A few years ago, when I was writing for Acumen, the big theme was “disruption”. Uber and Airbnb were the go-to examples of how technology could upend traditional business models.
The conversation has moved on, but the essence remains: leaders are still grappling with how to adapt. Only now, the disruptor is AI, which is not just reshaping industries, but our whole lives.
AI algorithms are seemingly all-pervasive, which is possibly why submitting a job application and compiling a Tinder bio are starting to feel weirdly similar. Are companies swiping left on great candidates and missing out on top talent? Are human relations losing the “human” part?
A Financial Times feature described today’s recruitment as “an AI arms race”, with employers and candidates both using technology to outsmart each other. A survey of more than 1 000 job-seekers and hiring managers by Software Finder found that 75% of job seekers use AI tools in their applications, but job seekers using AI tools took slightly longer to secure a job (3.3 months vs. 2.9 months) than those who didn’t. Nearly one in four hiring managers said they would disqualify candidates for using AI-generated resumés and hiring managers are 8% more likely to hire a candidate who submitted a resumé not generated by AI. But 75% of hiring managers couldn’t identify AI-generated resumés when tested.
There’s a lot of hype around how AI will transform HR – applicant tracking system (ATS) tools can scan CVs in seconds; AI chatbots handle routine HR queries.
Greg Serandos, co-founder of the African Academy of AI, told Ian Macleod at the GIBS Centre for African Management & Markets (CAMM) that HR managers use AI to improve everything from succession planning to individual employee development plans. “Employee data can be gathered to form a sentiment analysis on employee satisfaction and wellness, and even predict when an employee will resign,” he said.
But it’s no silver bullet. The reality, two HR professionals told me, is that employers still struggle to find the right people, while many candidates feel reduced to keywords and data points. As one recruiter put it: “Hiring the right people is one of the biggest determinants of success in any organisation, yet so little focus is placed on teaching managers how to do it. Leaving that up to an algorithm is a shocker.”
The job seeker’s perspective: A soul-destroying experience
One of my best friends – let’s call her Jane – is a high-powered GIBS MBA graduate with years of experience in corporate South Africa and an impressive personal network. She has been searching for a new role for more than two years, submitting CVs on scores of online portals and spending countless hours jumping through ATS hoops with little success.
“The most frustrating thing is applying on LinkedIn, being redirected to an external link, uploading my CV – and then having to manually re-enter all the same information into endless forms. Such a waste of time! Employers talk about how much they value culture fit and authenticity, yet they use cookie-cutter filters. Applications go into a black hole with no feedback. Transferable skills don’t count for anything,” she says.
The result, she argues, is that companies miss out on talent.
“Culture fit, character, work ethic – these matter far more than technical skills, which can be learnt. But forms and filters don’t measure that. Underrepresented groups are also more likely to be unintentionally excluded.”
Her solution? “Every stage of the process should include clear, timely feedback. Even if the answer is no, tell me quickly. Assuming rejection after six weeks of silence is soul-destroying. It’s also damaging for a company’s brand.”
The recruiter’s view: Efficiency at a cost
Orla Ollewagen, founder and director of The Appointment Firm, has seen AI affecting recruitment first-hand. She acknowledges that algorithms have made initial screening faster. “AI has replaced the need for someone to sit behind a desk going through a thousand CVs manually and getting them down to 50. That’s where it’s effective.”
But she warns of unintended consequences. “The risk is that AI may produce less skilled internal recruiters. They become administrators, simply pushing a shortlist to the line manager. The assumption is that information on a CV is correct, but AI can’t assess the depth of a skill or whether someone has the necessary specialist skills, for example, real credit risk experience versus just exposure. That nuance gets lost.”
She says that this means something that’s seen as saving time often ends up wasting it. “You bring someone through the whole process based on keywords, only to realise in the interview they don’t know what they’re talking about. Then you have to start again,” she says.
AI is also affecting the way candidates approach recruitment.
Ollewagen says job seekers now rely on AI to generate CVs and application responses, but this means they haven’t always done the “hard work” of thinking through why an employer should hire them over another candidate. “I see CVs filled with slick phrases clearly written by ChatGPT. But when you ask candidates to describe their top five competencies, they look at you blankly. They don’t know themselves well enough to articulate what they can offer. So even if they get through screening, they struggle in the interview.”
She believes this is where human recruiters remain vital, because it’s often the candidate who wasn’t quite what a client asked for who proves to be the best person for the role.
“A great candidate doesn’t always look perfect on paper. Part of my role as a recruiter is sometimes to convince a client to meet them anyway; to highlight attributes that algorithms can’t capture. AI can help with keyword searches or condensing a 20-page CV, but it can’t replace the judgement and persuasion a skilled recruiter brings.”
This keeps her positive about the role of businesses such as The Appointment Firm. “The only way recruitment agencies survive is by doing what machines can’t: finding the person a company can’t find themselves and getting them over the line. That takes skill – persuasion, judgement, and relationship-building,” she says.
The practitioner’s view: Promise and pitfalls
From inside the internal HR function, the picture is equally complex. Anthea Joseph, senior departmental officer for a prestigious Western Cape university, says her job description includes managing HR-related aspects and liaising regularly with a designated HR consultant. She describes AI in HR as a “double-edged sword.”
On the one hand, she says, it allows organisations to standardise screening processes, ensuring every applicant is assessed against the same baseline criteria. On the other, it risks reducing recruitment to a compliance exercise rather than a talent strategy.
Joseph initially qualified with a National Diploma in Office Management and Technology from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in 2007, then completed a Bachelor of Business Administration in Human Resource Management (HRM) at Stadio in 2024. She is currently pursuing her Honours in HRM, also with Stadio, and plans to undertake her Master’s in 2026.
Encouragingly, she says that her recent and current studies incorporate AI into the curricula, with Stadio aiming not only to ensure that students are technically proficient in using AI tools but also understand the associated social and moral implications.
“Much like IT software requires regular updates to remain current, HR practices must also adapt to new research, trends, and technologies,” she says.
Joseph sees AI as both a valuable tool and a potential stumbling block. On the positive side, she acknowledges its efficiency in data processing, automation, and scalability, noting that younger generations are particularly comfortable integrating digital tools into workflows.
Yet she cautions that over-reliance can create impersonal experiences and filter out strong candidates when nuance is lost. She suggests that different roles (administrative, medical, technical) may also require different AI tools.
Generational differences complicate matters further: older applicants may find AI-driven systems intimidating, while younger ones expect automated communication as the norm. For her, the key is balance.
“AI should support, not replace, HR,” she says. Interviews, staff engagement, and decision-making still require human judgement – the ability to read tone, body language, and interpersonal dynamics.
As a 2024 GIBS white paper titled The Business of Being (More) Human: Critical Human-Centric Skills of the Future and How to Build Them by Cara Bouwer, Alison Reid, Abdullah Verachia and Natalie van der Veen put it, “Technology should complement, not replace, human judgement. The future belongs to leaders who can be more human, not less.”
Bridging the gap: Advice for businesses
Recruiters and practitioners alike stress four themes:
- Keep humans in the loop.
Use AI for efficiency in screening, but ensure skilled recruiters and managers still assess candidates for culture fit and potential. - Invest in recruiter and manager training.
“Hiring the right people is one of the hardest and most important tasks. Yet managers are thrown into interviews with no training. AI won’t fix that,” says Ollewagen. - Build governance now.
Don’t wait for mistakes to pile up. Establish clear guidelines for when and how AI can be used, and how to check for bias. - Remember employer branding.
The candidate experience is part of your brand. Ghosting applicants or treating them as data points damages reputation and long-term talent pipelines.
Navigating the system: Advice for job seekers
Job seekers can’t avoid AI filters, but they can learn to work with them. Ollewagen’s advice starts with self-knowledge. “Know who you are, what you excel at, what you love. Then articulate that concisely on paper.”
Other tips include:
- Tailor your CV per position you apply for:
One-size-fits-all no longer works. Adapt your CV to highlight the skills most relevant to each role. - Start with the most important information:
Recruiters spend seconds scanning. Put the most important details upfront. - Optimise for keywords, but stay authentic:
Use the terms in the job ad, but don’t let your CV sound robotic. - Network strategically:
“Referrals and human connections still open more doors than cold applications,” says Ollewagen. - Practise for video interviews:
Increasingly, companies ask for one-way video responses, which can feel awkward and throw job seekers off their game. Practice until speaking to a camera feels less unnatural, or risk being screened out unfairly.
Gallery
