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HR Insights
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Friddy Hoegener
30 September 2025
A recent graduate applied to 200 supply chain jobs. He got rejected 200 times. actually, most companies never even responded. Meanwhile, hiring managers complain they're drowning in resumes but can't find qualified candidates. Sound familiar?
This is the reality of today's AI-saturated job market, where candidates use ChatGPT to generate thousands of look-alike applications while companies deploy automated systems to filter them out. The result? A broken cycle where excellent supply chain professionals disappear into digital black holes while employers waste months sifting through generic applications.
According to Harvard Business Review research, more than 90% of employers now use automated systems to filter job applications, with 88% employing AI for initial candidate screening. However, this automation often creates a homogeneous screening process that misses qualified candidates who don't fit algorithmic patterns, while flooding employers with AI-generated applications optimized for keyword matching rather than actual competence.
Here's what happens when AI writes applications and AI reads them:
Candidates are gaming the system: Job seekers use AI tools to mass-produce applications tailored to beat applicant tracking systems (ATS). They're optimizing for keywords, not competence.
Companies are drowning in noise: HR teams receive 250+ applications per posting, with 75% being AI-generated variations of the same template. The signal-to-noise ratio has never been worse.
Good candidates get lost: Experienced supply chain professionals who write authentic, personalized applications often get filtered out because they don't match the AI-optimized keyword patterns.
Nobody actually connects: The human element - understanding what a company truly needs and what a candidate actually offers - gets lost in algorithmic matching.
This AI-driven dysfunction hits supply chain hiring particularly hard. Unlike generic office roles, supply chain positions require nuanced understanding of industry-specific challenges, technical competencies, and cultural fit that can't be captured by keyword matching.
When The Havok Journal reviewed top supply chain recruiting firms, they emphasized that the most successful approaches combine technology with deep industry expertise, not wholesale automation.
The result of over-relying on AI? Supply chain companies spend 40% longer filling critical roles while top candidates accept offers from competitors who move faster with human-driven processes.
For more insights on strategic supply chain hiring, check out our Procurement Pulse podcast where we explore how leading companies are winning the war for top supply chain talent.
AI promised to make hiring easier. Here's what founders are actually experiencing.
AI tools were supposed to cut down that bottleneck, so I was interested in testing this out myself. To put it mildly, ease of use is going to take a backseat to accuracy, at least in the near term.
AI, in particular, has a tendency to err on the side of over-filtering and only recently began to pick up on nuance. I've seen some very high-potential candidates get rejected because their resume didn't exactly match the keywords that a given ATS was looking for, and the process of filtering out resumes is so opaque that it's just as likely to toss out great talent as mediocre. Let's say you have a recruiter who receives 500 applications for an open position, and after filtering through an ATS, 20 candidates remain for review. There could be as many as 5 highly qualified applicants sitting among that rejected pool of 480 candidates just because their phrasing didn't match what the AI was looking for. The irony is, in those cases, the hiring team is likely spending even more time manually reviewing candidates than before, just to make sure the system isn't smarter than them. If anything, the devil is in the calibration of the algorithm.
The reality is AI is great at identifying existing patterns and not great at recognizing potential. They can scan and quantify past experience, but they cannot determine a gut feeling for a candidate. In fact, what I've seen most of my HR leaders do is spend more time validating those algorithmic findings to ensure they aren't tossing out some strong potential, especially in more people-centric roles like HR, customer service or leadership. After all, if you're using a metal detector, you might find some coins, but you could miss out on the gold if you're in too much of a rush. The most efficient teams in my experience allow AI to assist with filtering, but never with decision-making.
Guillermo Triana, Founder and CEO, PEO-Marketplace.com
One of the most pressing issues with AI in hiring is over-automation — when recruiters rely too heavily on screening algorithms or generative tools, they risk drowning in false positives and overlooking genuinely qualified candidates. Resume parsers, for example, often misinterpret formatting, penalize career pivots, or over-prioritize keywords. The result? Stellar candidates are rejected for lacking exact phrasing, while underqualified applicants get through due to keyword stuffing or AI-generated content that mirrors job descriptions.
There's also a growing issue of candidate AI use. Many applicants now use ChatGPT or similar tools to craft resumes and cover letters. While this can improve clarity and structure, it often results in a sea of indistinguishable submissions. Recruiters are left evaluating nearly identical documents, making it harder to discern authentic voice, experience depth, or unique fit. In this landscape, AI doesn't reduce workload — it shifts it.
AI isn't inherently the problem — it's how we use it. When treated as a supplement to human judgment rather than a substitute, AI can streamline hiring. But when over-relied on or poorly configured, it introduces inefficiencies that cost more than they save. The solution isn't to reject AI outright, but to build in human checkpoints, train teams on tool limitations, and continuously audit for bias and performance.
Miriam Groom, CEO, Mindful Career Coaching
AI has made hiring faster, but not necessarily smarter. The biggest issue I've seen is "resume mirroring." Candidates are now using AI to write applications that perfectly echo job descriptions, so the AI on the company's side flags them as top matches. As a result, you end up with dozens of identical, keyword-optimized clones that look brilliant on paper but aren't really qualified. Also, AI doesn't understand why someone took a career gap to build a startup, or how a side project signals initiative. So now, I use AI only to surface candidates, but the decision-making layer stays human. I spend more time checking beyond the CVs, like voice notes, personal outreach, or portfolio quirks, because that's where the real potential can be detected.
Austin Benton, CEO & Founder, SpeakerDrive
The most effective approach isn't abandoning technology- it's using AI strategically while keeping humans at the center of the process. Here's how leading supply chain recruiters are doing it differently:
AI sharpens the process, not replaces it:
Humans drive the strategy:
Real Conversations With Real Stakes Instead of relying on AI chatbots for initial screening, successful firms invest in skilled recruiters who conduct meaningful interviews. They dig into candidates' actual experience with demand planning, supplier relationship management, or logistics optimization - conversations that reveal competence no algorithm can detect.
Strategic Partnership, Not Transactional Matching The best recruiting relationships involve ongoing advisory work: helping clients understand market realities, adjust unrealistic requirements, and make faster decisions. As recognized by CIO Women Magazine, the top supply chain recruiting firms distinguish themselves through this consultative approach.
Quality Control Through Human Judgment While AI can flag potential red flags or highlight interesting backgrounds, the final evaluation requires human insight. Understanding whether a candidate's experience with automotive supply chains translates to consumer goods, or whether their leadership style fits a company's culture, demands nuanced judgment.
Companies using human-centered recruiting approaches typically see:
Supply chain professionals working with human-driven recruiters experience:
According to LinkedIn's Workplace Learning Report, 94% of employees say they would stay at a company longer if it invested in their career development. Human recruiters can identify these growth-oriented candidates and match them with companies offering real advancement paths.
Every supply chain role has explicit requirements (ERP experience, inventory management, etc.) and implicit ones (ability to influence without authority, comfort with ambiguity, etc.). AI excels at matching explicit criteria but struggles with the nuanced qualities that determine success.
Human recruiters understand that a supply chain manager who successfully managed pandemic disruptions brings crisis leadership skills that don't show up in keyword searches but could be exactly what a company needs.
The best recruiting relationships extend beyond individual placements. Skilled recruiters become trusted advisors who understand both client and candidate needs over time. They know when a high-performer might be ready for a new challenge, or when a client's growth plans will require additional talent.
This relationship-driven approach creates a sustainable talent pipeline that benefits everyone - companies get access to pre-qualified candidates, professionals receive career guidance, and the market operates more efficiently.
The future isn't about choosing between human recruiters and AI - it's about strategic integration that amplifies human capabilities without replacing human judgment.
Successful firms are using AI to:
While keeping humans responsible for:
The broken job market doesn't have to be your reality. While others struggle with AI-generated chaos, you can gain competitive advantage through human-centered recruiting that actually works.
The key is partnering with recruiters who:
As highlighted in Advisory Excellence's review of leading supply chain recruiting firms, the organizations achieving the best results combine technological efficiency with deep human expertise.
Ready to escape the AI hiring chaos and start building your supply chain team with qualified professionals? Contact our team to learn how human-centered recruiting can deliver the quality hires your organization needs - faster and more efficiently than the automated alternatives that are failing everyone else.
Want to hire smarter and faster? Download our FREE Interview Guide & Candidate Scorecards. This resource helps hiring managers streamline interviews, ask the right questions, and evaluate candidates fairly and consistently. With practical templates and proven frameworks, you’ll make confident hiring decisions while saving time.
SCOPE Recruiting is a boutique supply chain recruiting firm founded by former ABB global category managers, Friddy and Melissa Hoegener. Unlike generalist staffing agencies, every recruiter at SCOPE has hands-on supply chain experience before moving into executive search. That insider perspective allows us to speak the language of procurement, logistics, planning, and operations and deliver smarter matches, stronger retention, and faster hiring results.
If you’re building or scaling a team and want to work with one of the best supply chain recruiters in the U.S., visit scoperecruiting.com
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