SYDNEY, Australia – 3 March 2025: Australian businesses now spend an average of 9.56 days sorting through irrelevant applications per each open role, due to the rising popularity of AI-generated resumes. This is one of the main findings from new research among 506 businesses in Australia commissioned by Remote, a leading global HR platform for remote employment. The research shows that Australian organisations are facing a growing crisis in efficiently filling roles — amid surging application volumes, persistent local talent shortages, and fast-changing workforce dynamics.
The Talent Hunt: An Evolving Challenge In the AI-era
The modern job market is more chaotic than ever, with both job seekers and employers facing major challenges accelerated by AI. Many people are struggling to find work, while businesses are overwhelmed by a flood of applications. A quarter of businesses say they frequently receive more applicants than they can handle and 83% have received AI-generated resumes in the past six months which contain false information.This overflow of applicants stands somewhat in contrast to many almost one-third of businesses (31%) in Australia who are still struggling to find candidates with the right skills. The rise of AI-driven job applications and automated hiring tools has made it easier for people to apply in bulk, but harder for employers to sift through candidates and for job seekers to get noticed.
The surge in AI-assisted resumes from unqualified candidates leads to 48% of businesses being forced to adopt a shortcut-driven approach, reducing the time spent reviewing each application due to the sheer workload, potentially overlooking strong talent and not giving every applicant the time and attention they deserve. The ease with which AI enables job seekers to generate multiple applications has led some to take a scattergun approach to their search. Consequently, 54% of recruiters reported a surge in under-qualified applicants which is a significant issue for 64% of Australian businesses.
How Can Businesses Leverage AI to Address These Growing Challenges?
With 87% of Australian businesses expecting to hire more staff this year, companies are deploying a variety of tactics to find high quality candidates. While AI is at the heart of some of these issues, over a quarter (26%) of Australian businesses are using AI technology in the recruiting process to help with screening or matching candidates to combat the overflow of applications. Additional measures that companies are deploying to help with growing recruitment challenges include implementing pre-screening assessments (30%), partnering with specialised recruiting firms (22%) or revisiting qualifications for roles (25%).
New technologies have transformed the way businesses access talent globally while also expanding opportunities for job seekers through remote employment,” said Job van der Voort, CEO and co-founder of Remote. “While global access to talent is a major advantage, the surge in AI-driven tools and mass-apply tactics have led to application overload, making it harder for HR teams to identify top candidates. The key is not rejecting AI, but using it strategically — we’re seeing more teams leverage AI to streamline hiring, verify skills, and cut through the noise, ensuring they connect with the right talent efficiently.”
—END
Methodology
The research was conducted by Censuswide on behalf of Remote in August 2024 and is based on interviews with 4,126 business leaders (director level and above) with decision making responsibility for the recruitment of staff across Australia, the USA, UK, Germany, France, The Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, South Korea and Japan.
About Remote
Talent is everywhere — opportunity is not. Remote’s mission is to create opportunity everywhere, empowering employers to find and hire the best talent and enabling individuals to build financial and personal freedom. Businesses around the world use Remote to hire, manage, and pay their globally distributed workforces, simply and compliantly. Remote was founded in 2019 by Job van der Voort and Marcelo Lebre and is backed by leading investors including SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Accel, Sequoia, Index Ventures, Two Sigma Ventures, General Catalyst, and B Capital.
