The Damaging Effects of AI in Recruiting
In companies’ rushes to adapt to the ever-changing technology landscape, and staying ahead in the great AI race or risk looking archaic, many employees are forced to use AI in ways it was never meant for. And for hiring managers in particular, this can mean outsourcing interviews to AI bots, using AI to parse through resumes, and creating mass amounts of content for social media that ends up not saying anything in the end. The result? A lot of missed potential and “AI Workslop.”
“Workslop,” a term coined by BetterUp and Stanford University, is what happens when people start using AI excessively and without restriction or standards in place, when employees turn off their brain and rely too heavily on AI without quality checks along the way (Nawrat 2025, Case 2025). It is costing large organizations approximately $186 per month per employee, equating to over $9 million in lost productivity each year for those with 10,000 employees or more, due to the extra work using AI causes for employees trying to clean up its mess (Nawrat 2025).
“While it may look good on the surface, Workslop is often bloated, confusing, or just plain wrong”, which “ends up creating more work for their co-workers”, according to the report.
AI, as helpful as it can be, can be equally as unhelpful and doesn’t have companies’ best interests in mind. In recruiting, this Workslop could mean the difference between making a bad hire that costs the company thousands of dollars.
Along with most other recruiting agencies, AI tends to focus on technical skills and great resume formatting. So, if an unqualified candidate can put together a great resume, in AI’s eyes, it’s a great fit. But that’s not always the case.
In our years of recruiting experience across multiple industries, the best candidates tend to be the most unexpected ones. Some of the brightest and best fits for our clients would have otherwise been overlooked by AI, but with our expertise and human touch, we were able to find them.
We believe in the power of conversation and smart tools. Yes, we use technology when it’s useful. But our real value is in our people: our experienced recruiters are speaking to candidates, understanding their experience, values, goals, and how they align with our clients’ roles. Even when a candidate’s resume may be turned away by a bot, our recruiters will see things the tech doesn’t that may end up being an even greater fit for our clients.
If you’re a hiring manager tired of getting bad-fit candidates referred from Workslop and AI-bots, talk to us. We deliver candidates who are real, ready, aligned, and vetted by people, not just algorithms.
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