Month: May 2026

AI Recruiting Bots – Real Use Cases

No shortage of complaints about AI recruiting bots. Raise your hand if you think bots are bringing in top talent for ya? (Ohhh, I don’t see your hand up??!!)

If you want to use a bot (and there are times when the use case is strong), here’s a few suggestions:

~ Don’t Call Me, Text First

Should seem obvious, but I’m absolutely NOT speaking to a bot who calls me without my giving prior permission.

~ No Narratives

Sorry buddy – not going to train the LLMachine for you. Stop asking me to describe my last project, or compare and contrast methods and practices. That’s my IP, and I’m not handing out free samples. This isn’t CostCo – I’m not a cheese wedge.

~ Ask Yes/No, Integer, or Specific Data Points

If you configure the bot to ask questions that require a yes/no, integer, or short response, I’m more likely to participate. Tip: Disclose the parameters of your query when you ask for permission (Ex: “This interview requires yes/no or numerical answers only).

~ Provide an on-line form to ingest via email instead of the bot

I don’t want to talk to your bot, but I’d like to be considered for the job. Don’t think I’m going to click on some rando hyperlink. The technology exists to automate this workflow. Do it. Stop with the excuses of how the applicant needs to do all your work for you. Do you want to find talent, or do you want to “make the tunnel sticky”?

Lastly:

These are the bot use cases job applicants can participate in safely. Never, ever allow yourself to be recorded. Never participate in AI interviews. Never sign over your voice, words, image and likeness. The potential to damage you, your reputation, and your career is huge.

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Copyright 2026 Pierce/Wharton Research. All rights reserved. No part of this post shall be reproduced without permission.

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Do NOT Submit to AI Interviews!

If you’ve received an “invitation” to interview with a Bot, hit delete. If your interviewer is recording you, end the interview.

NEVER allow your interview to be recorded by these LLMs….

The potential for damage to you, your career and your reputation via these LLMs is HUGE. You turn over your words, image, voice, experience, education to an AI data brokers. It’s parsed, scraped “evaluated” and that AI slop follows you around FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!

You have NO access to the recording or data. No ability to delete it, no ability to challenge the findings, no insight into the algorithm being used to “evaluate” you. You have NO RIGHTS. You don’t know with whom or for what purposes your voice, words, and likeness is shared.

Here’s my point:

Do not trifle these one-way video interviews. These companies are harvesting YOU. They are building dossiers on YOU. Every single frame is associated with you for the rest of your life, and you cannot do anything about it.

If there even is a job there (and most of the time there is NOT as most of these jobs are fake) the AI bot is designed to lure unsuspecting applicants into their data trap.

Be assured that every insight, every “right” answer, every bit of wisdom you possess is going to another candidate – one who is likely less qualified, less expensive – and once it’s out there, you cannot do a single thing about it except opt out.

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Copyright 2026 Pierce/Wharton Research. All rights reserved. No part of this post shall be reproduced without permission.

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Four Ways Your Hiring Manager is Killing Your Company

Ask any recruiter what the issue is in Talent Acquisition, and they’re not going to say a lack of qualified applicants.

The issue is the “hiring manager.”

Who is the hiring manager? Generally it’s some mid white guy who doesn’t have the authority to pick up the tab for the pizza party without prior auth, but for some reason, the company has giving him carte blanche to 1) represent your company and brand to prospective talent with zero training, oversight, for feedback and 2) spend hundreds of thousands of company dollars to hire talent for your organization with zero training, oversight, or feedback.

If your hiring managers utter any of these statements, fire ’em…….

“We can’t find anyone with the skill (combo) we need…”

Clear sign of a red-pill bro who feels deserving of talent that he cannot afford or, worse, talent that simply doesn’t exist.

In tech, it’s the principal architect/project manager combo, closely followed by the architect/Biz Dev combo, or the developer/SE combo. In other words, you want two (or more roles) for one, but can only pay for one at 30% below market.

Truth: I’m 5’6, 30 lbs overweight, and have a credit score of 615, but I’m going to keep insisting I can pull a supermodel rather than face reality that some girls are simply out of my league….

#redpillcorp #alphadog #unicornhunter #notlonelyenough

“I need someone who can get along with <well-known PITA>

Clear sign of a manager who will NOT manage (which calls into question why TF they’re even there).

I see this scenario repeated again and again and again and again and again…… Talent, integrity, and hard work are irrelevant. The only skill being sought is low self- esteem, aka, the ability to put up with an irrational, abusive bully.

Yeah, so this is the third <decentperson> who’s quit in the last 6 months, but you don’t have time to replace the real problem (plus, you’d have to do ALL the work to replace him, and then you’d have to admit to YOUR boss that you fd-up this hire, so that’s a hard No..)

Easiest solution for lazy managers: Find someone with so little self-respect, or so little cash in their bank account that they’ll take this shit job and be abused for rent, food, and health insurance. (Hint: Look for single mothers, or men with young families. They’re the most easily exploited.) After we hire that sucker, it’ll get about six months-to-a-year of peace before the complaints start again. But, whateverrrrr – at least it’s not MY problem….

#doormatsonly #sychophants

“We don’t need someone that Senior”

The greatest annoyance of every single recruiter out there. They bring in great people, only to get push back from a 32 year old crony hiring manager with nepo-baby credentials.

An organization that values sycophants more than innovators is headed down the road to perdition.

Quick way to tell if your mid-hiring manager is gate keeping. Pull the LinkedIns of your last six hires. If none of them possess a single credential that is better or deeper than the hiring manager, you know gatekeeping is a problem. For him, compliance is more important than competence. For you, be assured that competence isn’t always compliant…

#BankruptcyCameOuttaNowhere #fearbasedleadership

“We need someone who will do what they’re told….”

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard this statement uttered behind closed doors. Usually it’s about confident women (“They seem difficult to manage.”) or young men (“They seem a bit cocky, and have their own ideas.”)

These comments surface in HR discussions where there’s been issues and complaints about the current hiring manager. These companies are constantly dealing with lawsuits, worker complaints, and have a long history of PIPing out strong performer for calling out organizational issues, compliance issues or just outshining the master.

If you’re hearing your hiring manager kick out competence, it’s time to find someone who can manage talent.

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Your job isn’t going to be replaced by AI, your job is going to be replaced by someone who can hire and manage a team. If you’re struggling to find talent (and you’re 100% sure it’s not a compensation or RTO ), replace your hiring manager with an unbiased, cross-functional hiring team. You’ll be stunned by how quickly things turn around…

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Copyright 2026 Pierce/Wharton Research. All rights reserved. No part of this post shall be reproduced without permission.

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