AI is becoming more common in many industries, including recruitment. Some tools promise to speed up the process, but are they as good as they seem? We asked Josh Galuszka, who’s been in construction recruitment for 23 years, for his take.
What AI can (and can’t) do in recruitment
AI speeds things up. Many recruiters now use AI to review job ads, proofread applications, and understand hiring trends.
“I use AI every other day—it’s like having a spell checker on steroids,” says Josh. “It’s great for research, reviewing job ads, and proofing long emails. But will it replace recruiters? No chance.”
Speed isn’t everything. AI might be useful for sorting applications, but it can’t sense attitude, cultural fit, or build a relationship. The best hires don’t come from a keyword match, they come from someone with experience who knows the client and the work well and can not only spot the right person for the job but know they will be the right fit straight away.
“The best hires aren’t found by a computer scanning a CV – they come from knowing the industry, understanding people, and matching them to the right team,” Josh explains.
More candidates use AI to tweak or write their CVs and applications. That means hiring managers need to be sharper than ever to tell the difference between polished wording and real experience.
“Most CVs will have some AI influence, and cutting through that takes an expert human,” says Josh.
AI is great as a tool, not a replacement.
At its best, AI is a useful assistant, handling repetitive admin, improving job ad targeting, and streamlining some hiring processes.
“If AI can handle 80% of recruitment admin, I’m all for it,” says Josh. “That just means I get to focus on what I enjoy – helping good workers find great jobs.”
But at its worst? It can lead to bad hiring decisions, overlooking great candidates who don’t have the perfect buzzwords, or putting too much faith in automated screening instead of real experience. The future of hiring isn’t AI vs. humans. It’s AI assisting humans.
This post first appeared in Hire Wire, our free monthly newsletter on smarter hiring and all things in construction, engineering and manufacturing recruitment. Subscribe here or get in touch if you want to talk through anything you’ve read.
