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Rise of the Two-Part Application Process by Jeremy Lyons
The rise of AI tooling on the candidate side of the application process has created an influx of applications on the company side. In turn, we’ve also seen reports of an increase in fake or fraudulent candidates. In response, companies are taking different steps to cut down on the noise these candidates are causing in the process (e.g., Zapier and others looking at IP submissions, Greenhouse with their Clear Partnership, and the incorporation of Captcha).
But using technology to combat technology has its pros and cons, and what some companies are doing is creating, in principle, a two-part application process that emphasizes a secondary touchpoint to validate.
What does this look like?
Breaking a paradigm or a process that many systems are built on isn’t easy. But let’s address how it is different before jumping into what the systems are doing to make it work. Much of it stays the same - the company posts a job, the applicant applies to the job. Shortly after that, the applicant receives an email to do a task (e.g., a virtual interview with a tool like Talent Llama, Braintrust, Paradox or a practical test that needs to be recorded on Loom).
How does this look on the systems side?
Well, that is what companies are still trying to figure out. Nearly all ATS (or CRM, or really most other enterprise tools) are built with a stage structure. Regardless of how the data gets grouped on the backend (e.g., using stage groupings to organize it all), applicants and candidates flow from one stage to the next. Most application stages are configured with three actions: move forward, reject/archive, stay (aka doing nothing). Most, from a system perspective, are not configured with a secondary action to take place alongside it. This means there needs to be a bridge stage between application review and recruiter screen/hiring manager review. While this is a solution, it is likely not the most ideal solution for most users, especially if the stages are fixed.
Why does this matter?
For a couple of reasons. One is that it changes where the shift from applicant to candidate happens (which can impact data). Two, it impacts candidate experience. Right now, the market is still funky, but it is widely accepted that it is an employer market. With it being an employer market, employers can ask for more candidates will oblige them (albeit begrudingly at times). The key here is that pushing too much risks a response if the market swings. Truth is, this is likely a reflection of the times, and more changes are to come for companies to get comfortable (beyond just bringing candidates back in for onsite interviews).
So is the AI interview better or is the asking for a project upfront better or worse? Jury is still out but leave your thoughts in the comments.
Weekly Survey
We’re going to take a bit of a different angle here. Glenn Lindley, builder of the expansive TA Techscape visual you have probably seen, is running a survey for his 5.0 release. Please take the opportunity to help him out by voting here.
RecOps - The GPT
RecOps - Available in the OpenAI store and free to use.
Prompt You Can Use Today:
I have an upcoming project/assignment/implementation that is going to require me to add new skills in X, Y, and Z. I’m excited to learn these new skills, but I know I will need to learn them quickly, and my brain often creates quick shortcuts that develop bad habits. I have X amount of time. Acting as a tutor, create a learning plan that matches that timeline and will teach me the best practices and excellent habits.
Articles / Industry News
📖 🎧 Articles/Graphics/Podcasts/Posts On Our Radar (sorted by type - Bolded denotes individuals)
Brighthire and Harvard Business Review’s Job Interviews Aren’t Evaluating the Right Skills (article)
Eric Guidice / headcount365’s Benefits of Real-Time Headcount Budget Tracking (article)
Trent Cotton’s A Widening Gap in Two Key Workforce Metrics (article)
Bloomberg’s LinkedIn To Tell Job Seekers How Likely They Are to Get a Response (article)
Johnny Campbell’s Why Interviewing as We Know It Won’t Survive the AI Era (article)
Braintrust’s AI Recruiters Outperform Humans. Here's the Data (blog)
Jake Link / GoodTime’s Why Embracing Agentic AI Doesn’t Mean Losing Control In Hiring (blog)
Gem’s Gem-Workday Playbook (playbook)
Arctic Shores’ TA Disruptors’ How to start thinking more strategically in TA with Emi Beredugo (podcast)
Glenn Lindley’s TA Techscape Tool Poll (poll)
Robert Newry’s Does TA need its own “Ops” capability now? Sales, IT, Finance teams have them, so why not TA?! (post)
Zapier’s Candidate risk detector for hiring teams and AI-powered hiring material (templates)
hireEZ’s RecruitCon 2025 videos (video)
📰 Product News (sorted alphabetically)
Ashby (AiO) - Product Update: Shared Queues for Scheduling Requests, View As in Dashboards
SmartRecruiters (ATS) - Product Updates: August 2025
Paradox (Candidate Experience Agent) - Announcement: Workday signed a definitive agreement to acquire
Talent Llama (Conversational AI) - Integration: SmartRecruiters
Permanent Articles
Recruiting Operations: Dictionary & Resources
Events
Week of August 25th
Martyn Redstone’s AI Masterclass: For Recruiters & TA Professionals: The AI-Powered Recruiter Workshop
SSR’s Building Better, Equitable Hiring Systems in 2025 - Data-Minded Recruiting: Building Hiring Funnels and Choosing Candidates Without Bias
Kula’s Describe (and Hire) Your Dream Candidate: A Look at Kula’s Advanced AI Scoring
Week of September 1st
Week of September 22nd
Week of September 29th
Week of October 20th
Week of November 3rd
Job Search
DoorDash - Staff Product Manager, People Product (Talent Acquisition)
Sophos - Global Talent Acquisition Program Manager (US / Canada)
Here is the list of previously listed jobs, which may or may not be available.
Additional Resource
We consolidated this section into job search resources on our Linktree.
Boolean Strings for Specific ATS Job Search
We’ve consolidated our list of Boolean search strings for RecOps professionals to make them more accessible for everyone. Check out the list here. Kaitlyn Elting also built a generator for you if you are worried about your attention to detail.
Thank you to Steve Levy for contributing so many beautiful and Gabi Preston-Phypers for QA help. Follow both of them for excellent Boolean and sourcing content.
#YourNextHire / People Looking In the RecOps Community
Short Bio
I'm a RecOps professional who builds friction-free solutions and established the RecOps function at fast-growing startup Enjoy Technology, with additional experience leading high-volume hiring across the US and UK. As a consultant, I've fully implemented ATSs and designed effective processes for companies like Scopely, Linktree, and FLYR, earning a reputation as an 'unshakable' problem-solver.
List of roles you are looking for:
Recruiting Operations Lead
People Operations Specialist
Are you a RecOps professional looking for work? If you have 5 minutes, take the opportunity to complete this quick questionnaire. Not only will you be featured in an upcoming Roundup, it will also help us mention your name when people ask for referrals.
Here is a Google Sheet View for a list of people who were previously featured and are still looking.
🎉 Reminders and Disclaimers 🎉
If you’d like to contribute a job, an article (one you found or wrote), or if you are a company and have a product update you want featured, contact Jeremy Lyons.
Please use this form if you or someone you know would like to be featured in our #YourNextHire section. The only condition is that you are a RecOps professional.
Disclaimer #1: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and they do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company. Assumptions made in the analysis do not reflect the position of any entity other than the author. As critically thinking professionals, these views are always subject to change, revision, and rethinking at any time. They are not to be held in perpetuity.
Disclaimer #2: We are sponsor-free. No company below has paid us to advertise their products or share their open jobs. If that changes, we will deliberately call out where we stand to benefit. Additionally, sharing these opportunities and information does not imply support for these companies or their practices. Regarding jobs, we share these opportunities with the community and only post roles from the company's website. We encourage possible candidates to research each one, as their inclusion does not mean we support the companies or their values.
Until next week, Regulators 😊