Recruiters are drowning and AI isn’t saving them yet

Kohn has heard some recruiters argue the inbound applications pipeline is now so compromised that proactive sourcing is the only reliable channel. Others are experimenting with AI interview agents to conduct brief initial conversations with all applicants before any human review. But she is candid about where the industry stands: “Right now, recruiters are drowning. And while they’re drowning, they’re being told, ‘Just use AI, that’ll be fine.'”

The challenge is particularly worrying for younger jobseekers. Greenhouse data revealed that Gen Z candidates are disproportionately affected by the current dysfunction – not because they lack digital fluency, but because they lack professional networks.

“If you don’t have that referral network to help open doors, and you’re looking to break into the job market in your first or second role, you’ve got to work out how to make your application stand out in a sea of noise,” said Hyde.

AI bias also remains a live concern. Kohn noted that many predictive hiring models are trained on historical hire data – an inherently limited dataset that excludes everyone who was passed over but could have succeeded.

She does, however, see cause for optimism in AI-enabled skills inference tools that can look beyond stated qualifications to infer adjacent capabilities. “Instead of ruling you out, it’s ruling you in.”