In this issue:

Everyone’s bragging about their AI hiring stack.
But behind the dashboards?

💥 Recruiters are drowning
📉 Candidates are getting rejected for the wrong reasons
🧠 Cognitive overload is killing decisions

The problem isn’t the tech.
It’s how you're using it.

I break it down in this issue.

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The HR Blotter: Case Files From the HR Underworld

The Silent Hand Behind Every Paycheck - The Bureau of Labor Statistics is a quiet giant in the background of the American workday. It tracks every pay bump, pink slip, and productivity shift, feeding data to Wall Street, HR execs, and even the Fed. But behind the numbers are real people—sometimes overworked, sometimes invisible—whose stories get flattened into averages and indexes. If you’re making decisions based on job market data, best to remember: the BLS might be neutral, but the way its numbers are used never is.

When the Algorithm Crosses the Picket Line - Woolworths is running low on stock, and it’s not just because of supply chains—it’s a labor standoff fueled by automation. Warehouse workers say AI is being used not to assist but to monitor, control, and undermine their jobs. This isn’t just a local dispute; it’s a warning shot for every employer betting on tech to quietly push labor out of the equation. When machines replace trust, expect shelves—and relationships—to go empty.

Calendar Warfare and the Fear of Being Forgotten - Meetings have become the modern workplace’s security blanket—used to prove presence, control narratives, and feign productivity. But beneath all the scheduling is a deeper fear: that without constant visibility, people might lose power or relevance. The result? Burnout masquerading as collaboration. In a world obsessed with optimization, we’ve weaponized calendars to compensate for poor leadership and shaky trust.

The Cost of a Blank Face - Gen Z’s poker face at work—dubbed “the stare”—is being framed as a rebellion, but one CEO calls it a career killer in disguise. The argument? Communication isn’t just verbal; perception plays payroll. And when clients or higher-ups read disinterest, it doesn’t matter if you’re technically doing the job. In the workplace economy, how you’re seen still shapes where you go.

When the Workers Run Out - America’s labor shortage isn’t a phase, it’s a demographic reckoning. With boomers aging out and fewer workers coming in behind them, the job market is entering an era of scarcity. But this isn’t just about filling roles; it’s about rethinking what work looks like when experience exits faster than it’s replaced. Companies banking on endless talent pipelines are waking up to a new math.

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The Jim Stroud Podcast

Not subscribed to the Jim Stroud Podcast? Then you’ve been flying blind. Here’s a taste of what they’ve been hearing—while you’ve been missing it.

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You’re Using AI Hiring Tools Wrong (…and its bleeding you dry!)

Let’s cut the corporate fluff.

Your AI hiring stack was supposed to be a secret weapon. Instead, it's become a migraine machine — clunky, bloated, and actively sabotaging your results.

Sure, 78% of large enterprises now lean on AI for recruitment. Sounds futuristic, right? But behind the curtain? Only 32% of employees even touch the average HRIS. Nearly 1 in 4 companies admit their shiny new HR tech flopped on arrival.

This isn’t about bad software.
It’s about bad decisions.

Smart Tools, Stupid Strategy

Here’s the dirty secret: 87% of companies use AI in recruitment, but only 8% apply it across the whole process. Translation? Most firms are hoarding AI like baseball cards; no strategy, no synergy. Just noise.

And that noise? It’s killing you.

Juggling disconnected systems doesn’t streamline anything, it shreds your attention, exhausts your team, and delays decisions. Half your software is redundant. Especially in payroll and applicant tracking.

That’s not innovation.
That’s digital chaos in a suit.

The Real Villain? Cognitive Overload

The human brain isn’t built for constant app-switching. But that’s what you’re demanding from recruiters. And every ping, login, and toggle costs focus.

Science backs it: more notifications, more task switching, more stress, less productivity. You didn’t buy automation. You bought a babysitting job.

What This Feels Like on the Outside

If you think recruiters have it bad, spare a thought for candidates. 99% of Fortune 500 companies use automation in hiring. And to job seekers, it feels like they’re pitching résumés into a black hole with no feedback, no fairness, just AI roulette.

Bad configuration is the culprit. Not AI.

Done right, AI should amplify hiring teams and humanize the candidate experience. Done wrong, it’s a bias amplifier wrapped in bad UX.

The Hidden Costs You’re Not Calculating

You bought the wrong thing, implemented it badly, and now you’re throwing more tools at the problem. Congratulations, you’re in the Tool Sprawl Death Loop.

The price tag on bad AI doesn’t stop at the invoice. Seven out of ten IT rollouts stall, bleeding time, budget, and credibility. Rushed implementation? That’s how you turn a promising tool into a slow-motion trainwreck no one wants to use.

You’re not fixing the problem. You’re compounding it.

The Companies That Actually Get It

Some firms are thriving. Why? Because they didn’t start with tools.
They started with process.

They asked:

• What do we want AI to do?

• Where does it fit into our workflow?

• How do we train humans to work with machines—not around them?

The result?

• Up to 48% improvement in diversity hiring

• 70% reduction in time-to-hire

• 86% of recruiters reporting smoother workflows 

It’s not the tool.
It’s the implementation strategy.

Training: The Missing Piece Killing Your ROI

Here’s the punchline: only 48% of employees receive any formal AI training.
Companies are shelling out for software, but not investing in the people who use it.

If that’s your approach, then yeah, your team hates the tools. Because nobody showed them how to win with them.

Firms that win with AI? They’re betting big on training.

While others fumble with half-baked rollouts, these teams pour time and money into making sure the humans behind the tech know how to wield it. That’s the difference between adoption and failure.

The 4 Levels of AI Hiring Maturity

I could be wrong but this is what my gut tells me.

Most companies are stuck in Level 1: Chaos
– A junk drawer of tools, no strategy in sight.

Level 2: Integration
– Some workflows, tools starting to talk to each other.

Level 3: Optimization
– Iterative improvements based on data, not gut.

Level 4: Mastery
– Seamless AI-human teamwork where both sides enhance the other.

The difference?
Not budget. Not access. Just brains and discipline.

Your Roadmap Out of the Mess

📌 Audit your current AI stack.
📌 Eliminate redundancy.
📌 Design processes before buying more tools.
📌 Invest in human training.
📌 Integrate, optimize, repeat.

Job seekers will thank you.
Your team will thank you.
And your metrics? They’ll finally make sense.

The Final Word

AI isn’t the villain here.
Your implementation is.

You can fix it. Or ignore it until your competition stops losing candidates, starts outperforming you, and leaves you wondering why your “future-proof” stack keeps breaking.

The tech works. But only if you do.

Make the call:
Keep playing whack-a-tool... or build a hiring machine that actually works.

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The Fine Print

👉Hey HR Tech Founders! I help early-stage HR Tech startups build authority and trust through strategic content that positions you as the industry expert your prospects already need. Let’s talk. #ghostwriter 

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One more thing before I go…

To everyone who emailed or slid into my DMs on LinkedIn—thank you. I see you, I appreciate you, and I’m taking it all to heart. Changes are happening—some already live in this issue. If you know, you know. Keep the feedback coming. Grateful for every one of you.

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