Talent News Round-Up: Tech Hiring Crisis, Cautious Markets, and Agentic AI
Staying updated on the latest workforce trends is crucial for TA leaders and HR professionals. This week, we delve into three significant developments shaping the talent landscape and get SocialTalent’s CEO, Johnny Campbell’s first-hand takes on these pieces.
- People Matters: An Indian tech firm interviewed 450 out of 12,000 applicants and hired none—highlighting the risks of “vibe coding” in the age of AI.
- HR Brew: Only 21% of employers plan to increase hiring in late 2025, with healthcare as the outlier in an otherwise cautious market.
- HBR: Most organizations are unprepared for the risks of agentic AI—raising the stakes for ethical, secure, and well-governed deployment.
Join us as we explore these pivotal insights and their implications for the future of work.
1. 12,000 applied, 450 interviewed, 0 hired: India’s tech hiring crisis, where AI can’t help
Source: People Matters
An Indian tech company received 12,000 applications for junior developer roles—but hired none. Despite allowing AI tools like ChatGPT during coding tests, most candidates couldn’t explain their solutions, exposing a crisis of “vibe coding”—copying AI-generated code without true understanding. The viral Reddit post has reignited debate over AI’s role in hiring, with experts urging both job seekers to focus on fundamentals and employers to rethink how they assess genuine skill.
Johnny Campbell’s take on this:
“This is fascinating, not because it’s a surprise, it’s just a surprise it isn’t happening more! It sounds like this company actually has a rigorous interview process and doesn’t want to hire coders who don’t understand the code. Vibe coding is definitely a thing but employers want the veebee’s to be able to explain the code, not just produce it. In this they’re right! Show this post to your hiring managers to demonstrate just how much work now has to go into assessing talent when the volume of applicants explodes!“
2. Few Employers Plan To Increase Hiring In The Second Half Of 2025
Source: HR Brew
Despite summer’s arrival, hiring remains cool. An HR Brew survey shows that only 21% of employers plan to increase hiring in late 2025, with economic uncertainty cited as the top reason. Smaller businesses are more cautious, while healthcare stands out as the most optimistic sector. Government and nonprofits expect the sharpest declines, driven by funding cuts and federal hiring freezes. Recruiting challenges include rising candidate expectations, fewer qualified applicants, tight budgets, and balancing speed with quality.
Johnny Campbell’s take on this:
“Uncertainty is the only certainty these days and it’s not just the Trump administration’s wild policies, but with a war still raging in Europe and one about to kick off in the Middle East, expect this to continue for the rest of the year. Why is Healthcare doing well? It doesn’t need a strong economy to grow, people in the Western World are just growing older, it’s a demographic fact! It may be the only truly resistant sector left!“
3. Organizations Aren’t Ready for the Risks of Agentic AI
Source: HBR
As AI rapidly evolves from narrow models to complex multi-agentic systems, organizational risk skyrockets. Existing AI risk programs aren’t built to handle the escalating ethical, operational, and security challenges. Reid Blackman warns that companies must honestly assess their AI maturity, invest in deep employee training, build robust monitoring and intervention systems, and make careful go/no-go deployment decisions. Proactively addressing these risks now is crucial—waiting for failure could bring catastrophic financial, reputational, and legal consequences.
Johnny Campbell’s take on this:
“Jump to the 5 stages in this article and you’ll instantly be terrified and (perhaps) excited all at once. Or maybe it’s just me that excited; I guarantee that your risk governance people ARE NOT! The bottom line is that we must engage with AI if we are to better understand it and mitigate its risks and bias. This article serves as an excellent starting point!“
