Generative artificial intelligence tools have contributed to an onslaught of job applications in the past year, often making more work for recruiters, who say it’s getting harder to decipher which applicants are actually qualified. Many employers say they prefer candidates with AI skills; the problem is that they’re being sloppy about it. Automatic online interviews, sometimes conducted by AI, can help recruiters navigate the surge of applications. But candidates can also use AI to beat the bots, creating a potentially endless cycle of frustration.
25% of job candidates will be fake by 2028, and most founders have no idea it's happening.
The data is insane:
- 49% of job seekers now use AI to write resumes
- 13% of applications for engineering roles use completely fake identities
- North Korean IT workers alone have stolen $600M from US companies
We're seeing candidates pass 4+ video interviews with deepfake technology before getting caught.
The worst part:
AI detection tools are basically useless.
They correctly identify AI-generated content only 26% of the time while falsely flagging human writing 9% of the time.
Meanwhile, auto-application tools let people submit 150+ applications per day.
What founders/recruiters should watch for:
- Technical answers that sound rehearsed or copied
- Reluctance to do unscripted technical demonstrations
- Work history timelines that don't add up when you verify
- Inconsistent communication styles within the same conversation
The scale is insane. Gartner predicts 1 in 4 candidates will be fake within 4 years.
Your current hiring process wasn't built for this reality.
Time to adapt before you become another cautionary tale.