Why Top Candidates Get Rejected by AI-Powered ATS Systems

Every week, I’m seeing amazing candidates get rejected. 

Not by hiring managers 

By AI powered ATS systems… 

Just last week, I spoke with a founding engineer at a Series B startup who got auto-rejected by an ATS because his resume didn't contain the exact keyword "early hire" - despite being employee #5 at a company now worth $100M.

The machine couldn't connect the dots that a founding engineer might, you know, be an early hire.

This is happening right now with the primitive keyword-matching systems we've used for years.

My advice to candidates applying directly: "You need to rewire your brain to think in layman's terms and have multiple versions of your resume for these AI ATS systems because they are literally brutal."

Companies are racing to implement more AI in hiring while simultaneously complaining they can't find qualified people.

Maybe the talent shortage isn't a shortage at all. 

Maybe it's just that your robots are rejecting the perfect candidates before a human ever sees them.

Next time someone tells you AI is going to revolutionize recruitment, ask them if they've fixed their existing ATS first.