How to Hire with A.I. (Without Getting It Wrong) — LIVE! with Kate Young and Ben Hawkes

Guests: Kate Young and Ben Hawkes — co-founders of The Hiring Science Studio, assessment science experts with decades of experience designing hiring processes for FTSE 100 companies, UK government departments, and global talent assessment.

A bad hire costs a small business close to £14,000. Yet when recruitment goes wrong, business owners rarely blame technology. Instead, they blame rushed decisions, poor judgement, and a sudden flood of generic, AI-generated applications.

So, does A.I. actually improve recruitment, or does it just make the same hiring mistakes faster?

In this LIVE episode, Al and Leanne sit down with Kate Young and Ben Hawkes to break down how small businesses can safely navigate AI in hiring, spot hidden algorithmic bias, and protect their bottom line. From the real cost of bad hires to the AI application flood, they share practical strategies for using AI sensibly — plus their 5 To-Dos and 3 To-Never-Dos for small business recruitment.

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Top 3 Takeaways

1. Don't let AI make the decision. AI is brilliant at drafting, summarising, and challenging your thinking — but it should never be the one choosing between candidates. That's a human judgement call, and outsourcing it is where the risk lives.

2. Put your AI policy up front. Tell candidates how they can (and can't) use AI in your process before they apply. It won't stop everyone, but it sets clear expectations and gives you a defensible position if things go wrong.

3. Audit your tools before you trust them. You don't need an expensive compliance team. Ask vendors what their AI is trained on, whether it's been bias-tested, and look for boring, detailed technical manuals — they're a sign of real rigour.

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🔥 What We Cover

The Real Cost of Bad Hires Why small business owners rush interviews and end up paying the ultimate financial price — and why the blame rarely lands on the technology.

The AI Application Flood How candidates use ChatGPT to polish CVs, why the "good-looking CV" is now a red flag, and what business owners should actually screen for instead.

Where AI Earns Its Place Sensible, low-risk uses of AI that save time without sacrificing human quality — including using it to challenge your own hiring assumptions.

5 To-Dos & 3 To-Never-Dos The ultimate rules for using AI in small business recruitment, from "ask it to be adversarial" to "never upload personally identifying information."

Auditing Your Process How to perform a quick, realistic check on your existing hiring tools — including the "boring manual" test for spotting genuinely robust vendors.

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💬 Live Audience Question

"Are CVs defunct?" Ben and Kate weigh in on whether the AI-generated application flood has killed the CV — and why they think it might actually be heading for a renaissance.

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More From Kate Young & Ben Hawkes

The Hiring Science Studio

• Website: https://www.thehiringsciencestudio.com

Kate Young

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-young-1359483/

Ben Hawkes

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benhawkes/

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Connect With Us

Get in touch, book a call, or find Al and Leanne on LinkedIn — all in one place: truthliesandwork.com/connect

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Mental health support: findahelpline.com — UK: Samaritans 116 123 · Mind 0300 123 3393 — US: 988 — Australia: Lifeline 13 11 14

Truth, Lies & Work is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network.

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