The Artisan Recruiter
Why AI May Make Recruiting Human Again
I have noticed that something interesting is happening in our society. Just when technology is making it possible to create almost anything instantly, people seem to be rediscovering the value of craftsmanship.
I have taken up film photography again after decades of only using digital cameras. A local vinyl shop has opened, and the owner is surprised by the interest. Handmade furniture commands premium prices even though Chinese and other Asian mass-produced alternatives are available. And data from the American Booksellers Association shows that between 2020 and 2025, the number of independent bookstores in the U.S. jumped by 70%.
These trends may seem contradictory. If technology can make things faster, cheaper, and easier, why would people deliberately choose slower and more demanding alternatives?
The answer may be that abundance changes what we value. When something is scarce, we value access. When something becomes abundant, we begin to value craftsmanship, quality, authenticity, and the human effort behind the finished product.
We have seen this pattern before.
During the Industrial Revolution, factories transformed production. Furniture, clothing, tools, and household goods that once required artisans' skills could suddenly be manufactured at scale. Products became more affordable and more widely available than ever before.
Yet craftsmanship did not disappear. In many cases, it became more valuable. A handcrafted table was no longer competing against another handcrafted table. Instead, it was competing against thousands of factory-produced alternatives. The artisan’s value shifted from production to judgment, from volume to quality, and from efficiency to mastery.
I believe recruiting is approaching a similar moment.
The Industrial Recruiter
For the past three decades, recruiting has steadily evolved into an industrial process. We have made every effort to streamline, speed up, and improve efficiency. Organizations grew larger, hiring became more complex, and technology enabled talent acquisition to be managed at scale.
As a result, recruiters have been using industrial metrics like time-to-fill, cost-per-hire, sourcing activity, requisition load, and candidate throughput. The profession has adopted manufacturing thinking, in which efficiency, consistency, and scale are paramount.
Technology has sped this. By embedding AI into applicant tracking systems, sourcing platforms, candidate relationship management tools, and workflow automation, we have tried to make recruiting faster and more scalable.
However, we lost something important along the way.
Back to the Future
Many recruiters around my age remember a very different version of the profession. Before dashboards dominated every conversation and before every activity could be measured, recruiting was a relationship business. The paperwork was incidental, and none of us liked dealing with the administrative requirements.
Recruiters spent time getting to know candidates as people rather than simply evaluating them as applicants. We met candidates for lunch, attended industry events together, and maintained relationships that often spanned years. Conversations explored career aspirations, personal motivations, family considerations, and long-term goals.
The recruiter was not simply moving people through a process. The recruiter exercised judgment and focused on getting to know the person and their goals.
The best recruiters developed deep knowledge of their industries and maintained networks built over many years. They understood both their clients and their candidates at a level that enabled them to identify opportunities long before a requisition was issued. Our success was measured less by speed and more by outcomes. Did the right person join the right organization? Did the individual succeed? Were both they and their manager happy? Did the relationship endure?
In many ways, recruiting was closer to a craft than a process.
Carpenters, and Recruiters
The distinction between a craft and a process helps explain what may happen next.
Consider the difference between a factory worker and a master carpenter. The factory worker follows a predefined process designed for consistency and efficiency. The carpenter practices a craft that relies on experience, judgment, and skill.
The carpenter’s tools matter, but the tools themselves do not create the value. Two carpenters can own identical equipment and produce dramatically different results. The difference lies in their understanding of materials, their sense of design, and their ability to make hundreds of small decisions that ultimately determine the quality of the finished product.
Recruiting is no different. The most successful recruiters have never distinguished themselves through the sheer volume of resumes processed or messages sent. Their value has come from their ability to understand people, recognize potential, identify fit, and build trust. These are forms of judgment that cannot easily be reduced to a formula.
The Hung Lee Example
One of the most interesting examples of this principle can be found within our own profession. Consider the success of Hung Lee and Recruiting Brainfood.
