The following is my response to a Quora question: Why do you think the number of application per job has increased by 111% between 2022 and 2025, while the number of recruiters has fallen 56%. 
MY RESPONSE: 
Short Answer:
In short, the impact of agentic AI integration into the hiring process. The increase of AI integration and mass application capabilities explains the increase of applications during that time. The continual decrease in recruiters is jointly the result of AI integration and the mass layoffs that followed the post-covid mass hiring wars of 2021 and early 2022. Recruiters unfortunately was a part of the fallout.
Longer Explanation:
The origin of the comment was from the CEO of Indeed. From my perspective, I agree with the Indeed CEO that the implementation of agentic AI has affected the hiring process and is likely behind the statistics you reference. During the time period mentioned, there were many “AI tools” offered by diverse companies that allowed applicants to mass apply to hundreds of positions. The influx was devastating for recruiting teams who already struggled to manage increased volume. From a candidate perspective, the “AI tools” allowed them to feel empowered. Unfortunately, many just increased the number of rejection letters they received. From different perspectives, AI was the “magic bullet.”
I remember the “mass layoff” of recruiters during that time period, as senior leaders of companies went “all in” with AI. Remember, recruiters were also laid-off during COVID due to hiring freezes. In addition, tech companies in particular had hiring wars post covid as they built up their workforce. This included recruiting staff to handle increased hiring volume. In an attempt to right their post-covid mass hiring miscalculation, there was an influx of mass layoffs across industries which included recruiters. Unfortunately, current projections still show that companies will continue lean recruiting leveraging agentic AI.
Future Focus:
What does that mean for the hiring process as a whole? We already see the shift. AI is decidedly now the first and second step in the hiring process through Applicant Tracking Systems and automated screening interviews. As a result, candidates are dropping out of the process. Companies will be challenged to guarantee human intervention within the hiring process, likely offering an option for human review. We’re starting to see this now. Candidates will also be increasingly required to prove their expertise through skills-based pre-application assessments, hands-on interviews, etc. I do believe the numbers will start to stabilize as candidates start to realize high volume applications don’t work and companies become a lot more selective in their application process.
Hopefully not too long and that my insight is helpful. Hoping for your best! N-
Source of some future focused info: (Greenhouse benchmark report March 2026, Fortune, SHRM data ).
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My Response: 
I just remembered a time that I must’ve tried hard to forget. You’ll understand why as you continue to read. Another example where I am the candidate.
I applied for a position and if I’m being completely honest, I was over confident. I went in there and acted a straight fool.
Without going into detail, let’s just say I basically in so many words challenged the authority of the leader. I implied that the person was weak and needed to be stronger to deal with me. (Not what I said verbatim, but when I look back that’s probably what came across). Later in the interview, I started tearing up as I referenced a time in which I lost a close family member. To be honest I was up and down like an emotional roller coaster all through that interview. It was a mess. (By the way, I don’t take drugs).
I’m sure for them it was one of the most bizarre interviews at least that month. To make matters worse, it was a group interview of at least 10 people in the room. So I acted a complete fool for an audience.
To be honest, I’m not sure why I acted that way. As I toured the facility, I knew I didn’t really want to work there and had formed some opinions. But I still never intended to go there and torpedo the interview. Let’s just say I learned a valuable lesson.

So in summary, Let's just say that I acted a complete fool and then started crying. it was a mess and again, No, I don't do drugs, nor was I drunk. I still don't know what I was doing that dreadful day. Now I can laugh about it. When the interview was over, I sat in my car and cried. I was too embarrassed to go in there or to follow-up and apologize for my bizarre behavior. 

Do you see why I tried to forget it? 

My Response. Side note: Someone was obviously attempting to sell their services on Quora (which is restricted), and decided to point their question to me. I decided to expound on the answer anyway. 

​There could be several reasons why someone may be applying for positions but not getting interviews. The CV can absolutely be a problem in several ways. Including the following may increase the likelihood that the CV will get past Applicant Tracking Systems to the initial screening interview.

1. Does the CV include REQUIRED criteria for the position? If it does not, it will be rejected. These criteria may include educational requirements, years of experience, or location.
2. Does the CV include relevant terms, skills, experience, and education that demonstrate your expertise within the position and/or industry?
3. Is the CV formatted for easy accessibility to the core information within the document?

Achieving a hiring manager interview, the CV must demonstrate more of the following:

1. Demonstrate your ability to solve one of the industry’s or target position’s key problem. (For example: Problem: low customer retention - Solution - A restaurant server who was able to double customer retention through their innovative “VIP customer server method).”
2. Create accomplishment statements that shares (A) What you did. (B) How you did it. (C) The result using metrics. (Example” Tripled productivity by streamlining workflows and eliminating redundancies resulting in $40M in annual widget cost savings).”
3. Include statements and accomplishments that demonstrate your innovation and “future-focused” approach. This involves company or industry research. Example: The hospital you are applying to is implementing a new hospital management system. You led a similar project at your last position but ran into an unexpected problem with triplicate records. You may share how you solved that problem through using an AI tool.

I’ll stop here. Simply put, there is a human behind every hire. Make sure you are writing for that person. The hiring manager wants their problem solved (that’s why the position is open) - AND wants to know that are the best candidate AND that you know what you are talking about. ​
The key is to do the work (research) required and use the available tools (AI or professional writers) to create a CV that answers the questions your target reader (hiring managers) will be interested in.

Last note: If you use AI to write your CV, make sure you do the work to make sure your authenticity shows. You are the one who will show up at the interview. Your CV and your physical interview should match.

This question was requested from someone on Quora. It's interesting that even in the Age of AI, my answers are still consistent. Some things never change. People (Companies) still want to know what's in it for them if they should hire you.  How can that best be conveyed? - By including relevant accomplishment statements in the resume. If you are unsure on how to do this, Check out our e-store for tools that can help or book an discovery call with me. I'd love to help!  Now to my response: 

This is a broad question. There are several things that should not be included in your resume. The best answer is to only include position relevant information. If you are in the US, do not include your photo, your demographic stats, hobbies, or marital status. There are several resume scanners that can review your resume against your target position. It is important to make sure you include the following:

1. Have a target position and ensure that your resume includes the key criteria required for that position. This information can be obtained through a simple AI prompt such as: “List the top ten key criteria required for the (position title) in (the country you are applying to).
2. Include a concise career summary or profile. This will tell the recruiter whether or not to continue reading. While many harp on AI, there are still many HR recruiters who still review resumes. Keep the reader in mind. Include those relevant skills and accomplishments that the reader (Hiring Manager) would be interested in. Try to keep it not more than four sentences. Think of it as your elevator pitch.
3. Write accomplishment statements for every position that succinctly details what you did, how you did it, and the result. Try to include metrics where possible. Companies what to know what’s in it for them if they hire you. For example: Streamlined the register closing process by implementing a closing checklist reducing the closing process time by 50%.
4. Include any relevant education, certifications, or technical proficiencies. This is important and may potentially elevate your compensation.

Lastly, Keep the end in mind. You want your resume to result in an interview AND become a key source of conversation during the interview. (Note I said conversation - interviews are a two-way street). AI is a tool that can help make your position and company research easy and can even help you write your resume. However, you have to put in the work to make the words on the page truly reflect your authentic self, your abilities, and relevant accomplishments.

I hope this helps and wishing you much success!
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About your career coach: 
Nanette Kirk is the President and CEO of NetKi Enterprises, LLC. We help clients navigate their career journey, through career coaching and consulting. Thank you for reading this blog post. Feel free to reach out if you have any leadership or career challenges, I can help you explore and resolve. You can click on the button below to schedule a discovery call. ​

The following is another fantastic question about interviewing from a follower on Quora. See my response below: 

A savvy candidate would definitely prepare for the interview. However, It can go very wrong if the candidate over-rehearses. For this reason, I recommend to my clients to use bullet-points and not remember a script.

A candidate who is over-reliant on a script can jeopardize the interview by doing the following:

• Focusing more on the script than on the non-verbal cues of the interviewer and engaging the interviewer.
• Failing to completely answer the question or miss the intent of the question because it wasn’t in the “script.”
• Losing composure if the candidate forgets one small word or minor aspect of the script and then obsessing on the miss thinking they’ve failed the question when the interviewer had no idea of what they “intended” to say in the first place. In effect, causing internal drama where none actually exists.

Many candidates are not aware that they actually control the “feel” of the interview in how they carry themselves, non-verbal and verbal cues and engaging the interviewer through “connection.” I recommend that candidates prepare but remain aware. Lead the interview into more of a discussion, than an “interview.”

Need help with interviews? We have paid and free resources available.  Learn the Unspoken Rules During the interview and more! 

About your career coach: 
Nanette Kirk is the President and CEO of NetKi Enterprises, LLC. We help clients navigate their career journey, through career coaching and consulting. Thank you for reading this blog post. Feel free to reach out if you have any leadership or career challenges, I can help you explore and resolve. You can click on the button below to schedule a discovery call. ​