Jessie Raby, a Birmingham recruitment specialist and founder of placement intelligence platform PRODICTA, has warned that capable candidates are becoming invisible as employers struggle to cope with soaring application volumes, increasing use of artificial intelligence and a shrinking jobs market.
With UK job vacancies now at their lowest level for around five years, competition for roles is intensifying. At the same time, LinkedIn data shows applications submitted through the platform have increased by more than 45% over the past year, with around 11,000 applications every minute.
Raby says employers and candidates are becoming trapped in a system that increasingly overlooks human talent.
“Recruitment has become a race between two algorithms, and somewhere in the middle we’ve forgotten we’re supposed to be hiring people,” said Jessie. “People are sending out application after application and hearing nothing back – not even a no.
“They’re losing faith that the process is fair because, in many cases, they don’t feel they’re applying to people anymore. They’re trying to guess what an algorithm wants to see,” she explained. “At the same time, employers are drowning in applications and under huge pressure to identify the right people quickly. The danger is that recruitment becomes software talking to software, while the human being behind the application disappears from view.
“A hiring system that leaves capable people feeling invisible is failing both candidates and employers, because every overlooked application could be someone who would have been brilliant in the role.”
Jessie believes artificial intelligence is not the root cause of the problem, but that it is exposing weaknesses that have existed in recruitment for years. “We’ve built an entire hiring system around documents that were never designed to predict how someone will actually perform in a role.
“AI has made it easier to produce polished CVs and application forms, making it harder than ever to distinguish presentation from genuine capability,” she says.
“The answer isn’t building a better filter for CVs though. It’s giving every candidate the opportunity to demonstrate what they can actually do.”
Jessie’s comments reflect a wider debate across the recruitment industry. Research from the Greenhouse 2025 AI in Hiring Report found that almost three in four candidates are now using AI during their job search, prompting Greenhouse CEO Daniel Chait to describe the situation as an ‘AI doom loop’ – where candidates increasingly use AI to optimise applications while employers deploy more technology to cope with the resulting flood of applications.
Research from hiring platform Willo also suggests employers are already recognising the challenge, with 41% saying they are moving away from CV-first hiring. However, only 10% have so far replaced traditional CV screening with skills-based or scenario-led assessment.
Jessie believes that shift will continue as employers look for fairer and more reliable ways to assess candidates.
“The CV still has a place, but it shouldn’t be the thing that determines someone’s future. Employers need evidence of capability, not just polished paperwork. The future of recruitment has to be about giving every candidate the opportunity to demonstrate what they can actually do,” Jessie added.
PRODICTA has developed a placement intelligence platform that replaces traditional CV screening with role-specific work simulations, allowing employers to assess candidates on demonstrated ability rather than polished paperwork. Candidates complete the same realistic work-based assessment, while employers receive an evidence-based view of how applicants actually perform, helping create fairer, more objective hiring decisions.
