Hi, I’m Simon, I help people find work they care about. And I help teams build the systems that make those hiring moments clearer, faster and more human. I’ve been doing this for a while now, both in agencies and inside businesses. I’ve worked with some great teams at August, Slalom and REA Group. At the heart of it all, I care about people and process. I like solving hard problems with kind people.
That’s why this series means something to me.
Right now, there is a lot of change in recruitment. New tools are arriving fast. AI is already part of our world. But I believe one thing stays true. Great recruitment still comes down to people. It comes down to how we listen, how we ask, how we plan and how we show up.
In these four pieces, I’ve shared what I think still matters most; the fundamentals. I want to focus on why the fundamentals of recruitment are so much more important than any tool you use. Then, I want to expand on why interviews need more structure and less guesswork. Third, how our tech stacks need to serve us, not shape us. And finally, how bringing care and intention into every candidate moment can be a true advantage.
Big thanks to the team at ATC for inviting me back to be part of This Week in Talent. I always enjoy learning from this community, and I hope this series gives you something to reflect on too.
AI will scale your recruitment craft, for better or worse
There’s no doubt that AI is changing the shape of recruitment (and will continue to do so). Many of us have already started experimenting. Some of us have gone all in. Tools like HireVue, Seek’s AI Match, and the latest iteration of LinkedIn Recruiter are embedding machine learning into everything from sourcing and screening to engagement and assessment. It’s super cool and really exciting!
And when it’s good, it’s good. These platforms offer speed, scale, and, at their best, valuable insight.
But the danger is this: we assume that simply using these tools makes us more effective.
It doesn’t.
AI doesn’t improve your craft. It reflects it. If your fundamentals are strong, the outcomes scale with you. But if your processes, your conversations, your assessments are unclear or inconsistent, AI will simply amplify that noise.
In other words, technology magnifies what already exists. The question is: are you confident in what’s already there?
We all know that real recruitment happens in the grey. When a hiring brief lacks clarity and you have to help reframe it and come up with a completely different strategy. When a stakeholder’s expectations are misaligned with the market, and you need to push back with credibility, insight and influence. When a candidate tells you one thing, but their tone, timing or body language tells another story.
It’s in those moments (not in the tooling) that great recruiters create value.
And while AI can assist with some of this (voice analysis, sentiment scoring, real-time transcription), it doesn’t replace judgement. It can’t read the emotional nuance in a difficult conversation. It can’t adapt to the subtext of a hesitant answer, then follow up on it. And it certainly can’t build trust with a stakeholder who needs guidance through a complex hire.
That’s why investing in recruitment capability matters now more than ever. Because the better your human inputs are, the better your AI outputs will be.
Where recruitment craft still matters most
Before leaning harder on automation, look at what your team is bringing to the table. Not as a tick-box exercise, but as a serious reflection on how capable, confident and consistent your process actually is.
Ask:
- Are we taking clear, business-aligned briefs that solve the right problem? Or are we simply ticking the box?
- Can we navigate stakeholder complexity and influence decisions at speed?
- Are our interviews well-structured and consistent?
- Do we know how to ask questions that uncover motivation, not just experience?
- Are we assessing for non-verbal signals as well as hard skills?
- Is our hiring experience leaving a positive lasting impression, whether someone gets the job or not?
These aren’t basics. They’re differentiators. Especially in a market where everyone is accessing the same AI tools. Your tech stack might level the playing field, but your craft is still what sets you apart.
AI is not a shortcut, it’s a multiplier
I’m not anti-AI. I’ve seen where it adds real value. I use it. We experiment with it. And when applied well, it can absolutely elevate the recruitment experience on all sides. But it doesn’t replace the fundamentals.
In fact, it makes them even more important.
Because AI is a multiplier. It takes whatever is already happening, your intake conversations, your assessment rigour, your stakeholder engagement, and turns up the volume.
So if there are gaps, missteps, or assumptions in the way you’re hiring, those cracks will only widen with scale.
The smartest recruiters I know aren’t racing for the next plugin or platform. They’re doubling down on capability. They’re asking harder questions about their own systems and standards. They’re getting sharp on the why behind every part of their process, then finding the tech that supports that.
Because the future of hiring won’t be whoever adopts the most tools.
It’ll be won by the teams who’ve done the work at the ground level.
