Hiring: Why it’s so slow and what might speed it up

Organizations studying hiring report that employers are increasingly missing hiring goals and taking far too long to bring talent on board. Many employers bemoan a lack of qualified workers, as well as an oversupply of unqualified applicants clogging the system. Technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), promises solutions, but problems persist, so what’s the answer?

Current status

GoodTime, a provider of AI-powered HR technology centered on hiring, commissioned a November 2025 study of 504 senior talent acquisition executives. The study, which gathered responses from tech, manufacturing, finance, retail, and healthcare sectors, found that 90% of the companies missed their hiring goals.

The GoodTime report says that nearly all the organizations rely on AI, but there’s a problem: Fake or AI-generated candidates are the No. 1 anticipated hiring threat for 2026.

Besides the GoodTime report, other research also shows the problem. In its report identifying the top future-of-work trends for HR this year, research and advisory firm Gartner reports that AI has made hiring an arms race as candidates turn to AI to stand out and employers use it to winnow the glut of unqualified candidates and to avoid malicious actors.