s clients to evaluate both technical and cultural fit early on in the process by listening to how candidates explain their skills. This gives hiring managers confidence in their decisions and reduces the number of interviews required to make a hire.

Increased Candidate Engagement:

By giving candidates time to research the company and position before proceeding with deeper interviews, combined with the human touch and use of Honeit’s tools, John’s firm has significantly reduced candidate ghosting, with only two instances in the past 18 months.