AI, a technology that aims to simplify tasks, is complicating the job market for both applicants and recruiters.
Recruiters are flooded with applications, while candidates are trying to find ways to get around AI filters, Daniel Chait, CEO of hiring platform Greenhouse, told Fortune on Tuesday. Meanwhile, nearly one in three job postings are for ghost jobs that never materialize into real employment opportunities, according to an analysis published earlier this month.
“This is the first time I can remember where both sides were unhappy,” Chait told Fortune. “Employers are basically saying, ‘It’s really hard to make a hire because we get overwhelmed with tons of applicants and we can’t really tell which ones we should pay attention to.’ And job seekers are saying, ‘It’s easier than ever to apply for jobs, but it’s harder and harder to get a job.’”
The Greenhouse 2025 AI in Hiring Report, published on Tuesday, surveyed over 1,200 U.S. job seekers and found that almost half said their trust in hiring has diminished over the past year. Nearly half (42%) blame AI for that loss in trust, while over a third think that AI has shifted hiring bias from humans to algorithms.
Meanwhile, nearly three in four candidates are using AI to job hunt, and 49% of job seekers are now applying for more positions just to get past automated filters. Chait called the process of applying for more jobs with AI to get past AI an “AI doom loop.”
Chait explains that as more candidates use AI to hone their applications, the technology churns out similar cover letters and resumes for jobs, which creates a field of almost-identical candidates. The move increases competition, making it harder for genuine candidates to stand out.
“You end up basically not being able to tell anyone apart,” he told Fortune.
The number of job applicants has also been rising due to AI. The New York Times pinpoints that LinkedIn job applications have grown more than 45% over the past year, partially because of increased use of AI tools.
Companies are adding AI to the hiring process by leaning on AI to filter candidates. According to the World Economic Forum, approximately 90% of employers now use AI to filter or rank resumes.
Chait thinks that humanity needs to be brought back to recruitment to mend the breach in trust. “Trust is at an all-time low for both job seekers and recruiters,” he told Fortune.