Marvin OnumonuCV-Library has reported that businesses are missing out on quality candidates due to the increased use of artificial intelligence (AI) in hiring.
The survey showed 35% of recruiters said they miss out on top talent because AI lacks human intuition.
Over a quarter (27%) said strong applications are filtered out before the interview, and one in five (20%) noticed a drop in candidate quality when AI is used.
Over half (53%) of jobseekers believed their application was rejected by AI without a human checking it.
Unfair rejection is one of the biggest frustrations for 46% of candidates, and 40% said they have abandoned or considered abandoning an application because of AI screening.
Younger candidates are more sceptical, with nearly two-thirds (64%) of Gen Z suspecting AI has rejected them in early hiring stages.
Gen Z is also the group most frustrated by unfair rejection (53%), followed by Millennials (47%) and Gen X (46%).
AI usage in hiring is high, with over four in five recruiters (83%) using it to speed up the process and 28% relying on it to handle large application volumes.
However, just 36% said it actually improves speed-to-hire.
Recruiters said AI works best for writing job descriptions (63%) and interview scheduling (38%).
Confidence drops when it comes to cultural fit and soft skills, with 72% saying AI struggles to identify the right culture and 55% saying it does not assess soft skills well.
Lee Biggins, CEO and founder of CV-Library, said: “Candidates have long felt that the human touch is ebbing away from the hiring process and that good people are getting screened out unfairly.
“This insight from recruiters in both agencies and businesses suggests their frustrations may be justified.
“It’s a timely wake-up call that not everything should be outsourced to AI, especially in recruitment where every candidate is individually unique.”
Biggins added: “It can add value in automating some laborious process, but good recruiters are using it to support human intuition, not replace it.”
CV-Library shared practical steps for jobseekers, such as using clear bullet points, showcasing achievements with data, tailoring each application, sticking to simple formatting and being specific.
The report also outlined steps for employers, including keeping human oversight, being transparent about AI use, auditing AI tools, recognising individuality and balancing efficiency with candidate experience.
