Why do recruiters waste 50% of their time? Recruiters often feel like they’re spinning in circles, and not the fun kind you’d enjoy at an amusement park. It’s more like the hamster-wheel variety: lots of effort, not much progress. Despite their best intentions, recruiters frequently find themselves consumed by administrative tasks and repetitive work that distracts from what really matters—building meaningful relationships with candidates and assessing their true fit for roles.

So, what exactly is going on, and why does it feel like half their time is wasted?  To find the solution read on (spoiler alert it’s in the last paragraph!)

How Is Time Wasted?

Sorting Through the Avalanche of Applications

Thanks to the internet, applying for jobs is easier than ever—so easy, in fact, that candidates can spam out their résumés faster than recruiters can say “Applicant Tracking System” (ATS). Unfortunately, this digital convenience creates a tidal wave of applications, many of which are wildly unqualified. Recruiters spend precious hours sifting through this ocean of hopefuls, only to be fooled by tech-savvy candidates who use online tools to beat résumé robots. Remember, these bots are only as smart as their algorithms, and in the war between AI and human creativity, job seekers are bringing their A-game.

Job Description Mismatch

With job advertising costs at an all-time low, you’d think more thought would go into crafting the perfect job description. Nope. Instead, we get hurriedly written, vague postings that read like someone copy-pasted from a 1998 template. Poor job descriptions mean recruiters spend hours chasing the wrong types of candidates or repeatedly explaining to hiring managers that yes, we need to be specific about the required skills.

Misalignment with Hiring Managers

Communication breakdowns between recruiters and hiring managers are legendary. You’d think these two groups were from different planets, and in some cases, it feels like they are. Misalignment results in wasted time, confusion, and recruiters practically living on conference calls trying to nail down a moving target of job expectations. The only thing more frustrating than a vague job description? A hiring manager who changes their mind halfway through the process.

Over-Reliance on Automation

Ah, technology. The great promise of a future where everything is faster and more efficient—until it isn’t. Automation tools like ATS are great for basic organization but often set unrealistically high expectations. At best, these tools streamline administrative work; at worst, they become a crutch, leading to more robotic processes that fail to account for the human nuances that make or break a hire.

Candidates Backing Out

In today’s market, talented candidates are like hummingbirds: hard to catch and always on the move. By the time a recruiter is ready to engage, the candidate might have moved on to the next opportunity or gotten fed up with waiting for feedback. The recruiting world moves slowly, but candidates don’t, and that leads to a lot of effort going down the drain.

Why Does This Happen?

Technology Favours Job Seekers

Let’s be real: job seekers have the upper hand when it comes to tech. They’ve got access to free tools that optimize CVs, tailor cover letters, and help them present themselves as A+ candidates. These tools are designed to “game” the very systems recruiters use to filter applications. It’s like a game of cat and mouse, only the mice have top-tier tech on their side.

Investment in Professional Presentation

It costs between ZAR 8,000 and ZAR 12,000 for job seekers to hire a professional to polish their résumé and LinkedIn profile. While that may sound pricey, it’s a no-brainer if it means a salary increase of a few thousand rand a month. With this kind of incentive, candidates are willing to go to great lengths to look perfect on paper—even if the reality is a little less shiny.

Finessing the System

Job seekers know how to tweak their résumés to mirror job descriptions word-for-word. They understand that ATS software does pattern matching, so they adapt. They aren’t lying (well, most of the time), but let’s just say “creative embellishment” is the name of the game. This means recruiters are forced to decipher whether a candidate is genuinely qualified or just good at playing the résumé robot game.

Tailored CVs and Truth-Stretching

There’s tailoring your CV to highlight relevant experience, and then there’s tailoring your CV to look like a tailor-made fantasy. Job seekers know the difference, and they aren’t above doing the latter if it gets them a foot in the door. This adds an extra layer of detective work for recruiters, who must figure out if what they’re seeing is the real deal or just clever marketing.

Online Assessments Galore

The proliferation of online assessments has helped job seekers prepare for (or manipulate) pre-interview screenings. Savvy candidates know what to expect and rehearse accordingly, making it difficult for recruiters to gauge genuine ability.

What Tools Are Available to Recruiters?

Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS)

These systems are great for managing the sheer volume of applications but don’t do much to cut down on wasted time. ATS software organizes CVs/résumés, schedules interviews, and automates some processes, but it still doesn’t get to the heart of quality candidate selection.

Résumé Robots

Résumé robots are well-meaning, but let’s face it: they aren’t geniuses. They use pattern recognition to weed out candidates, which is easily exploited. They often discard promising candidates who don’t check the right keyword boxes while elevating mediocre ones who’ve mastered the art of optimization.

Assessments

While assessments can be effective, they’re typically used too late in the hiring process to be time-savers. They’re also expensive and increasingly gamed by job seekers who know the tricks of the trade. It’s like using a fine-toothed comb when what you really need is a strong initial filter.

How Could This Be Improved?

Better Communication with Hiring Managers

It’s time for recruiters and hiring managers to get on the same page—or at least the same book. Regular, detailed communication would lead to a better understanding of the exact type of candidate needed, saving time and energy on both sides. Imagine fewer wild goose chases and more straight-to-the-point recruiting!

More Accurate Job Descriptions

If recruiters could wave a magic wand, they’d make every job description crystal clear and perfectly aligned with the role. While magic might not be an option, a little more effort in the composition stage could go a long way in reducing wasted time.

Where’s That Crystal Ball?

Wouldn’t it be great if recruiters had a crystal ball to see the real candidate behind the polished profile? Until someone invents one, perhaps a mix of gut instinct and experience will have to do. Better tools, more transparent processes, and a dash of scepticism when things seem too good to be true could help recruiters zero in on the best talent more efficiently.

Soft Skills Analysis

This could be your crystal ball, as when recruiting you are as interested in the job-seeker’s soft skills/personality as well as their hard skills/CV.   The trouble is that the only tools that give you insights into soft skills are expensive, messy to administer and even they can be gamed.  So as things stand you only get real data (?) on the candidate’s hard skills.  So being forced to decide on the job-seeker’s suitability, with only half the picture, is a bit like trying to tie your shoelaces with one hand behind your back.

With Talent Recognition you can have that Crystal Ball.  It’s clean, it’s compliant, it’s easy and it’s a lot less expensive than you will think it should be.

Delani du Toit from TR Recruiter, by Talent Recognition.