Is Recruitment Broken?

August 2025

Is recruitment stuck in the 90s — or has ‘rec tech’ really moved things forward?

It’s a question I’ve been returning to again and again for the past few months.

At Sellick Partnership we built long-term relationships, made quality placements, and took the time to understand the people behind the CVs.

But across much of the industry, the old habits are still there — speed over suitability, CVs outweighing potential, and too many candidates left in the dark.

In the past few years, we were told rec tech would solve this. That it would make hiring faster, fairer, better. And we saw new entrants into the market too pushing this story.

And in some cases, rec tech did help — I’ve seen smart tools genuinely help people get a fair shot and help hiring managers see beyond the obvious.

But more often, it’s doubled down on the same problems — or replaced them with new ones:
- Job boards that bury great candidates under noise — often because keyword filters miss transferable skills, or “easy apply” floods roles with volume over fit
- Filters that reject people before a human ever sees them — sometimes set so rigidly they miss high-potential talent who don’t tick every box
- Hiring teams drowning in applications but still struggling to hire — not because there’s no talent, but because the tools aren’t helping them spot the right people quickly

I’m not the one building the tech — that’s not my skill set — but I’ve spent the past year learning from the people who do. And from the candidates, clients, and policymakers who live with the results.

Along the way, I’ve also learned that if you nod thoughtfully and say “machine learning” at the right moment, people assume you know what you’re talking about.

The truth is, I’m still learning. But I do know this: we don’t need to throw away what works — we just need better ways to connect people and opportunity in 2025.