AI Replacing Resume Reviews at Handshake

Handshake's AI-Powered Talent Matching transformed their traditional recruiting platform by automating the most tedious aspects of hiring while improving match quality.

Garrett Lord, Handshake's CEO, identified a fundamental inefficiency in the traditional hiring process: hiring managers manually reviewing hundreds of resumes and candidates writing custom cover letters for each application. This labor-intensive process was ripe for disruption through AI.

Handshake developed two key AI-powered solutions to address these pain points:

AI Interviewers: These automated systems collect information about candidates' skills and experiences in a conversational format. Rather than forcing candidates to customize resumes and cover letters for each position, the AI interviewer extracts relevant information in a standardized way that's both easier for candidates and more useful for employers.
Work Simulation Experiences: Instead of relying solely on resume credentials, Handshake created simulations that allow candidates to demonstrate their abilities directly. This helps employers identify the best candidates based on actual capabilities rather than just listed qualifications.

The implementation required Handshake to leverage their existing network of 18 million professionals, including 500,000 PhDs and 3 million master's students. Their decade of trust with this audience gave them a significant advantage in rolling out these new AI tools.

The results have been transformative. As Lord explains: "The hiring manager process - reviewing 200 resumes - are you kidding me? I'm gonna sit there and review 200 resumes? Not a chance five years from now." Similarly, "students manually making cover letters - not a chance."

This approach is creating what Lord describes as a "step function improvement in matching" that saves employers "in the aggregate, billions of dollars over time" while making "the experience way better for students."

The key insight is that AI doesn't just automate existing processes - it fundamentally reimagines them. By focusing on skills assessment and work simulation rather than credential filtering, Handshake is building a more efficient and effective talent marketplace that benefits both sides of the equation.