AI Removes the Human Side of Hiring.
While reading a new report from Indeed.com looking at hiring trends in 2025, I found it odd that two of the top 6 trends are “proactive candidate engagement” and “recruiting automation.” I’ve written about the importance of engaging with candidates before, as well as how AI is hurting the application process and the hiring process. While I completely agree with increasing candidate engagement, this is a critical step often overlooked or forgotten about by most corporate and 3rd party recruiters, I don’t think the best way to go about this is by automated processes. This seems like good intentions gone awry.
In a recent article, Forbes reported that 42% of offers are rejected due to negative experiences during the hiring process. Interviewing is tough, whether you’re the interviewer or the interviewee, and many innocent mistakes can take place. I had an experience where emails were going into a candidate’s junk folder. It took us a week to figure out the issue, many apologies were shared, and we moved forward. That is not what Forbes is getting at, the significant issues that lead to rejected offers are not innocent mistakes. The effort to increase efficiency can be a valid pursuit in order to provide a better interviewing experience, but it also leads to many pitfalls that often cannot be avoided.
Spamming potential candidates’ email with too many articles that you feel show off the company may feel like junk mail to the candidates. Likewise, AI generated emails feel impersonal and often lack critical information that the candidate is looking for. This is the niche in hiring that Recruiters can solve. Corporate Talent Acquisition teams do not have the bandwidth for consistent engagement in the market, or the experience of working with competitors in their industry. Exploring compensation cannot be done via AI programs. Often, candidates do not feel comfortable sharing information as they feel they will be given a low-ball offer if they do.
Hiring is a person to person endeavor, there’s no way around it. Even younger generations that prefer text messages over face to face interactions complain about how they are ghosted or provided zero feedback or never really understood the comp plan etc. An often overlooked component of working with a Recruiter is that we act as mediators. We can get to the truth without burning bridges or making either side feel uncomfortable. The goal is that both hiring manager and candidate are thrilled with the offer, excited to be working together, and motivated to hit the ground running. This all begins by working with a recruiter who engages in your industry and helps to provide the best hiring experience possible.
