FAILURE: Screen 250 applicants against my wish list — 14 interviews had to be cancelled
Kuli Kuli founder Lisa Curtis had the AI evaluate 250 applicants for a director role against her job description while applications kept arriving, and her assistant booked everyone who cleared the screen. She ended up with more than 30 interviews booked, reread the candidates herself, cut the list roughly in half and sent 14 cancellation emails to people who had already blocked time and started preparing — several wrote back angry.
This one went wrong. Read what happened so you don’t hit the same problem.
How it works
- Post the role with a job description that is a responsibilities list and experience wish list, with no defined outcomes
- The AI evaluates each applicant against that description
- Her EA books every candidate who clears the screen while 150 more applications arrive and get screened
- Calendar passes 30 interviews
- She stops the process, rereads the top candidates herself and cuts the list roughly in half
- 14 cancellation emails go out and angry replies come back
Why it’s worth knowing
Nothing broke — the AI did exactly what it was asked. The failure was a job description with no outcomes for it to screen against.
Where it’s from
Summarized from a public post on inc.com. See the original ↗