While AI is transforming parts of recruitment, human recruiters remain essential in making the final match between candidate and client.
Every few months, there’s another headline declaring that AI is about to replace Recruiters. If you’re waiting for it to happen, grab a coffee because it’s going to be a long wait. And we will explain why…
Is AI transforming recruitment?
Yes! There’s absolutely no denying that AI is transforming parts of recruiting. AI-powered tools scan job boards, professional networks, and even social media to find potential candidates. Applicant Tracking Systems filter applications and chatbots answer basic questions 24/7.
By analysing historical data, AI can forecast hiring trends, cross-reference data like previous project experience, certifications, and career progression to score candidates against multiple roles and schedule and record meetings.
But when it comes to understanding people – their motivations, quirks, and potential – nothing beats a human recruiter (at least for now).
Humans are unpredictable, emotional, and sometimes irrational. And sometimes they lie…
The truth is, finding the right candidate for a client is never as simple as scanning CVs or trusting an AI match score. It takes multiple conversations, hours of digging into motivations, family situations, future plans, and sometimes even pets’ travel arrangements to understand what truly drives a decision.
Human recruiters have conversations. Multiple ones. We dig into things AI won’t catch— like the fact that the candidate’s partner isn’t thrilled about relocating. That’s not on the resume, and it’s definitely not in the keyword matching.
Not everything is on a CV
A CV can tell you someone’s job history, but not why they’re looking for their next move. Are they after more money, more family time, less travel, a bigger project, or simply running from a toxic workplace? These hidden drivers are what really determine if they’ll accept an offer — or walk away.
Traits like leadership style, communication, adaptability, and team fit only come out in conversations or references.
A CV rarely mentions conflicts, performance issues, or failed projects. Recruiters uncover these through references, back-channel conversations, or simply asking the right probing questions.
AI can’t read between the lines
AI can’t interpret emotion or sincerity with real accuracy — it processes text and tone as data, not meaning. It can’t pick up on non-verbal cues: a pause before answering, a nervous laugh, or an overly rehearsed story. These tiny tells often reveal more than the words themselves.
What someone wants today might not be what they want tomorrow. A promotion, a personal event, or even a casual chat with friends over the weekend can change their career decisions overnight.
We all have subconscious biases and gut feelings that affect choices—things no AI can fully map out or predict.
AI can’t spot lies
AI is excellent at scanning a CV for keywords, formatting, and matching skills to job descriptions. But it doesn’t actually verify whether what’s written is true.
If a candidate claims they “led a $100M infrastructure project,” AI just sees a strong keyword match. A recruiter, on the other hand, will ask follow-up questions, check references, and quickly work out if “led” actually meant “sat in the weekly meeting and took notes.”
Will AI eventually learn to ‘read’ humans?
AI is already making progress in emotion recognition through voice tone analysis and facial expression recognition, but it struggles with context. For example, someone might laugh nervously in an interview — is that humour, discomfort, or deflection? Humans naturally read between the lines, weighing culture, history, personality, and even “gut instinct.” AI doesn’t have that level of lived experience.
Could AI eventually get there? Possibly, but it’s unlikely to replace the human ability to interpret, empathise, and build trust.
Conclusion
For engineering and construction companies success comes from having the right people on your projects – people you can trust in the field and in the office. AI can help you identify candidates with the right qualifications, but human recruiters identify the people who are the right fit for your business.
At ConsultANZ, we embrace AI to work smarter—not to replace people. The future of recruitment is human expertise + smart technology, ensuring we connect the right talent with the right opportunities while keeping the personal touch that truly makes a difference.
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