The Recruitment Industry is Broken

3 phone interviews, 2 Skype meetings, 7 face-to-face interviews. Sorry we’re changing the role slightly.

Ed Hunter

The recruitment industry is broken and no one wants to fix it. With each passing year it gets worse, although I didn’t believe that was humanly possible. The operative word here is humanly. The humanity has disappeared from the recruitment industry and it’s been overrun by computer algorithms and automated email messages. Sadly, recruiters who understand the jobs they’re looking to fill and the candidates who are good fits for those jobs are a dying breed. Recruiters are now nothing more than order takers who depend on a computer algorithm to select their candidates.

As someone who works on contract, going through the recruitment process on a regular basis is a necessary evil. The number of imbecilic people I have to deal with in order to secure employment makes the mind reel! It’s a wonder that anyone finds works these days. And professional courtesy is dead! After I have one or more face-to-face interviews I expect a phone call to tell me that I did or did not get the job. But sadly that’s not the way it works anymore. If you get the job you’ll get a phone call. If you don’t get the job you’ll get a tacky form email like this:

Dear (insert candidate’s name),

Thank you for taking the time to apply to the role of (insert role). Your submission was reviewed and evaluated against this position's overall candidate pool. Unfortunately, we will not be moving forward with your application at this time. Please know we will keep your profile in our system and that a Recruiter may reach out to you in the future if they have a role that matches your skills and experience.

Thank you for your interest…

Doesn’t it make you wonder how many excellent candidates have never been considered for jobs they were a perfect fit for because of a computer algorithm and an ineffective recruiter? And conversely, how many bad hires have been made for the same reason? Perhaps it's time to turn recruiting over to Artificial Intelligence. At least there would be some form of intelligence and we would no longer have an expectation of humanity.

We’re looking for someone with the wisdom of a 50-year old, the experience of a 40-year old, the drive of a 30-year old and the pay scale of a 20-year old.

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