Can a Handshake Be Replaced? Seattle Talent Pros Discuss the Future of Recruiting

Automation was the word on the tip of everyone’s tongue as talent acquisition leaders from the Seattle area gathered at Payscale’s offices just south of CenturyLink field for Recruiting @ Scale: Seattle. With nearby giants like Microsoft and Amazon pioneering new technologies almost daily and hiring the talent to fuel their innovations, Seattle recruiters are well-acquainted with the world of smart technologies.

But recruiting isn’t just about technology, even though it can feel that way sometimes. At its heart, recruiting is still about connecting people with opportunities and persuading them to take the leap to something new and exciting. And the truth is, that will probably never ever be fully automated. The key, then, for those of us in talent acquisition is to figure out how we can strategically leverage technology without losing the very human skills and attributes that make us effective recruiters in the first place.

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