There is a growing disconnect in the hiring process that is becoming harder to ignore.
Candidates are using AI to craft highly tailored CVs that align precisely to job ads. Every keyword is considered. Every requirement is reflected. On paper, it reads as precision. The irony is that many of these job descriptions were written years ago in a very different market.
Roles have evolved. Expectations have shifted. The way teams operate today, particularly across technology and project delivery, looks very different to even 18 to 24 months ago. Yet hiring briefs often remain static. Often they are reused or lightly reviewed.
Candidates are optimising themselves against a version of the role that may no longer exist.
Hiring managers are assessing against needs that have not been clearly defined.
For candidates, there is a question worth sitting with.
In shaping your experience to match the brief so closely, what are you leaving out?
What signals of growth or broader capability are being softened or removed in an AI crafted CV?
What is the opportunity cost of presenting yourself as a fit for yesterday’s role, rather than positioning yourself as the person who can help shape where the role is going?
For hiring managers, there is an equally important challenge.
Are you truly hiring for what you need now?
Or are you relying on a recycled brief that reflects a past structure, a past team, or even a past set of priorities?
The quality of candidates you attract is directly shaped by the clarity and relevance of the brief you take to market.
AI has not created this problem. It has amplified it.
It has made it easier for candidates to align. Alignment to an outdated brief however does not necessarily lead to the right hire.
The strongest outcomes are emerging where there is a shift on both sides.
Candidates who show how they have evolved, not just how they align.
Hiring managers who define roles based on current and future need, rather than relying on historical position descriptions.
The reality is that most roles today are moving targets.
The goal is not to perfectly match the brief.
It is to ensure the role and the individual stepping into it are moving in the same direction.
