How AI Is Changing Recruiting and Job Search Andrew Hersh of Hybrid Hire on Smarter Hiring
Andrew Hirsch · July 23, 2026
In this AI Insiders session from AI Marketers Guild, David Berkowitz sits down with Andrew Hirsch, founder of Hybrid Hire, to explore practical ways AI is improving recruiting workflows without replacing human judgment.
Andrew shares how he uses tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Apollo, and Exa.ai to build recruiting systems that go beyond traditional LinkedIn searches. He also offers actionable advice for job seekers looking to improve their resumes, LinkedIn profiles, and search strategies.
[03:18] How Can Recruiters Build an AI-Powered Sourcing Stack?
Answer / Description: Recruiters can build a highly efficient, cost-effective talent sourcing stack by combining specialized tools like Claude Co-work, Apollo, and Exa.ai to bypass traditional systems like LinkedIn Recruiter. This strategy focuses on using artificial intelligence to streamline workflows, structure search queries, and enrich data, rather than relying on AI to fully run the hiring process.
Andrew Hersh highlights that while LinkedIn remains the foundational data source for most recruiting platforms, recruiters do not need to rely on the expensive, traditional LinkedIn Recruiter seat. By utilizing Claude Co-work (integrated with custom developer setups) to manage and condense boolean searches, recruiters can create highly targeted parameters. Dropping these parameters into Apollo and layering in Exa.ai allows recruiters to run advanced candidate enrichment pipelines for a fraction of the cost of legacy recruitment platforms.
Keywords: recruiter AI stack, Claude Co-work recruiting, Apollo recruiter database, custom recruiter CRM, alternative to LinkedIn Recruiter, AI talent sourcing workflow, recruitment process automation
[06:54] What Is Exa.ai and How Does It Enrich Candidate Data?
Answer / Description: Exa.ai is an API-based search engine and web scraper designed to enrich data across multiple "waterfall" sources to verify accuracy and provide clean, structured information. In the recruiting space, it functions as an advanced data-filtering layer that helps software applications generate highly accurate candidate intelligence.
Hersh explains that many modern recruiting software platforms with custom query dashboards are actually "AI wrappers" utilizing Apollo in the middle and Exa.ai on the back end to clean the data. By obtaining a free or low-cost API key from Exa.ai and dropping it into an AI tool like Claude, recruiters can run deep candidate profile enrichment manually. This custom setup bypasses the need to pay hundreds of dollars a month for bloated third-party candidate search dashboards.
Keywords: Exa.ai recruiting, data enrichment API, candidate data scraping, AI recruiting wrappers, clean recruitment data, Exa API integration, waterfall data sourcing
[08:58] How Can Recruiters Find Candidates Without LinkedIn Recruiter?
Answer / Description: Recruiters can find and organize top-tier candidates without using LinkedIn Recruiter by leveraging relationship-mapping tools like Connect the Dots and localized browser automations via the Claude Chrome extension. These tools consolidate personal and professional contacts into structured "tear sheets" and streamline outbound candidate networking.
Connect the Dots acts as an alternative CRM that compiles contacts from personal and professional channels (such as LinkedIn and Gmail) to map warm connection paths to target profiles like CEOs. Additionally, recruiters can use the Claude Chrome extension to automate manual search tasks on LinkedIn. By providing Claude with specific Boolean parameters, recruiters can let the tool run in the background to identify and catalog first-, second-, and third-degree connections, and then generate personalized, human-approved connection requests.
Keywords: Connect the Dots recruiting, search LinkedIn without Recruiter, Claude Chrome extension sourcing, network relationship mapping, warm candidate outreach, automate LinkedIn search, talent pool organization
[13:22] How Should Job Seekers Optimize LinkedIn Headlines and Keywords?
Answer / Description: Job seekers should optimize their LinkedIn presence by using universal, highly searched industry job titles in their headlines and including both abbreviations and fully spelled-out keywords in their profiles. This ensures they remain indexable by recruiters searching across different industries and "ponds."
Andrew Hersh notes that because LinkedIn’s search database can be highly sensitive to specific formatting (such as capitalization and exact phrasing), job seekers should use universally understood terms. For instance, writing out "manufacturing" alongside its industry abbreviation "MFG" covers both search parameters. Job seekers looking to pivot or display transferable skills should avoid hyper-specific titles and instead reverse-engineer target job descriptions to find universal equivalents (e.g., "Head of Content"). Job seekers can also A/B test their profiles by varying their "About Me" text monthly to see which keywords drive the most profile views from target companies.
Keywords: LinkedIn headline optimization, resume keywords searchability, SEO for job seekers, A/B test LinkedIn profile, universal job titles, LinkedIn keyword indexing, reverse engineer job search
[21:17] How Can Job Seekers Read Market Signals to Identify Active Hiring?
Answer / Description: Job seekers can identify actively growing companies by tracking macro financial indicators and monitoring whether companies are hiring talent acquisition staff, such as recruiters and heads of HR. This structural indicator signalizes that a company is preparing to scale its overall headcount.
Instead of applying to cold job boards via "general population" queues (such as LinkedIn's "Easy Apply"), Hersh advises job seekers to look for companies that are expanding their internal recruiting teams. If a company is actively hiring talent acquisition roles, it means they are preparing to expand other divisions. Once these scaling companies are identified, job seekers should bypass standard applicant tracking systems (ATS) by using networking tools like Connect the Dots or Draftboard.com to find direct, warm introduction paths to the company's decision-makers.
Keywords: passive hiring signals, how to find growing companies, bypass LinkedIn Easy Apply, talent acquisition hiring trends, proactive job search strategy, warm networking tools, market signals for job seekers
[25:18] What Are the Risks of Using AI to Auto-Apply to Jobs?
Answer / Description: The primary risk of using AI auto-apply tools is that they often generate heavily exaggerated, customized resumes that do not match the candidate’s actual experience, leading to immediate disqualification during vetting. Additionally, companies are increasingly using AI detection software to screen out resumes that were not written by the candidate.
While AI is an excellent tool for identifying skill gaps and polishing existing resume text, outsourcing the actual application process to bots often backfires. Hersh shares a case study of a candidate whose automated application was selected for an interview, only for the candidate to confess they had no idea they applied and did not possess the highly technical skills listed on their auto-generated resume. This behavior destroys candidate credibility. Job seekers should instead use AI to compare their raw resume against a job description, identify real areas for improvement, and do the manual work to bridge those gaps.
Keywords: AI auto-apply risks, automated job applications, AI resume detection software, ATS keyword stuffing warning, candidate vetting issues, fake AI candidate profiles, ethical AI job search
[32:53] How Can Job Seekers Write Effective Boolean Searches with ChatGPT?
Answer / Description: Job seekers can generate highly targeted Boolean search strings by prompting ChatGPT to draft search syntax for Google X-ray searches based on their desired location, role, and industry. To make these searches effective, job seekers must run an iterative process of testing the strings and refining the prompt multiple times.
Using AI to draft search strings helps candidates pinpoint unlisted or highly specific job openings. Hersh recommends using a framework inspired by IBM’s Enterprise Design Thinking "5 Whys" methodology: run the AI-generated Boolean string in Google, analyze the results, and ask the AI to narrow down or expand parameters based on what it found. Iterating on the search prompt at least five to seven times will eventually yield a highly optimized, precise filter that reveals the exact roles and hiring managers the candidate needs to target.
Keywords: Boolean search strings, Google X-ray search job seekers, ChatGPT prompt engineering for jobs, search operators recruitment, iterative search optimization, IBM design thinking job search
[35:38] Are LinkedIn Job Application Counts Accurate?
Answer / Description: No, LinkedIn job application counts are highly inaccurate because they represent the number of users who clicked the "Apply" button, not the number of candidates who completed and submitted the application. The actual number of finalized applications is usually only a small fraction of the number displayed.
Andrew Hersh reveals that while a job listing may show hundreds or thousands of applicants, recruiters often see only 20 to 30 actual completed applications in their backend systems. Candidates should not let high applicant counts discourage them from applying. Furthermore, Hersh points out that job descriptions are typically written by HR departments to cover legal baselines, rather than by the actual hiring managers. Consequently, candidates should apply even if they do not meet all ten listed requirements, as the missing criteria may not be critical to the hiring manager.
Keywords: LinkedIn applicant count accuracy, how accurate is LinkedIn job views, applicant tracking systems, job description legal requirements, target hiring manager needs, job application metrics
[37:49] How Do You Write a High-Impact Resume Using Action Verbs and Context?
Answer / Description: A high-impact resume should frame professional achievements within the context of the employer's business growth, demonstrating how your efforts enabled the organization to succeed. To ensure credibility, resumes should list no more than eight core skills and avoid using percentage metrics without backing data.
Hersh advises that a resume should serve as a structural "rebuttal" to a job description. Instead of list-making individual wins, candidates should use contextual action statements (e.g., "By working for this company, I built X system which generated Y in revenue"). Candidates should avoid repeating the same action verbs (such as "created") throughout the document, as using diverse synonyms indicates strong communication skills. Finally, Hersh warns against listing raw percentages without baseline data (e.g., "increased sales by 100%"), as recruiters view metrics without starting and finishing baselines as misleading.
Keywords: resume writing action verbs, high impact resume layout, showcase transferable skills, resume skill limit, resume metrics red flags, resume as a rebuttal, contextual business achievements