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In this episode of The Tech Leader's Playbook, Avetis Antaplyan dives headfirst into the trust crisis disrupting hiring across tech and go-to-market roles. Drawing from conversations with both hiring managers and top-tier candidates, Avetis unpacks the growing disconnect: why talented people are being ghosted while keyword-stuffed, AI-generated resumes get through the door—and often, no one shows up.

As the founder of HIRECLOUT, Avetis offers a blunt assessment of the current system: hiring isn’t broken because of AI—it’s been broken for years. AI simply exposed how fragile the trust and signal layers already were. In this candid solo episode, he outlines why resumes no longer reflect real value, how signal degradation is warping candidate pools, and what needs to change for hiring to scale with integrity.

From the dangers of synthetic candidates to the myth of "clean" resumes, this episode is packed with pattern recognition strategies, hard truths for founders and recruiters, and a blueprint for using AI as a tool—not a replacement—for judgment. If you're building or hiring in tech, this is essential listening.

Takeaways

• The hiring process is failing both qualified candidates and frustrated hiring managers.
• AI didn’t break hiring—it revealed how broken trust and signal layers already were.
• Top talent is being filtered out by systems that prioritize keywords over capability.
• Many resumes that look impressive on paper are either exaggerated or AI-generated.
• Clean, keyword-rich resumes often come from average performers—not real builders.
• Bulk applications and synthetic candidates are crowding out authentic applicants.
• Trust—not automation—will be the next real hiring moat.
• Hiring systems that prioritize volume over intent end up scaling noise, not quality.
• Companies need to refocus AI to handle speed and prep, while humans manage judgment.
• Silence from recruiters often reflects broken systems, not a candidate’s lack of value.
• Founders who can't distinguish real operators from fake ones aren't ready to scale.
• The solution lies in a hybrid model: real interviews, verified networks, and contextual judgment.

Chapters

00:00 Intro: Why this solo episode matters now

00:53 The hiring paradox: Both sides feel broken

01:47 It's not a talent issue—it's a signal and trust breakdown

02:27 The candidate opt-out: when frustration becomes exit

03:15 Why AI struggles to recognize real tech and GTM careers

04:40 The hiring irony: real people get ghosted, fake ones get interviews

06:13 When volume replaces intent: how systems reward the wrong behavior

07:04 Resume inflation and red flags recruiters often miss

08:30 The model that works: AI for speed, humans for judgment

09:25 Scaling incompetence: the danger of removing humans too early

10:05 Trust as a competitive advantage in hiring

11:10 How HIRECLOUT filters for real vs fake candidates

12:30 Final thoughts: the future of hiring is human-centric

Resources and Links:

⁠⁠https://www.hireclout.com⁠⁠

⁠⁠https://www.podcast.hireclout.com⁠⁠

⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/hirefasthireright⁠