Modern

Recruiter

May 1, 2026

In this issue

The guide to candidate fraud

AI in hiring tech needs structure

Benchmark to avoid risk

AI adoption grows, trust shrinks

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Looks can be deceiving – especially in your pipeline

Recruiters are starting to take on a role no one really signed up for: detective. As application volume rises and AI tools become easier to use, it’s getting harder to tell what’s real – and easier for deception to slip through. What used to be occasional resume inflation is now showing up as identity manipulation, AI-assisted interviews and coordinated activity in real pipelines.

And it’s not just a hiring issue – companies report losing an average of $28,000 per fraudulent hire when you factor in investigation, lost productivity and remediation.

In this edition of Modern Recruiter, we dig into candidate fraud – and what it means for your hiring process. We’re also introducing The recruiter’s guide to candidate fraud, built to help you identify where risk is entering your funnel and how to respond without slowing down hiring.

As you read, pressure-test your process: where are you relying on intuition over consistent signals? Do you have a clear way to flag and escalate suspicious patterns?

Explore the guide to spot early warning signs, validate candidates more effectively and strengthen your process before risk becomes a real problem.

Explore the guide

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Why AI in hiring tech fails without structure

“AI performs best when it has constraints. Without that, it’s effectively guessing – and doing so at scale.” Greenhouse Senior Director of Product Management, Nkem Nwankwo, breaks down how AI can help you move faster, but without structure, it also makes it easier for bad signals to slip through. What can you do? Start by creating a structured interview plan with defined competencies if you want to see success.

Get more tips

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Benchmark your hiring to manage risk and avoid overload

Hiring has intensified – and that’s making fraud easier to miss. Application volume is up while recruiter capacity is down. When review time shrinks, signals get skimmed and suspicious patterns go unnoticed. Use The Hire Standard to understand where your team is under the most pressure. Compare volume per recruiter and time-to-fill, then add checkpoints and standardize how your team flags suspicious activity.

Download now

The Recruiter’s Desk: Fraud risks are showing up in real pipelines

Candidate fraud isn’t hypothetical anymore – it’s showing up in everyday recruiting. According to Greenhouse data, 91% of recruiters report encountering candidate deception, from AI-assisted interviews to identity manipulation. And as defense contracting recruiting expert Tommy Weinert put it in The Recruiting Roadshow, “The number one way that spies get into companies… is resume submission.” Here’s some expert advice to remember:

Strengthen process, not just tools: “You can’t pile on great technology onto a bad process,” Tommy mentioned. Without consistent evaluation, it’s harder to validate signals or catch manipulation early.

Look for inconsistencies as red flags: Fraud rarely shows up all at once. Instead, it appears in small mismatches – between resumes, profiles and interview answers – that only become clear when you connect signals across stages.

Validate beyond the resume: As Tommy puts it, recruiters are now “on the front lines.” That means going deeper than surface-level signals. Probe for real decisions, revisit answers for consistency and escalate anything that doesn’t hold up across stages before it becomes a risk.

As AI adoption grows, trust shrinks

According to TechCrunch, 76% of Americans say say they rarely or only sometimes trust AI outputs. That low trust and high adoption gap creates a perfect environment for vulnerability and risk – and heightens the need for better validation.

See the data

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See how to improve hiring outcomes in practice

Join this live demo webinar on May 28. You’ll see how Greenhouse can help make better decisions, reduce noise, surface stronger signals and candidate fraud risks.

Sign up now

Thank you

Thank you for reading this edition of Modern Recruiter! We’ll see you next time for more must-reads, events and open jobs to keep you updated on the latest news and insights in the industry.

Have questions or suggestions? Reply to this email.

Best,

Micah Gebreyes

Senior Manager, Content Marketing

Greenhouse Software, Inc.
228 Park Ave. S PMB 14744
New York, New York 10003-1502