First Recruiting

Financial markets are lifting broader economic sentiment — but the foundation may not be as solid as it appears. According to CNBC, rising stock values are propping up confidence among the wealthy, while a shift in the labor market could swiftly change the game.
How are you keeping tabs on labor-market risks in your sector (or for your clients) — and how might you prepare if things take a turn?

Stock investors are buoying the economy. A labor market breakdown could end that Government labor data could paint a darker economic picture, leading to a market slide that would throw cold water on the outlook of those who are well off.

No official jobs numbers this month — leaving economists, businesses and markets without their usual compass.

How concerned are you about the economy when vital data — like the monthly jobs report — isn’t being published?

Shutdown means another missed jobs report Friday. Here's what it probably would have shown Jobs Friday won't be happening again this week as the record-long government shutdown has resulted in a lack of official data.

A veteran recruiter with 38 years in the business shares the one cover letter that made him pick up the phone immediately.

What made it so memorable? It told a story. It connected the applicant’s experience to the role in a striking, authentic way.

What’s one way you try to make your cover letter more than just a summary of your résumé?

I've been a recruiter for 38 years. This is the one cover letter I'll never forget. I called the guy's number right away. I didn't even read his résumé. This is the only cover letter I've ever responded to like this.

When every applicant is polished to perfection, how do you stay real?
This article argues that AI-enhanced headshots and profiles are becoming the norm in job applications.
Is this a level playing field… or does it raise new questions about authenticity and what “professional” even means?

AI headshots are changing the way job seekers are seen and get hired in tough labor market In a competitive job market, a good headshot can make a big difference. That's leading to a wave of AI headshots on LinkedIn and other hiring platforms.

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/15/jpmorgan-chase-goldman-sachs-ai-hiring.html

Big banks like JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs are already using AI to hire fewer people Even during a blockbuster year for Wall Street as trading and investment banking spins off billions of dollars in revenue, the banks are hiring fewer people.

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/14/ai-infrastructure-boom-masks-potential-us-recession-analyst-warns.html

The AI boom is lifting the stock market, but it may be masking a weaker economy AI spending is powering growth in GDP and profits but experts warn the rest of the U.S. economy may be weakening.

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/08/how-ai-is-poised-to-disrupt-the-job-market.html

AI is poised to disrupt the job market — some roles could 'radically transform,' report finds Artificial intelligence is most likely to impact white-collar jobs, while those requiring more physical labor and intervention are relatively insulated.

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7366174692803616769

How to stop AI agents going rogue | First Recruiting, LLC https://lnkd.in/dQhktf47

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg885p923jo

Millions of websites to get 'game-changing' AI bot blocker Publishers including Condé Nast and Sky News have welcomed the new tech from internet infrastructure firm, Cloudflare.

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/01/ceo-the-no-1-question-that-cuts-through-the-bs-at-job-interviews-people-who-ask-it-are-stunned.html

CEO: The No. 1 question that 'cuts through the BS' at job interviews. It 'catches managers off guard—but that's why it works' CEO and Harvard-trained career expert Suzy Welch says there's one question you should never leave then job interview without asking. The answers are often "more honest, less rehearsed, and far more revealing," she says.

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/23/salary-needed-to-live-comfortably-in-2025.html

Here’s the salary Americans say they now need to earn to live comfortably Nearly half of Americans said they would need to earn a six-figure income to feel financially secure, according to a new Bankrate report.

Dawid Moczadło, co-founder of Vidoc Security Lab (right) interviews a candidate (left) who appears to be using AI software to disguise their face

Back in March, cyber security firm founder Dawid Moczadło posted a recording of a job interview he’d conducted.

The candidate’s appearance blurred strangely and he refused to put his hand in front of his face when asked too. Dawid suspected the candidate was disguising his face using artificial intelligence and shut down the call.

He told me he believed the person could be a North Korean IT worker in disguise. For BBC Trending, we’ve spoken to North Korean defectors who have insider knowledge of a secret scheme run by the government in Pyongyang.

It’s estimated that thousands of North Korean IT workers are deployed to China, Russia and countries in South-East Asia and Africa to fraudulently secure remote work by concealing their real identity to raise money for Kim Jong Un’s regime. Last year one firm was hacked after accidentally hiring a North Korean cyber-criminal.

We sent Dawid’s video to digital forensics experts at Get Real Security who confirmed it’s highly likely the candidate was using some kind of face-swapping or AI filter.

Although we don’t know for certain that the person Dawid interviewed was definitely part of this scheme, we do know cyber security and software development professionals are becoming inundated with suspicious candidates. One tech founder I spoke to believes he’s interviewed up to 30 North Koreans in disguise.