Raising the Bar

AI is making it harder for people to get jobs—but not for the reason you might think.

After dropping or lowering requirements for job seekers during the post-pandemic hiring craze, firms are getting stricter about screening candidates. According to a new survey, nearly three-fourths of leaders and hiring managers say they are raising qualifications and experience minimums for open positions, and 59% expect this trend to continue over the next year. Potential changes include things like requiring licensing or accreditation in specific skills or technologies, increasing the number of years and level of experience for roles, mandating industry-specific experience, and more.

The changes, experts say, have little to do with reduced hiring needs or the tight labor market. Instead, they’re meant to help contend with the deluge of AI-generated résumés firms are receiving. “There are a lot more people applying for open positions, which gives companies an opportunity to raise their hiring bar,” says Jason Burt, vice president of global talent acquisition at Korn Ferry.

But some expert worry this might not be the best way to winnow down the talent pool.  Paul Fogel, sector leader of professional search for Korn Ferry’s Software practice, says AI platforms people use for résumés will simply mimic the new credentials listed in the posting. “Raising requirements isn’t going to stop people from using AI to apply for jobs,” he says. In fact, despite 89% of leaders in the survey saying AI will make their hiring process more efficient, many experts say it could inadvertently screen out the best candidates. “Companies may make it more complicated to find the right people,” says David Vied, global sector leader for the Medical Devices and Diagnostics practice at Korn Ferry.

Certainly, firms know the current job hiring system is seriously flawed, with too many candidates and filtering systems that are less than ideal. The average job posting now draws about 250 résumés, with some prime positions getting thousands within a few days. At the same time, applicants have gotten savvier about loading their résumés with keywords and language designed to get past AI-powered filtering systems. According to the survey, application volume is up 31% so far this year. This has allowed companies to raise qualifications “to home in on specific skills,” says Wayne Mealey, vice president of client services at Korn Ferry. It’s the inverse of what happened during the post-COVID boom, when firms decreased requirements to widen talent pools.

Mealey says the more stringent requirements are an evolution of, rather than a retreat from, the trend toward skills-based hiring. To be sure, the percentage of job postings that mandate educational requirements like a college degree—another remnant of the post-pandemic need for talent—is still on the decline. “There’s been a reversal in allowing flexibilities to attract talent,” says Mealey, “but it’s because a skills-based hiring strategy is the best way to find the best talent.”

For job seekers, of course, the change couldn’t come at a tougher time. The number of job openings has fallen, and firms have moved away from many traditional white-collar roles in favor of investing in AI.  Now, many candidates will encounter yet another hurdle in their quest to find work. From hiring managers ghosting candidates and scam job postings to return-to-office mandates and increased competition, the average time it takes to land a job has doubled from three to six months in recent years, with some white-collar workers searching a year or even longer for a new role.

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