👻 What’s Haunting Candidates This Spooky Season

Hey HR Pros!

It’s not just ghouls keeping workers up at night — it’s ghosting, scams, and the creeping fear of AI. As hiring heats up this quarter, new data reveals what’s truly haunting today’s job seekers — and why HR teams need to exorcise outdated practices fast.

Upcoming In This Issue:

• 🤖 AI at the Witness Table: What HR Needs to Know About AI in Workplace Investigations

• 👻 New Data | What’s Haunting Candidates This Spooky Season

• 🏠 How Much Remote Work Is Enough for Today’s Employees?

• 🎙️ Featured HR Podcast | The Role of Internships Today

 📰 Latest in HR News

• OpenAI cofounder Andrej Karpathy says it will take a decade before AI agents actually work

• KFF: Family health insurance premiums now cost more than a new Toyota Corolla Hybrid

• Meta tells some employees their jobs are being replaced by tech — read the memo

• New Pay Transparency Ruling Makes It Easier for Applicants to Sue

📚️ Weekly HR Resource Hub

Each week, we will round up the best HR reads, reports, and tools featured in HR Insights Today. Explore data-backed insights, free resources, and expert picks — all in one place.

Start here → An HR resource trusted by over 15,000 HR pros

• SSR HR Software Advisor: Trusted by thousands of HR pros, the SSR HR Software Advisor helps you find HR tools that’s right for your organization — fast, free, and backed by 40,000+ hours of HR software research. Explore now

More featured resources this week:

• PTO Statistics 2025 Survey by FlexJobs (Top reasons why some employees don’t want to take PTO)

• Navigating Politics in the Workplace Survey by Monster.com (Insights Reveal How Political Discussions Impact Careers and Workplace Comfort)

• 2025 Recruiter Nation Report by Employ (1,200+ talent leaders revealed what’s really happening in hiring.)

🤖 AI at the Witness Table: What HR Needs to Know About AI in Workplace Investigations

When internal investigations kick off, getting the right questions and the right people in the room is critical. Generative AI is starting to quietly step in — not to replace investigators, but to sharpen their focus.

But HR pros need to also know the risks of hallucinations, privacy gaps, and legal gray zones which means AI’s role must be tightly defined and heavily supervised.

Key Insights for HR Pros

• 🧠 AI boosts prep efficiency: AI can flag witnesses to interview and help brainstorm tough questions, streamlining early investigative steps.

• 💰 Transcription trade-offs: Manual notes are tedious, but AI-generated transcripts aren’t yet accurate enough to replace them fully — for now.

• 🔒 Privacy isn’t guaranteed: Even enterprise AI tools could expose sensitive info if data isn’t anonymized — or if vendors are subpoenaed.

• ⚖️ Regulation is catching up: California, Colorado, and NYC are leading the charge in regulating AI’s role in employment investigations.

read the full 764-word article here

👻 New Data | What’s Haunting Today’s Candidates This Spooky Season

In today’s labor market, job seekers are having to dodge scams, ghosting, and algorithmic gatekeepers. These aren’t just isolated frustrations but they’re patterns HR professionals need to understand if they want to build better, more human hiring experiences.

The data shows clearly: candidates are rejecting toxic cultures, distrusting remote flexibility claims, and walking away when red flags show up early.

Here’s what workers are actually dealing with — and why HR leaders should pay close attention.

Key Insights from the 2025 Job Search Report

• 🚨 Scams are surging: 27% of job seekers have fallen for scams; 12% have been scammed more than once — trust is eroding fast.

• 👻 Ghosting is rampant: 50% of candidates report being ghosted by employers, contributing to deep frustration and mistrust in the process.

• 🤖 AI fear is real: 48% fear losing their jobs to AI; meanwhile, 41% feel pressure to be constantly “on” to stay competitive.

• 🏃‍♀️ Culture makes or breaks offers: 74% would quit due to toxic culture; 70% reject offers because of low pay or poor benefits.

read the full 1,197-word article here

HR LOLs

🏠 How Much Remote Work Is Enough for Today’s Employees?

The dust has finally settled on the remote work revolution. What began as an emergency response has matured into a stable, lasting hybrid model.

Work-from-home days have plateaued nationwide, and employee preferences are now shaping workplace strategy more than pandemic policy.

Key Insights

• 🏡 Remote work has leveled off: U.S. workers now spend 27% of paid days at home — a dramatic jump from 5% pre-pandemic.

• 🪞 Flexibility gap still exists: Employees want about half a day more at home per week than employers currently allow, impacting satisfaction.

• 💼 Not all industries are equal: Finance, tech, and professional services lead remote adoption; retail and hospitality remain mostly on-site.

• 🧠 Preference = satisfaction: Workers whose remote schedules align with their preferences report significantly higher job satisfaction levels.

read the full 799-word article here

🎙️ Featured HR Podcast | The Role of Internships Today

You can also watch the video here.

Key Insights from This Episode:

• 🔧 Interns need real work from day one (02:14)
  600+ interns spent 80% of their time on billable client projects — building skills and adding value immediately.

• 🤝 HR sets the guardrails — teams own the experience (07:52)
  Interns are managed by their teams, not HR, mirroring the real employee journey while developing first-time supervisors.

• 💬 Transparency beats disappointment (22:28)
  Clear, early messaging around full-time offer potential builds trust and protects employer brand — even for interns who don’t return.

• 📈 Internships drive retention — and reputation (15:17)
  Over 50% of full-time entry-level hires at Kimley Horn come directly from their summer internship cohort.