While applications to open job openings is surging, trust and verification become a bigger part of the hiring equation.
More applicants do not always mean better options
Recruiting teams have more ways than ever to reach candidates. They also have more profiles, automated applications, and targeted resumes to sort through. For an urgent opening, the volume may look encouraging at first. Yet the real question is whether the people behind those applications have the experience, interest, availability the position requires and worse, are they even real?
Trust has become a real hiring issue
iHire's 2026 State of Online Recruiting report found that 23.6% of surveyed employers had received at least one fake or fraudulent applicant during the prior year.
Based on our experience with tech openings, that number feels very low. Elevated Hires finds that a vast majority of candidates applying for tech roles are fake. It becomes a major time suck for us as recruiters. When it comes to our financial roles, or manufacturing openings, the number drastically reduces. But still, we remain vigilant.
Also, the report found that many job seekers are being dooped by fake or misleading listings themselves. So this is not a problem on just one side of the hiring process.
A more useful screening process
Start with a clear, accurate and specific job description. Verify identity and professional history through appropriate, consistent steps. Ask candidates to discuss concrete projects, anecdotal stories, and specific results.
Here’s another key. Explain work-location and employment-authorization requirements clearly, and assess them consistently under applicable law. If it’s a remote position, make sure they can attend an on-boarding event, on-site.
None of these tactics are meant to make the process more difficult or the candidate uncomfortable. Rather the transparency tends to make serious candidates more comfortable.
Why recruiting relationships still matter
A recruiter who has spent time understanding a person's motivations, background, and career direction can add context that a resume cannot. That does not replace independent verification or technical evaluation. It helps hiring teams spend more time on credible, relevant conversations and less on noise.
And with the challenge of fruadulant candidates, Elevated Hires has created better, outside-the-box solutions to make the process more efficient and effective.
The bottom line
AI can help identify more people. It cannot, on its own, decide which person is right for a specific team. At Elevated Hires, we believe the strongest hiring process combines useful technology with real conversations, sound judgment, and emotional intelligence.
Source: iHire, “The State of Online Recruiting 2026.” https://www.ihire.com/resourcecenter/employer/pages/the-state-of-online-recruiting-2026
Elevated Hires | www.elevatedhires.com
