Recruiterless recruiting: Finding the right hires fast with AI

Gillian O’Brien, General Manager at Remote, shares her expertise in Remote’s thought leadership series. Drawing from her wide experience as a startup founder, chief of staff, and general manager, Gillian shares challenges in recruiting and how employers can find the right hires fast.

Recruiterless recruiting is the idea that hiring is no longer limited to traditional recruiters. It’s more true than ever that you don’t need a specific degree, background, or qualifications ‌ — ‌ anyone can step into the role of a recruiter simply by deciding, "I’m going to hire someone."

Of course, hiring the right people still requires the right tools. AI tools are democratizing the recruiting process, meaning anyone can step up and learn how to make great hires. Regardless of your role, you’ve got what it takes. Welcome to the future of hiring, where everyone gets to play a part!

‌Here’s what employers need to know to stay ahead.

Chaos first, progress second 

AI is open and available to everybody, but we're still really early in the journey. In recruiting, that means things are getting worse before they get better. 

For example, some candidates are using AI agents to apply for thousands of jobs. In response, knockout questions and ranking systems in Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) are getting more stringent. It’s bot vs. bot. ‌

For job seekers, using AI to tailor your application for each job you apply to is fine, but avoid the “spray and pray” method of blindly applying to multiple jobs. You can miss out on high-quality roles that are a good fit for your career.

If you are an employer, learn how to reduce the signal-to-noise ratio and find high-quality candidates in a sea of applicants using AI. More on that below.

Use AI to your advantage

For my current recruiters reading this, don’t panic. AI isn’t coming for your job. We both know hiring is more than just matching resumes to job descriptions. It’s relationship-driven, and the best recruiters are irreplaceable because of their ability to understand, develop, and influence people. ‌That said, the best recruiters are also irreplaceable because they're learning how to use AI to make the best hires and protect their time.

The best defense that you can have as a recruiter is to understand the market, know what tools are available, and position yourself as an expert on the best way to use those tools. At the end of the day, there’s always going to be human input when deciding who to hire.

Hone your soft skills 

It’s important to continue to develop your soft skills as a recruiter. AI still falls short on last steps like negotiating with the candidate, and convincing them to join a company. Persuading a candidate to choose your company over other competitive offers, or deciding whether a candidate is a good fit for the company long-term are factors that require a personal relationship.

Use human judgment 

AI learns from historical data — it's meant to be assistive and not a decision-making replacement. Several AI matching algorithms are primarily keyword-based, meaning they're scanning a resume against a job description. 

Using human judgment is sound advice for both employers and job seekers, since AI is not meant to replace the human power to decide. Evaluate candidates beyond keywords to discover the best fit for your company. If you’re a job seeker, make sure you’re the one doing the final check on your application, not a computer.

Jobs and Talent —

8 min

How to find elite global talent: Best practices and mistakes

Discover best practices for attracting elite global talent and common mistakes to avoid.

AI learns from historical data, so be careful of inaccuracies. Technology is meant to be assistive, and not as a decision-making replacement. - Gillian O’Brien, General Manager at Remote

How to cut through the noise for best matches 

Talent is all around the globe, but top candidates have trouble finding good roles. Companies are still drowning in applications but unable to hire. 

What needs to change for recruiting to be effective?

Focus on the small pool of right matches 

Most hiring tools waste time by filtering out great candidates based on outdated criteria‌ — ‌like keywords, years of experience, or location‌ — ‌rather than focusing on what really matters: skills and potential.

Recruit flips the script. Our AI-powered platform connects you with a focused pool of candidates. Your personalized top matches are based on real skills and competencies, not arbitrary filters. With Talent Insights, you get data-driven recommendations on the best places to source candidates, ensuring you attract top talent efficiently. Recruit helps you hire smarter and faster — ‌so you can spend less time searching and more time securing the right people.

Simplify the application process 

Top talent won’t jump through hoops to apply. They’re not filling out endless forms or rewriting cover letters when their resume already speaks for itself.

That’s why Recruit makes it effortless for job seekers to get discovered‌ — ‌giving you access to a high-intent, pre-vetted talent pool before your competitors even see them. Instead of scrolling through multiple job boards, job seekers create a candidate profile and get matched with the best companies from a single platform.

Cut to the chase using AI 

As an employer, you want to connect with candidates with real skills and motivation to join as soon as possible. Recruit’s AI interview pre-vets candidates for you, adding more depth and personality to their profiles than a cover letter ever could. That means you can quickly identify standout talent at once, in one place. 

Instead of spending time on repetitive screening questions, you can skip straight to meaningful, high-intent conversations. With AI interviews, you skip the time-consuming step of finding okay candidates and immediately connect with top candidates who are not only qualified but also excited to join. 

Start hiring – easy, simple, and fast 

Anyone can be a recruiter, but you need to know how to use AI in your favor. The human element will always be a part of the hiring process — so know how to use your soft skills to persuade top talent to join your company. 

With the proper AI tools, recruiting should be easy for any company looking to scale, enter new markets, or hire at a high volume. An employment partner like Recruit helps you find the right candidate based on talent insights to guide your decisions. That’s how you can hire smarter, faster, and globally.

To discover your top candidate matches, sign up for Recruit today. 

Hire smarter, grow faster with Recruit

Don’t just find more candidates​ — find the right ones. With advanced insights and AI to guide your decisions, Recruit helps you hire smarter, faster, and globally.

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