Is Agency recruiting really this bad?

It is a time of massive confusion and concern in Agency recruiting.

You are not alone if your results are down, the fun has dwindled, and you are worried about the future.

Company results are suffering, and previously high-performing recruiters are struggling in many cases.

‘The market’ is quick to be blamed, but the impact of AI is often quoted. (Although that is much overhyped, for now.)

Meanwhile, concerned, sometimes desperate, owners and managers are telling recruiters to get out and “do more business development” and, in many cases, resorting to that old favourite “Get on the phone“.

Meanwhile, most recruiters lack business development skills, and their leaders are failing to provide the necessary training and marketing support. As for ‘getting on the phone’, it is a nice idea, but who picks up the phone to an unknown number these days?

(Oh, and by the way, there is your clue to modern BD. “Unknown number”. Why are you ‘unknown’? Even the previously highest of high-flying recruiters are now suffering from their lack of fundamental client relationship-building skills.)

So, I was intrigued when a long-time reader of my content, Bill Josephson, wrote me a note on his experience.

Now it’s important to know that Bill has been in agency recruitment since 1980 (same as me, coincidentally). He has worked in agency recruitment in the US in accounting and finance, IT, and for the past 20-plus years, in Defence Engineering recruitment.

Read what Bill says has happened to him. And he has nearly 50 years’ perspective to draw from – and it’s distressing. (Bill’s words in italics. My notes in blue)

“My Recruiting career has been built on making phone calls, marketing candidates to hiring managers, and presenting jobs to prospects I’ve typically cold-called.”

This is how I was brought up and trained. Indeed, we had no computers when we started recruiting. 

“Technology has incrementally encroached on the necessity for companies to work with 3rd party recruiters.  We are competing to get on companies’ approved vendor lists. They give you the toughest jobs to work on with lower success rate. In many cases, not working with you at all, doing the recruiting with large staffs and AI and RPO’s–Recruiting Process Outsourcers.”

I am not sure that is everyone’s experience. Maybe it is sector-specific. Most recruitment companies I work with have done very well till the last 18 months. What do you think? (Reply in comments below)

“I have always been able to reach people by phone till 4-5 years ago. Now you can’t reach a hiring manager or candidate. Even if you have the name, you are not being transferred without an extension.  Voice packages at the switchboard prevent you from getting through.  Companies instruct employees not to leave voicemail messages.  

I’ve always been deep in the recruiting trenches.  Recruiting was always a “contact sport” over the phone.  Make 100-125 outgoing calls a day, connecting with roughly 35-40 people, and having interactions.  The last few years calls are down to 15-20 calls a day with 2-4 conversations daily.”

Indeed, this is the experience of most recruiters I speak to

.
 
” I’ve always had clients, even in deep recessions, since 1980, until now. My clients, in essence, no longer require my services, as they can now find Top Secret and Secret Clearance candidates through AI online and have also built up their talent acquisition staff.”

” They can identify candidates with AI and get passive candidates that I look for to fill in information on what kind of position they’d be interested in. Then feed them appropriate positions as they arise.”

Is this your experience, dear reader? Surely, truly ‘passive candidates’ who are not actively looking but might be intrigued by your specific role, are not “Filling in information” for AI to harvest? Networks and bespoke outreach have a place, still, do you think?

“It’s difficult to cold call recruits as companies have gone to considerable lengths to protect their employees from phone calls at the switchboard. “
 
“Employees aren’t leaving their names on their voicemail, so on cold calls, you’re not sure who you’re leaving a message for. ” 
 
“Often, when asking for someone at the switchboard, they won’t connect you unless you know their phone number.”
 
 “Bottom line, it’s tougher to work with clients and reach candidates you’ve never spoken with. Emails to those people get you a 1-2% response rate.”

Yes, I hear this all the time. Cold, blind outreach has minimal effectiveness. 

“This is the toughest I’ve seen it.  Never did I think phone contact would be cut off completely.”

Bill wraps up with this sobering summary:

 “I’m 73 and was going to retire at 75.  But with numerous clients giving me the same message, perhaps the time has come after 45 years.”

So, it turns out Bill is thinking of retiring, before he wants to

After all those years in the industry, should Bill have a large bank of candidates and clients who willingly accept his calls, or am I expecting too much

What about you?

 Does this sound familiar? What is your experience?
 
I am genuinely interested in your take on this, and I think all my readers would love to hear your perspective. 

Please use the comments section below and let us know. 

Is Agency recruiting really this bad?

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  • Posted by Greg Savage
  • On July 14, 2025
  • 34 Comments

34 Comments

David Gadd
I think Bill is spot on. The landscape has changed so much, that many, many long established recruitment professionals are looking to exit. The challenge is knowing what else to do career wise.
John York
I have been recruiting for the last 35 years and am facing the same dilemma. Would love to participate in the discussion.
sharon vandermeer
I have not had so many issues with candidates but trying to pop in and see Clients who work hybrid has been so frustrating with the only days they work in the office already booked for a few weeks leaving it up to 4 weeks for a client visit. And god forbid they try to reschedule as that takes another 4 weeks. Before covid - I would be out every week seeing existing clients and prospects and I have found that change really difficult as I am a relationship recruiter and loved that part of my job. Even my client's availability to attend functions is down just because it may fall on a day they don't commute to the office. Definitely not the same and need to continue top pivot.
Rona Nares
Love to hear what works. Been in Recruitment for 2 decades. I would agree that today is a different ball game. Let's collaborate!
Louisa
I think Greg asks the right question here - where are your networks who will take your call? Like you both, I started in recruitment 30+ years ago, and I, no doubt like Bill, grew up with my contacts. Now at 60 many of my peers/contacts have retired or are retiring, but I am personally not interested in retiring, nor am I having a problem with contacts taking my call. So this is the interesting point for consideration - when I reflect on why. I think the secret is always being front of mind. Of building my networks of like minded not like aged. Of trying to help and authentically not striving to make a dollar every time I touch something. Paying it forward is a term that was presented to me along time ago now, and whilst this was not my goal, (as in give so you get), the reality is, that is actually what happens. So as the market continues to pivot, AI making it easier and yes as an Agency recruiter, often more challenging. You need to understand what your own 'sustainable competitive advantage is' and be true to it. That is what you personally bring that is not easily replicated. The market will have its peaks and troughs - having operated through Covid, Recessions and GFC and now AI - remember the human element. What you can't be is the storm - you need to bring the sunshine to your customers day - the solutions to their challenges. Other than ensuring you are working in a sustainable vertical, (which is critical to survival) have the right skills and produce quality, then resilience, persistence, detail and follow up are just as relative as AI to today's success - be you an internal or agency recruiter.
    Greg Savage
    Very interesting and valid observations Louisa, thank you
Schadd Montgomery
Excellent article Greg, as usual...My two cents is that the issues above are, in-part, determined by the size and scale of the individual agency. Larger the agency, larger the likelihood of these issues and the impacts from them. Looking around at the market here in Australia, the start-ups for owner operator agencies seems to be off the charts. xrecruiter’s march forward is an obvious example. Starting a micro agency with 1-3 owners/partners is the flavour of the year, and this can eliminate or reduce the challenges that Bill is facing simply due to the lesser volume of inbound opportunities needed for a steady book of jobs to work on. You can also bolt on some additional growth from new Clients that you create along the way. If you work exclusively with Clients, and with appropriate fees, then you don’t need a huge volume of work, or constant new BD to keep your business healthy. After 20 plus years of being a no name, under the radar, agency here in Brisbane there is no sign of our Clients’ needs slowing down, and new Clients are finding us more than us finding them. In fact, the biggest challenge we have here is hiring new Consultants to the team to cater to the current and potential work coming through. I firmly believe that the market and industry will continue in a state of varying disruption for some time, including the inevitable impact from ai that is yet to really show itself. However, as I heard Simon Sinek say recently "you can't scale special". So for a time at least, the smaller agencies of <10, and even some mid-size of <50, will manage through these disruptions and changes more successfully than others. Providing of course that they do good work along the way. But what the heck would I know...?
    Greg Savage
    Really interesting insights Schadd..thank you
Changing Times
Some interesting comments here. I have been in the industry in Financial Services for 20+ years and it has never been as bad. The big thing the commentary misses out (although includes a lot) is the pure market economics combined with HR / TA client behaviour. In certain markets, there has been a huge cull of the number of actual clients trading, as post-COVID so many have merged together for economy of scale reasons. The reality is the financial performance of a lot of businesses hasn't been great and continues to look sketchy. Most need capital injections to change to new more modern ways of working but don't have it - so workforce size has been cut, while mergers (which cut even more staff) continue to be popular. Staff know this and as such are harder to move. Pivot into the new entity? Diversify! Not that easy ... some have strong relationships in place, some are very PSA driven, some have lots of suppliers across each silo and continue to drive down the price down to unsustainable levels. Others have huge internal teams releasing only the very hardest of roles with sky high expectations (as mentioned). "BD more" ... please! Most senior executives (who are very hard to meet nowadays with less in-office time) are clearly told not to engage with Recruiters and are now being reprimanded for it, as cutting recruitment cost is a big HR / Board Room focus ... when it never used to be. Ask any agency on a PSA or traditional big client if they haven't seen revenue drop ... I think you'll find a very high proportion will have (as well as roles released drop), while some will have been lost forever. The reality is a lot of markets have shrunk and internal teams have hired better (ex-agency recruiters) and use really great tech to deliver a better service. They now compete hard against agency and with there being a lot more active candidates available, aren't searching as hard for "best in class" anymore and are hiring some good candidates quickly and directly. Some are even headhunting more themselves - which rarely used to happen. All in all, a much different landscape in the last 5 years.
    Greg Savage
    Very helpful perspective, thank you
Kurt Wenger
Greg, I certainly feel the change Bill is talking about… I have always believed that the more a recruiter concentrates the more they will make and the more success they will have. After 45 years Bill should definitely have more clients and candidates to take his calls. Most talent acquisition people have little or no training. They are a live zip recruiter that just passes resumes. As a nurse recruiter I see this all the time. Hospitals take former nurses and put them in recruiting roles. Mind you they have zero business consulting experience, zero sales experience the inability to sell or put a deal together, let alone discuss counteroffers and when to discuss salary expectations. I’m not saying it’s easy but I would refer people back to your last email that discusses the things that recruiters need to do over AI. Bill if you are having trouble getting through to perspective clients ask your candidates who they are talking to? Call those people directly… We need to always provide a value added service… I tell clients all the time if you hire me you can go to bed tonight and know your position will be filled. I also tell every client to make sure my cell phone number is saved in their cell and should they lose their job call me before their significant other! In 35 years I have never had to give a retained upfront payment back! Don’t take a retainer you can’t fill. Hope this helps!
Eva Wilson
This is absolutely spot on. I've been in the industry almost 30 years. I'm from the old school of doing exactly what Bill was - 100 calls a day, making connections, getting those visits, securing the roles etc. I don't think I've really picked up the phone to make a marketing call in recent times because the connection rate has been so poor and so deflating. You can't speak to anyone anymore. It's just email and that's it. Takes away the personal touch of why we are in recuitment in the first place and leaning now more into the transactional AI side of things which I truly detest. It's disturbing to say the least and quite disheartening.
Kirsty Parkin
Not my experience - my business is three years old and growing quickly. But we are highly niche, deeply specialised and use AI to support our backend so we can spend more time helping our industry.
Nathan Thomas
AI in recruitment is totally overblown. It’s ability to identify candidates is absolute rubbish. Only been in the game 3.5 yrs but we don’t have issues connecting with candidates at all. And the market seems pretty good to be honest. Bill needs to work on his relationships or decide if there is a structural change on his niche.
Sheryn Leach
Lots of great comments here and I'm enjoying the convo, as a 30+ year recruiter with the last 10 owning my own agency we were down on perm FY25 but grew in the temp space our business is predominantly temp so we seem to be less affected than some others. I do agree with Schadd, the biggest challenge is retaining people in the industry, we are great to work for and invest heavily in traing (yes we subscribe to you Greg) which can be so disheartening when they move on a few months later. We have a number of long term employees, thankfully, so not everyone, however, we are not immune to this lack of commitment that is so evident these days.
    Greg Savage
    Thanks Sheryn
Sarah Rotheram
It is true that the landscape has completely changed ‘but’ those good and trusted relationships that I have built over the past 25 years in recruitment are looking after us. I worked for the big corporates for most of my career & then I set my business up 9 years ago, we are small, and reduced further after covid, and I’m happy I did that. It will never be the same as it was but those key relationships whilst many are starting to retire, we are getting referrals for the work we have done, we remain positive and do the best we can in a tough market.
    Greg Savage
    Very helpful, thanks
Matt
I've been saying it for a while now you can't get past the switchboard or receptionist as easily, nobody is ever at the desk, so mobile numbers are the way to go. Even then you won't ever get some people even if you manage to get their work mobile's. Out of a new small contact list of 150 people I've managed maybe 30-35 conversations over the past two months. Six of those have become clients in a new sector to me. Emails died even before the phone died though. Up until maybe 2017 I could reliably send out a Mailer and get a decent response. I noticed that dying off from then onwards, there's just too much of it out there, the spam folders are clogged with low quality eight step e-mail cadences. It's ruined it for everybody. The real problem with recruitment is the amount of tech out there not designed to enhance what a recruiter does but designed to cover up for a **** recruiter. Can't get somebody on the phone? Too scared to do sales? Too lazy to call anybody up? No problem. Just blast out 4000 emails in an 8 sequence cadence, somebody is bound to reply. And when they get one reply or two replies from those 8000 emails they rub their hands together and “say wow this really works”. The only real opportunity to get yourself out there properly is to differentiate yourself through quality marketing [almost impossible to do for most]. That way even the biggest jobsworth TA leader might come back to your approaches be it telephone, email or LinkedIn. It's certainly all changed the phone still works marketing works, really good job ads work. Don't be afraid everybody, just adapt. Whether that's adapting your methods or entire model. If you really want to stay in the recruitment space, you will be rewarded in a couple of years time when the industry is a lot smaller, AI cannot do our job that's 50 years away.
Jeanette Robinson
I have been in recruitment since 1986 finding jobs for accountants. I have always built my business on relationships but these are far harder to establish now as people don't pick up the phone. Clients seem to like texts and emails and I make new contacts through a long term process of building up contacts in LI but it takes forever compared to the days of picking up a phone and getting visits. Websites and SEO's are also important but it is a question of people finding you rather than you finding them. I also find that older people still like the relationship approach but they are retiring and younger people see business differently and are more screen based. We have to move with the times but I do wonder with the advent of AI whether recruitment as we know it has a future at all. I have 2 or 33 years to go and frankly will be glad to stop. I came into recruitment because I love dealing with and finding out about people. That isn't going to be the future of recruitment as far as I can see.
Christopher Sale
I am guilty of being a bit 'phone shy and never a great cold caller. BUT my perspective, as a business owner, is that loads of people try and cold call ME from a mobile (and to my mobile or land line) but never leave a message which is a red flag and I block the number. So my point is a) calling from mobiles is often associated with scams so I never pick up b) I might (might) call back someone who's left a random message IF it intrigues or interests me but otherwise no chance. Much outreach is by email or LinkedIn of course (which has replaced 'phones?) but often abysmal. There's a lot of doom and gloom in this thread but I "meet" through Teams or Zoom loads more candidates and clients than I used to!
Gordon Kaye
I agree with a lot of what he has said, in fact most of it! But it does annoy me when people talk about the past, like there was this mythical period when as soon as you phoned a random individual out the blue you just got put straight through to them. I started in the 90s, and believe me, nobody answered the phone then either! Yeah, OK, you could get DDIs, but as soon as caller ID existed (a LONG time ago), that didn't work either! And getting DDIs was tough. You had to BUILD A RELATIONSHIP first. Shock!!! It's actually easier now to find a client's DDI (mobile) number than it's ever been! I'm not saying it's easy now, far from it. But I think a lot of people often have a bit of a fairytale view of how the past actually was. Plenty decent people I worked with failed as they struggled to get through to key decision makers. I remember GETTING TRAINING in the 90s on "how to get someone on the phone" with lots of tricks. The reason that training existed was because it was really tough to get someone on the phone! It's tough game, but always has been! Try being innovative. Try being memorable. Try being unbelievably resiliant. You'll work out a way. Please, please, please, don't blame "people nowadays", that will get you nowhere.
Pippa Baker
I started in Recruitment in the late 80s and was taught old school with cold calling clients and selling candidates only over the phone (had to ask to use the fax) but being able to meet a candidate, send them off for an interview and get an offer all on the same day! Yes the landscape has changed hugely and I have had to adapt consistently but at least there are lots of ways to source and find candidates rather than replying on directories, sly tricks to get past the receptionist and only having newspapers to advertise in. Somedays I do wonder if it's time to give it all up but then the next day I speak to a great candidate or new client and my mojo comes back. Mine however is not volume but a niche people led sector so that might have saved me. LinkedIn luckily is still really good for me as is joing TEAM, a life saver!
Ian Banks
I've been in the business for 30 years in the UK, and we've seen the same change as everyone else. Candidates and clients are harder to talk to, but it's not impossible. You just have to build more time into your business model, be creative, and persistent. It's no easier for the end employer, and it's likely they won't be as persistent as a recruiter, which means the service we provide will always be needed. Get out there, door-knock, network, mailshot with value, while the noise around us fades, the world still turns, and humans still make the decisions. No one likes doing recruitment (it's a ball-ache), so by being present, there will always be a need for us just as long as you can come up with the goods!
Brad
I like to see the regions broken out to see if there’s an obvious pattern. From what I’ve heard UK recruitment has tanked while in Australia it is rising. The U.S. has dipped but not as much as the UK. I recruit in supply chain and a lot of these boutique firm who specialize in this are plenty busy and some are having record years.
KiwiRecruiter
Agency Recruitment is never easy during difficult economic times - particularly if not well established. I'm no spring chicken, but busier than ever. There's a lost generation who won't pick up the phone, but it's still your best friend in recruitment. Clients seem more available outside traditional office hours which is also sign of the times where we don't switch off our devices. AI isn't scaring me, it simply helps operationally, so I have more time client side orginating work, searching, and placing specialist candidates/roles. I work mostly on retainer plus success fees, and crucially with Clients who truly want to partner with me. But I've learnt to choose the right clients for my business. PSA's are a waste of time for me, emerging start-ups and growing SME's, or small local offices of global brands is where the work is (for me) as they need a great Agency Recruiter to source them top talent. As I learnt (reading one of your blogs) several years ago, anyone or anything can find candidates, the 5% magic a great Recruiter brings is how to engage and influence to the hiring table and close a deal. This applies today more than ever, so I'm not convinced AI (right now anyway) offers the nuances required to be a top Recruiter, so there's plenty of opportunity out there. But don't be a mass market transactional Recruiter. Build your expertise inside an industry vertical and be plugged in across key decision makers in your market place. I think age and experience combined with high energy and great technology can be a winning combination.
    Greg Savage
    Niche. Exclusive. Retained Partnership with this RIGHT clients is the way to go
Hugh Douglas
I have been recruting for nearly as long as Bill, though more Search than Agency. However, he has enumerated the problems very fairly. Search is cold calling, though you ususually have a strong relationship with the client, and though it may appear easy it is not. 1. Getting hold of people is a nightmare compared to the noughties; you have to get a mobile and cold call on that - switchboards are fatal, as an aside Apple are going to make it even harder with IOS 26, by dropping non contact list numbers/names into a folder. 2. WFH adds a dimension of difficulty - arrange a meeting and then cancelled, also you don't run into people in the street and pick up market "goss": so important in Search. 3 At the more junior level applicants are being "spammed" out by email and then for the hirer it is just a transaction; 10 minutes on Teams. I think Search will always have a place, particularly in the Professions and C suite. HR can't do it, though sometimes they think they can which usually ends in a muddle and Partners and C suite execs don't have an aptitude. It is a slow dance. Takeawy is: niche, personalised, personal, confidential. If you can, find a growing business and grow with it by also offering non recruitment opportunities, thus adding value. Sadly, I think Agency entry level work may become commoditised; not easy for someone starting out.
Calvin D Scott
Over the past eleven years, my career in cybersecurity talent acquisition—particularly the last five spent in niche cyber placements—has undergone a transformation more profound than any résumé bullet can convey. The seismic ripple effects of the COVID era reshaped hiring philosophies across industries, and cybersecurity was no exception. What was once a stable and growing domain now faces volatility, compression, and a recalibration of value. Today, many of my global clients are leaning into offshoring strategies or implementing AI-led efficiencies—decisions that have disrupted traditional talent pipelines, especially for Tier 1 SOC analyst roles. I take pride in having played a foundational role in cultivating that entry-level talent pool. Sadly, as we know, it's a path that is now rapidly vanishing. In ASEAN markets, the work remains, but the compensation landscape presents its own challenges. While engagement persists, margins are thin. Still, something is better than nothing. This dynamic has prompted me to look beyond cyber alone—toward AI itself—not only as a disruptor but potentially as the next arena to apply and evolve my expertise. I have the technical acumen and industry awareness to transition into an analyst role, but the strategic return on that path, in today’s climate, warrants deeper scrutiny. The sector's shifts demand that we not only adjust but actively adapt and overcome with foresight and agility. Gratitude goes to Greg for continuing to shine light on the evolving recruiting ecosystem and for offering perspective in a time when clarity is anything but common. Here's to resilience, reinvention, and keeping one foot ahead of the curve. Good luck my brother and sisters of the hunt! Happy Hunting. Carpe Diem.
Helen Stacey
Hi Greg Interesting article and every recruiter I know is saying similar. I have been in the industry 35 years - we are micro generalist agency and I have some great relationships with clients and most of our business (like others who have been in the industry for a long time) are repeat and referral. We are finding clients are being very uncompromising on what they want and think the market has flipped in their favour which it hasnt completely. They are turning down really good people or just generally taking too long to come bcack to us. Similarly candidates are finding that the market is tougher as less jobs about but what they want is misaligned with what is on offer (both in terms of salary or WFH/Remote v the office) Getting in front of clients is ok for us at the moment but that could well change. I have had very longstanding clients retire over the last 10 years and despite trying to build relationships long before that at all levels its often tough! You need to work with clients who value what we do as an industry and see us as partners I guess.
    Greg Savage
    Thanks Helen - I agree so much with your last sentence especially
Emma Warren
To be fair, I would agree that the market does seem to present challenges (UK) at the moment and we have to work smarter and maybe just a little bit harder than before. I agree that this business is absolutely based upon relationships and how you build them and maintain them is integral to success. But is it all over???? No, I don’t agree. I still believe that many companies have hiring challenges meaning that they have a problem that we need to solve. How we do it needs to evolve with the new technologies that are now available to us. We need to uncover what a client wants and needs from us and then deliver. Low hanging fruit is now for talent teams and potentially AI but the specialist needs are where we can add absolute value. And what else? That’s the question we need to ask ourselves. What else can we do that tech can’t? That’s the gap… The day you feel you can no longer work at finding new solutions and can’t add value etc is probably the day to retire … Just my thoughts.
Phil Isard
The evolution of inhouse capability and technology in/on the recruitment industry has been in play for a very long time. I remember the saying "businesses bring it in, thinking they can do it cheaper, then outsource when it's expensive or the market changes..." GFC and Covid didn't see this happen, so fair to say it's here to stay. Inhouse capability (Talent Acquistion) started in the larger firms, and has slowly but surely crept down to Tier 2 and larger tier 3 businesses. Technology, all I'd say is embrace, adjust, and ensure ya profitable. As for people not answering calls, yer it's tough, but as I say to clients & candidates that say; sorry I didn't call ya back - "You're ok, I'm a recruiter I used to people not calling me back, but I know you'll answer if ya need me..." always gets a laugh. Little story, one of my largest fees ever came from I candidate I cold called with no answer for 3 years I think, one day he answered and said "Hi Phil... yer things have changed and I'm interested in a move" through the process I think I had 5 calls with him, and since he started one call (at week two). That guy is just too busy (and focused) doing what he is doing to talk to me. One day he'll call me needing something.
bill
This is the "Bill" in Greg's piece and first want to compliment him on his 100% accuracy in relaying my words, how he's objectively treated this absent personal bias. Wanted to add some information having read many of the astute comments by Greg's readers. I have plenty of contacts in my 45 years all derived at some point from a "cold call." The problem is companies have invested in AI and definitely want to give it every opportunity to succeed seeing what bang they can receive from their buck. In 2023 Nvidia stock exploded now at $175/share and did so because the market saw the AI impact coming. What I've seen since 1980 are never ending corporate attempts to, understandably, cut recruiter dependence to cut costs. The clients began drying up for me Fall 2023, hasn't been the same since. I still have my clients, decision maker's names, on good terms otherwise, but have been informed there's no authorization to pay a 3rd party recruiter, 'call back in a month, quarter, end of the year.' I also have a healthy candidate network. I have a number of people who know me I can call. Again, the issue is they're successfully finding people through AI and chat bot. My pitches marketing and recruiting are impactful and smooth. Often in the last several years asked by the one on the line if I were human or computer? So what I'm wrote to Greg about was companies are more using AI with an army of talent Acquisition internal recruiters and rare RPO for their purple squirrel jobs instead of 3rd party recruiters giving it a chance. They're finding better contact results with AI than recruiters. People preferring AI due to AI's objectivity-lack of bias, thoroughness, follow through, market knowledge. Bottom line for the company is they pay no fee for an AI discovered candidate. They can do what I do with 5 seconds while taking me 2 weeks--and AI doesn't charge them. The other point being how tough technology and companies have made cold calling due to unfriendly switchboard packages to be transferred, operators not transferring you without an extension ("I'll take a message and have him return the call,") people less identifiable, no voice mail unsure if you have the right person, and employees warned to not give any information out to anyone they don't know. I'm a sole proprietor specializing in classified defense engineering requiring Top Secret and Secret Clearances for PhD and Masters Electrical and Physics majored Engineers with skills in radar, Ballistic Missile Defense, Satellite Communication, and Electronic Warfare--air vehicle survivability. Niche oriented and yet flexibility. But the key is companies using AI in lieu of recruiters. And final point. We're in the beginning stage. AI will keep revolutionizing on its own, unchecked, so we can keep up with China. Why the Godfather of A.I. Fears What He’s Built Geoffrey Hinton has spent a lifetime teaching computers to learn. Now he worries that artificial brains are better than ours. By Joshua Rothman November 13, 2023

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