Job seekers are exhausted. More than two-thirds (66%) say they’re burned out by the search, according to Employ’s 2025 Job Seeker Nation Report. The process is repetitive, opaque, and often ends with a rejection that explains nothing. “A lot of people are wondering, ‘is my resume seen at all, or am I just getting screened out?’” said Katie Ballantyne, VP of customer success operations at Employ. Ballantyne and her colleagues spoke at a From Day One webinar on how employers can gain a competitive edge in the race for talent.

Most hiring managers don’t intend for it to be this bad. They’re often recruiting for brand-new, complex roles while juggling outdated processes. “But you wouldn’t build a house without a plan,” Ballantyne said. “You wouldn’t rock up every day and pop a pipe in over here, and a switch over here. No. You’re going to have a layout, you’re going to have an idea of what you’re doing. But people don’t approach hiring in the same way.” This is where AI can be a hugely valuable tool.

The poor experience is costing companies. Many job seekers—including great candidates—drop out of an application process that’s “too cumbersome, too repetitive, and doesn’t usually elicit information that’s not already on a resume,” said Shea Shatto, Employ’s senior director of referral partners. Companies relying on endless forms or clunky portals are turning people away before they even make it to an interview.

Traditional resume screening tools are a problem. Most automatically eliminate the majority of applications before they even reach a recruiter. But the reject folder could comprise tremendously rich candidates, says Katy Jenkins, Employ’s VP of product. An application submitted toward the end of the hiring window or one not perfectly tailored to the job shouldn’t disqualify someone with valuable skills. AI tools can help employers spot overlooked candidates deep in their pipelines, without spending more money.

More employers are turning to more productive tools, like knockout questions and video assessments, that draw out meaningful information with minimal effort from candidates. Others are taking a more open-minded approach, using AI to steer strong applicants toward roles that are a better fit rather than ejecting them from the funnel altogether. “When you go through the whole process and you have your top five candidates, they’re all really qualified,” Shatto said. “Just because the other four don’t make it to that exact role, it doesn’t mean there’s not a good fit for them somewhere.”

Some are leaning heavily into their employee value proposition. If an employer claims to value growth and development, candidates should see evidence—whether that’s details about internal mobility programs or stats about how many roles are filled from within. Recruiters need to be able to talk about these opportunities, not just point to a careers page. Without proof, employer branding can sound like empty promises.

The weakest link in the hiring process is often evaluation. Many managers have little or no training in how to assess candidates consistently. That’s where AI-powered structured guides and interview intelligence tools come in. “We find that when people use some interview intelligence tooling, first year retention is, on average, 30% higher,” said Jenkins. “Because they’ve actually really evaluated that person against the job. Everyone has very clear expectations.”

For candidates, consistency means clarity about what’s expected, how they’re measured, and even how they can improve. That kind of respect keeps people engaged, even if they don’t land the role this time.

Jenkins asked her team to do an exercise in empathy: write the rejection letter they would want to receive. The exercise is simple, but it reframes the process around something hiring leaders often forget: every candidate deserves respect. Fixing hiring isn’t just about speed or efficiency, but trust. The companies that get it right won’t just win more talent, they’ll keep it.

Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Employ, for sponsoring this webinar. 

Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is an independent journalist and From Day One contributing editor who writes about business and the world of work. Her work has appeared in the Economist, the BBC, The Washington Post, Inc., and Business Insider, among others. She is the recipient of a Virginia Press Association award for business and financial journalism. She is the host of How to Be Anything, the podcast about people with unusual jobs.

(Photo by FG Trade Latin/iStock)