Artificial Intelligence and jobs don’t mix well. People often discuss that AI will be a disruptive force in the job market. Yes, up to 15% of today’s jobs may disappear in the decade. But, a similar number of new jobs, if not more, will be created. Moreover, AI can drastically improve the recruitment process leading to more work satisfaction and productivity.

It is only prudent to believe that fewer people will engage in jobs that they dislike once the AI transition is complete. Pymetrics is already working to make that future a reality.

Hiring Process across most of our companies is broken. On an average, a job opening receives 250 applications, but the recruitment process fails to select the desirable employee up to 50% times. An overwhelming majority of candidates rate the recruitment experience poor and never hear back from the companies. Besides, filters based on people’s resumes can discriminate against suitable candidates who don’t have a great background to show for.

Founded by two women entrepreneurs in 2013, Frida Polli & Julie Yoo, Pymetrics uses neuroscience and artificial intelligence to a matchmaker between companies and job seekers. Pymetrics allows companies to assess talent objectively, getting rid of all biases including the personal, educational and professional background. Interestingly, this startup has gamified the recruitment process.

Watch Frida talk about AI’s power to reveal what we don’t know about ourselves.

A company can invite all its top performers to play set games. These help judge personality traits as well as cognitive and social skills. This helps create the ideal persona for a new hire for specific roles. On the other side, candidates can play the same game to apply, instead of putting in a resume. Based on the data gathered during these games, Pymetrics’ AI matches an opportunity with the perfect talent.  Recruitment is usually a time taking process. Companies can save valuable time by using the existing applicant pool. Beyond the initial hiring, Pymetrics also helps companies identify opportunities for internal movement of employees.

As Pymetrics is based on objective analysis to deliver the best possible opportunity talent match, it allows for diversity to naturally appear in the final selection numbers. In absence of any bias (think name, gender, color, age, race, class or education brand), commonly associated with the traditional recruitment process, no one starts at a disadvantage.

Pymetrics is focusing on making equal employment opportunities available for close to 5 million Opportunity Youth. That’s one-in-seven young people who are disconnected from the economy. This group is made up of young adults, 18-24-year-old, who are not in school or at work. Unemployment rates for the group are extraordinarily high at 12%, nearly triple the national average. Lack of an educational and professional background makes it difficult for Opportunity Youth to enter the workforce. A recent report by Harvard Business School found that employers are demanding a four-year degree for jobs that previously did not require one. This practice does not only make it harder for companies to find affordable talent but also prevents at-risk individuals and opportunity youth to find jobs.

The startup has received a $150,000 grant, awarded by The Rockefeller Foundation under their Impact Hiring program to unlock additional employment opportunities for disadvantaged youth. Pymetrics is working with 4 companies in their efforts to hire Opportunity Youth and diversify their workforce.

In September ‘17, Pymetrics closed an $8 million round to grow the team of 45 employees across offices in New York City, San Francisco, London, and Singapore. Since its inception in 2013, Pymetrics has raised a total of $17 million. According to the startup, 50 companies across the world and 500,000 job seekers use its services.

Would you like to try a game and find a perfect job for yourself?