If talent acquisition (TA) teams don’t move thoughtfully and quickly, they will crumble in the new world of AI.
I’m reminded of the iconic scene from Walt Disney’s Fantasia where Mickey Mouse places a spell on his broom to do his manual work of carrying water to the well. The plan backfires when Mickey falls asleep and the brooms automate the work too well: The unsupervised brooms take too many buckets of water to the well, and ultimately the room is flooded. It’s not until Mickey’s master (Yen Sid) dramatically intervenes that the situation is brought under control.
Right now, two-thirds of candidates are proverbially placing a spell on the broom and using AI to do the manual legwork of preparing job applications. This has led to a flood of candidate applications to open roles, putting immense pressure on talent acquisition teams. Many of Forage’s Fortune 500 employer partners are reporting 2x the candidate volume during the 2024/2025 recruitment cycle. TA teams don’t have the tools or strategies to tackle the dramatically higher candidate volume and effectively find great candidates within this sea of AI-generated documents.
But now is the time for TA teams to play the role of Master Yen Sid: They must craft thoughtful and deliberate strategies to retake control of their recruitment processes in this new AI-enabled world.
So how do you figure out which candidates are high-intent, especially when you’re awash with 10x the candidate volume you’ve been used to?
Using Positive Friction to Reclaim Control of Your Recruitment Process
Our view at Forage is that TA teams must introduce positive friction into the candidate experience process. Positive friction is where an employer introduces additional steps into the recruitment process to separate high-intent candidates from low-intent candidate, which is the first crucial hiring signal you should look for in the recruitment process. An application process that incorporates positive friction should (by definition) be more time-consuming, but it’s crucial that candidates extract value from engaging with that additional friction. This might include increased skills, a better understanding of the employer (and their culture), confidence to pursue the role, and so on.
Deliberately introducing friction seems antithetical to every other macro trend in the recruitment world for the past 25 years. The talent acquisition industry (like most industries) has been focused on creating a frictionless candidate experience, which has culminated with a slew of one-click applications. Everyone now realizes that a frictionless process doesn’t serve the employer—or the candidate for that matter—which is why positive friction can be such a powerful tool to respond to higher candidate volume.
Forage job simulations are an effective way to introduce positive friction into the candidate experience to surface high-intent candidates. Job simulations are free, open-access, virtual experiences where candidates can road-test different roles at a specific employer by completing a series of interactive tasks that mimic the type of work you would do in a specific role. Many of the world’s leading employers, including Walmart, JPMorgan, Citi, and Pfizer, have leveraged job simulations to introduce positive friction into their hiring process. By engaging with a job simulation, candidates not only demonstrate intent but also gain tangible skills and insights into the role and company.
This approach is particularly effective in an AI-driven hiring landscape because it helps filter out low-intent candidates who are simply mass-applying with AI-generated applications. Unlike traditional application materials, which AI can generate in seconds, job simulations require real effort and engagement. A candidate who willingly invests time in a job simulation is far more likely to be genuinely interested in the role than one who simply clicks “apply” on a job board and submits their bundle of AI-generated application documents.
The Data Speaks for Itself
There is a great maxim that “data always has a better idea,” and hiring data that has been collected from +100 hiring partners now shows that positive friction unequivocally produces better hiring outcomes. Forage data demonstrates that candidates who complete a job simulation are:
- 4x more likely to convert to a hire than those who do not.
- Significantly more prepared for interviews, reducing recruiter time spent on qualification calls. Our partner TA teams feel more confident with the quality of candidates they are putting in front of their colleagues to interview.
- More likely to stay with the employer long-term, as these candidates are making more informed and deliberate career decisions in terms of where they want to work.
Rather than sifting through mountains of AI-generated resumes, recruiters can focus their efforts on candidates who have already demonstrated a clear interest in and aptitude for the role, saving time and resources.
The Future of Talent Acquisition in an AI World
AI isn’t going anywhere—it’s only getting smarter. Talent acquisition teams relying on outdated hiring signals such as resumes, cover letters, and pre-screening AI tools will soon find themselves overwhelmed, drowning in a sea of applicants but struggling to make strong hires.
But AI isn’t a replacement for human judgment. When used strategically, AI enhances hiring by refining processes and improving decision-making. The most effective recruiters won’t be those who process the most applications but those who engage with the best-fit candidates efficiently.
This means:
● Prioritizing high-intent candidates over low-effort applicants.
● Introducing positive friction to distinguish truly engaged candidates.
● Leveraging job simulations to add value for both employers and applicants.
● Using AI not to automate hiring decisions but to streamline screening and engagement.
A Call to Action for TA Leaders
The AI hiring flood is not slowing down. Just like Mickey in Fantasia, TA teams who fail to take control will find themselves drowning in applications, unable to separate the best candidates from the noise.
The solution isn’t to resist AI—it’s to build thoughtful, human-centered hiring processes that work alongside it. By prioritizing candidate intent, introducing positive friction, and embracing job simulations, TA teams can reclaim control and build stronger, more effective hiring pipelines.
The future of talent acquisition belongs to those who adapt. Will your team be one of them?
