Did AI break the hiring process?

When even video screenings aren’t enough, it’s fair to ask: where did human judgment go?

Today, the human touch in hiring seems to be vanishing.

Companies are buried in CVs - many of them AI-written - and our traditional ATS platforms just can’t keep up.

That means great candidates are slipping through the cracks, and the downsized People teams are frustrated.

🚫The system is broken.

ATS platforms mean that the majority of CVs are filtered out before a human even sees them.

And AI-written CVs now flood every role. Last year nearly 50% of candidates used AI to write their CV. We all know it must be even higher now.

The result?

❌ Thousands of identical applications

❌ Generic profiles.

❌ Decision fatigue.

❌ Hiring chaos.

And yet… Everyone's still using the same online process.

What is working today?

There are still a few things I see working well for growing companies looking to make key hires:

✅ Human judgment

✅ F2F interview process, with consistent parameters

✅ An actual lunch with a preferred candidate (shock horror, yes, a business lunch!)

✅ Checking references from previous employers

This means actually meeting people.

Interviewing them, spending time with people in person.

Understanding context, not just keywords.

Because the goal isn’t more applications, it’s the right hire.

In a world where technology is empowering everyone to do 10x more, the quality of one exceptional hire can change the course of your company 🚀

📌 At Santa Monica, we lead with real connections and relationships built over time with candidates from early career roles to the C-suite.

We help companies cut through the noise and hire from a deep, vetted network.

👉 Hiring for growth in 2025? DM Ellis for a confidential conversation.