The Hypocrisy Behind Today's Hiring Practices

 

The modern hiring process is full of frustrations for candidates, but none are more glaring than the way some companies treat artificial intelligence. On the surface, they preach authenticity, originality, and “real human effort.” Behind the scenes, they’re automating, optimizing, and outsourcing more of the hiring pipeline than ever.

It’s a double standard that job seekers feel every day: candidates are discouraged from using AI tools, while employers rely on them at nearly every step. Now, I don't know if this is more prevalent now because more people are looking for jobs, or because more companies are using AI tools, but I hear and see the frustrating effects of these practices every day. 

Let’s  me explain a bit what I mean by these. 

First, you have companies saying “Don’t use AI to write your résumé,”… but our AI will screen it anyway

Many companies warn applicants not to use AI-generated résumés. They claim it’s dishonest, inauthentic, or somehow “unfair.” In fact, some of them will discard those who are clearly identified as having been created using AI. I don't blame them, frankly! As a hiring manager myself, I want to see the effort in it. Here’s the twist: those same companies often run every résumé through an AI-powered Applicant Tracking System (ATS) that:

• Parses your résumé
• Scores it
• Filters it
• Rejects it
• And sometimes never lets a human see it

How do I know that? More candidates, perfectly capable candidates, are rejected within minutes of submitting their applications on a daily basis. When I review their resumes, sure enough, they didn't do a good job showcasing their abilities on paper, as they have in person or verbally at least. So, candidates are told to avoid AI assistance, while employers use AI to decide whether the candidate even deserves a glance. To me, this is wrong in so many levels! 

It’s like telling students not to use calculators, then grading their work with a machine that only understands calculator-friendly formatting.

And once a resume has survived the ATS, guess what the companies are saying?  “Don’t use AI to prepare for interviews,”… but hiring managers do

Another common message: “Don’t rely on AI to prep for your interview. We want to see the real you.”

Meanwhile, hiring managers:

• Use AI to generate interview questions
• Use AI to summarize candidate profiles
• Use AI to create scoring rubrics
• Use AI to coach them on what to ask and what to look for

Some even use AI to analyze interview recordings and produce “candidate fit” scores.

Thus, candidates are expected to show up as pure, unassisted humans… while the people evaluating them are armed with algorithmic coaching and automated insights. Fair?  Think not! 

Companies often justify these actions by saying they want fairness. But fairness isn’t achieved by limiting candidates—it’s achieved by transparency and consistency.

If a hiring manager can use AI to prepare, why can’t a candidate?

If a company uses AI to screen résumés, why shouldn’t applicants use AI to optimize them?

If AI is part of the hiring ecosystem, then pretending it isn’t only disadvantages the people with the least power in the process.

And so what is the real issue? Control, not capability

The contradiction isn’t really about AI. It’s about who's at an advantage of being able to decide who gets to use it. 

Companies want the efficiency, speed, and cost savings AI provides—but they don’t want to deal with candidates who use the same tools to level the playing field. It’s a control dynamic disguised as a moral stance.

What companies should be saying

If organizations want to be honest, their message should be something like:

“We use AI in our hiring process. You’re welcome to use AI tools too—just make sure the information you provide is accurate and reflects your real experience.”

That’s it. Simple. Fair. Transparent.

Because the truth is, AI isn’t going away. Not for candidates. Not for employers. Not for anyone.

The future of hiring needs honesty, not hypocrisy. 

AI is now woven into the fabric of work. Companies use it to write job descriptions, evaluate applicants, train managers, and streamline interviews. Candidates use it to write résumés, practice interviews, and research companies.

Instead of pretending one side should stay “pure,” we should acknowledge the reality: AI is a tool. And tools are meant to be used by everyone. 

The hiring process will only become more equitable when both sides can use the same tools without stigma or secrecy. 

Speaking about honesty and transparency, guess who helped me write this blog? You got it! AI! 😄

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Improving appointment availability for your medical practice

 Action Plan to Improve Appointment Availability and Maximize Scheduling Utilization

1. Audit Your Current No-Show Data

• Run Reports: Use the electronic health record to identify no-show trends by provider, appointment type, day/time, and patient demographics.

The industry average is about 10% if yours is higher than that, you may need to implement more of these actions than other practices to be successful. If you have less than 10% no show rate, you may not have as big an issue as you think.

2. Enhance Appointment Reminders

• Automated Reminders: The Practice will use text, email, and phone reminders via tools like Athena Appointment reminders.
• Multiple Touchpoints: Send reminders 3 days before, 2 days before, and the morning of the appointment. If the patient/caregiver has yet to confirm their appointment, the front desk will place a call.
• Two-Way Communication: The Practice will encourage patients/caregivers to confirm, cancel, or reschedule directly from the reminder issued by the electronic health record. Patients will be reminded upon checking out of the need to confirm/reschedule future appointments promptly. Some practices will go as far as to place the ‘unconfirmed’ appointments in a tentative status, where if someone else needs that slot, it can be double-booked to optimize schedule utilization.

3. Offer Flexible Scheduling – The Practice should consider flexible scheduling at the time of scheduling the patient’s next appointment.

4. Implement a No-Show Policy

• Clear Communication: The Practice should post the no-show policy in several visible and highly visited areas of the office.
• Fees or Warnings: The Practice should implement a no-show fee for those habitual offenders who can be billed for such fees. Keep in mind that Medicaid recipients cannot be billed.
• Grace Periods: The Practice should allow rescheduling within a certain window to avoid penalties.

5. Train The Staff

• Scripts for Confirmations: The Practice needs to ensure front desk staff use consistent, friendly language.
• Follow-Up Protocols: The front desk will call no-shows within 24 hours to reschedule and understand barriers.
• Empathy First: The front desk staff will approach missed appointments with understanding, not blame.

8. Monitor and Adjust – The Practice needs to monitor and prepare to respond should patterns in the no-show rates change at any given moment.

• Monthly Review: Track no-show rates and interventions.
• Provider Dashboards: Share performance metrics with clinicians.
• Continuous Improvement: Test new strategies and refine based on results.

 

One thing to consider here is if you have a high no-show rate and have already implemented all these actions, you may need to consider over-scheduling or double booking to compensate for those appointments you’re missing out on. To do this, you can reduce the appointment types to 10-15 minutes instead of 20-30 minutes. This way, if someone does a no-show, you’re not dealing with a whole ½ slot that’s left empty, but a 10 or 15-minute one instead.

9. Offer walk-in hours – The practice should set aside an hour in the morning and one in the afternoon for patients without appointments but needing to be seen that same day.

·       Publish the times throughout the practice and on the website if available.

·       Notify patients of these times as they establish care with the practice.

·       Remind patients by posting regularly on social media.

10. Never turn patients away! – The practice will accommodate patients who present for services.

·       A patient who presents in person for an appointment should leave after being seen.

·       Never allow a patient to leave without being seen, regardless of what time or day they come in. I know they don’t always show up at the most opportune of times, but if increasing your numbers is what you want to do, you’re going to have to be flexible.

 

 

Improving the patient experience at your medical practice

 

Patient Experience Improvement Plan

At least twice a year your medical practice should obtain feedback from your patients/caregivers in the form of online reviews, comment cards and/or patient satisfaction surveys. Upon reviewing and analyzing the data obtained, the practice will act upon the findings by implementing the necessary strategies to ensure the patients’ satisfaction.

1. Streamline Appointment Scheduling

• Flexible Booking: Your medical practice should consider opening at least one Saturday a month to create more flexible scheduling options for the patients or opening extended hour one day during the week.
• Same-Day Access: Your medical practice should consider continuing to inform patients of the slots reserved for urgent visits or last-minute needs.
• Appointment Reminders: Use automated texts, emails, and calls to reduce confusion and no-shows.

2. Enhance Front Desk Interactions

• Warm Welcome: Train staff to greet patients/caregivers by name with a smile.
• Efficient Check-In: Your medical practice should consider enhancing the check-in process by verifying eligibility and coverage well in advance to the patients’ arrival.
• Clear Signage: Make navigation easy with visible, friendly signs.

3. Improve Wait Times and Comfort

• Monitor Wait Times: Track and address delays proactively.
• Comfortable Environment: Provide clean appropriate seating, water, Wi-Fi, and entertainment.
• Transparency: Inform patients/caregivers of delays and offer options to reschedule if needed.

4. Deliver Compassionate Clinical Care

• Active Listening: Encourage providers to listen attentively and validate patient concerns.
• Shared Decision-Making: Involve patients/caregivers in treatment choices.
• Clear Communication: Use plain language and visual aids to explain diagnoses and treatments.

5. Personalize the Experience

• Know Your Patients/caregivers: Use EHR notes to remember preferences, birthdays, or family details.
• Cultural Sensitivity: Train staff in inclusive care practices.

6. Empower Patients/caregivers Digitally

• Patient Portal Access: Your medical practice should consider encouraging patients to use the digital options available to patients/caregivers to view results, message providers, and manage appointments.
• Mobile App Integration: Increase the use of tools like patient portal for seamless engagement.
• Educational Content: Your medical practice has uploaded and shared videos, articles, and FAQs tailored to their patients/caregivers’ conditions and concerns.

7. Collect and Act on Feedback

• Comment cards: The patients/caregivers have an option to complete a suggestion/comment card anonymously to provide feedback on their visit. Those are reviewed weekly.
• On line rating: Your medical practice should consider monitoring the online ratings monthly for trends or  areas needing improvement.
• Close the Loop: Let patients/caregivers know how their feedback led to changes.

8. Monitor Progress

• All sources of feedback from patients/caregivers will be monitored on a monthly basis. Key Performance Indicator metrics such as, patient satisfaction scores, wait times, and portal usage will be monitored as well to ensure we are maximizing it’s use.

 

No hay nada de malo en querer más

 No hay nada de malo en querer más…

¡Esa es una mentira que el mundo quiere que creas!
Hay mucho de malo en la codicia. De hecho, Juan nos dice que Judas quería más, y solía “apropiarse del dinero de la bolsa.” (Juan 12:6).
Estaba reflexionando sobre esto mientras conducía al trabajo esta mañana después de dejar a mi hija en la escuela.
¿Te lo puedes imaginar? Quédate conmigo un momento mientras te comparto una experiencia personal.

Recientemente he pasado por un proceso que ha puesto a prueba mi fe de una manera que nunca antes había experimentado. Durante los últimos 8 meses, Dios me ha pedido que le entregue mi situación, pero como alguien que ha tenido que defenderse emocionalmente desde los 7 años (algún día compartiré mi testimonio), tengo un serio problema al permitir que alguien más tenga control sobre mi corazón.

Ha sido un constante ir y venir entre nosotros—Él pidiéndome que le entregue las cosas, y yo diciendo “ok,” pero luego queriendo decirle cómo hacerlo, cuándo hacerlo y qué debe hacer. Bueno, sabemos que eso no es realmente entregarlo todo, ¿verdad?

Hace un par de semanas, me encontré nuevamente en mi carro, que parece ser el único lugar donde tengo algo de tiempo a solas últimamente, y sentí al Espíritu Santo preguntarme: “¿De qué tienes miedo?” No sabía cómo responder, pero claro, Él lo sabe, así que preguntó: “¿Tienes miedo de que no pueda proveer para ti?”
Yo dije, bueno, supongo, sabiendo que eso es parte, pero no todo.
Él dijo: “Mira a tu alrededor, todo me pertenece.”
No dije nada, pero pensé: en realidad, las personas cuyos nombres están en las escrituras de propiedad son los dueños, y Él dijo: “No, ellos solo administran eso para mí. Yo soy dueño de todo lo que está bajo los cielos.” (Deuteronomio 10:14).

Unos días después, volvió a preguntar: “¿De qué tienes miedo?”
“No sé,” respondí, sabiendo que Él ya lo sabe.
Él dijo: “¿Tienes miedo de enfermarte y que no pueda sanarte? Tengo el plano de tu cuerpo en los agujeros de mis manos.”
Inmediatamente tuve una imagen mental de los clavos en sus manos, y la palabra en Isaías: “Por sus heridas fuimos sanados.” (Isaías 53:5).
Pensé, qué tonto puede sonar pensar que quien creó mi cuerpo no tenga la capacidad de sanarlo.
Luego recordé a las personas por las que he orado para que fueran sanadas y murieron, y sentí en mi espíritu que tal vez murieron, pero debería considerarlo como que llegaron al cielo antes que yo.

Finalmente, durante un momento de oración, Dios volvió a preguntar: “¿De qué tienes miedo? ¿Tienes miedo de estar sola?”
Y, una vez más, Él me conoce mejor que yo misma, así que no necesitaba responder, pero me recordó que Él es amor (1 Juan 4:8), y que no nos deja ni nos abandona (Deuteronomio 31:6).

Él es mi fortaleza (Efesios 6:10).

Sabiendo eso, hoy mientras conducía al trabajo, estoy contemplando cómo Judas tenía a Jesús con él. ¿Qué más podía querer?
Si quería amor, Jesús es amor.
Si quería fortaleza, Él es la fuente de sabiduría y fuerza.
Si quería dinero, toda la plata y el oro son suyos (Hageo 2:8).
Si quería creatividad, Génesis está lleno de ejemplos de cuán creativo puede ser Dios.
Si quería verdad, Jesús es la fuente de la verdad (Juan 14:6).
Si quería atención, caminaba con aquel que las multitudes se reunían para ver.

El tan esperado Mesías estaba allí con él, y Judas lo sabía, lo había visto hacer milagros.
Pero Judas quería más.

El mundo le hizo pensar que debía tenerlo. Que podía tenerlo.
La codicia lo cegó, y sin saberlo, ya lo había matado espiritualmente mucho antes de decidir quitarse la vida (Mateo 27:5).

Eso es a lo que lleva la apatía espiritual: a una muerte espiritual.

La codicia lo cegó, y sin saberlo, ya lo había matado espiritualmente mucho antes de decidir quitarse la vida (Mateo 27:5).

Eso es a lo que lleva la apatía espiritual: a una muerte espiritual.
Una mala decisión pequeña tras otra.
Una pequeña mentira aquí y allá, sin importancia, ¿verdad?
Un pequeño paso en la dirección equivocada aquí, otro allá, y lo siguiente que sabes es que estás en un camino de destrucción.

Judas no se despertó un día y decidió traicionar a Jesús; fue un pequeño paso tras otro, una moneda aquí y otra allá.
Un pensamiento que entretuvo por demasiado tiempo se convirtió en una emoción que lo llevó a la acción final, y luego vinieron las consecuencias que no pudo revertir.

Eso es lo que el mundo no te dice.
Hay mucho de malo en querer más cuando ya lo tienes todo, cuando tienes a Jesús.

 

There’s nothing wrong with wanting more…

 

That’s a lie the world wants you to believe!

There’s a lot wrong with greed. 

In fact, John tells us that Judas wanted more, and he used to “help himself to the money in the bag.” (John 12:6).

I was reflecting on this as I was driving to work this morning after dropping my daughter off at school.
Can you imagine? Stay with me for a minute as I explain a personal experience.
I have recently gone through a process that has tested my faith in ways I have never experienced before. For the last 8 months, God has asked me to surrender my situation to him, but as someone who has emotionally had to fend for herself since the age of 7 (one day I will tell my testimony), I have a serious issue letting anyone else have control of my heart.

It’s been a constant back‑and‑forth between us—him asking me to hand things over, and me agreeing, yet still wanting to direct how, when, and what he should do. Well, we know that’s not necessarily surrendering it all! Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, I found myself again in my car, where it appears it’s the only time I have had some true alone time nowadays, and I felt the Holy Spirit ask me, "What are you afraid of?" I didn’t know how to answer that, but of course, he knows, so he asked, "Are you afraid I’m unable to provide for you?" I said, well, I guess, knowing that’s part of it, but not all. He said, look around you, I own it all. I didn’t say anything, but I thought to myself, actually, the people whose names are on the deeds own it, and he said, No, they administer those for me, I own everything under the heavens (Deuteronomy 10:14). A few days later, again he asks, what are you afraid of? I don’t know, I answered, knowing that he already knows. He said, are you afraid you’ll get sick and I won’t be able to heal you? I have the blueprint of your body in the holes of my hands. I immediately got a mental picture of the nails in his hands, and the word in Isaiah, by His stripes we are healed (53:5). I thought to myself, how silly it may sound of me to think that the one who created my body may not have the possibility of healing it. Then I remembered the people I’ve prayed for healing for and have died, and felt in my spirit that they might have died, but I should just consider it as they reached Heaven sooner than I did. Finally, during a moment of prayer, God asked again, what are you afraid of? Are you afraid of being alone? And, again, He knows me better than I know myself, so I didn’t need to answer, but he reminded me that he is love (1 John 4:8), and that He neither leaves us nor forsakes us (Deuteronomy 31:6). He is my strength (Ephesians 6:10).

Knowing that, today, as I was driving to work, I’m contemplating how Judas had Jesus with him. What more could he possibly want? If he wanted love, Jesus is love. If he wanted strength, he is the source of wisdom and strength. If he wanted money, all silver and gold is His (Haggai 2:8). If he wanted creativity, Genesis is full of examples of how creative God can be. If he wanted truth, Jesus is the source of truth (John 14:6). If he wanted attention, he was walking with the one that masses were gathering to come and see. The long-awaited Messiah was there with him, and Judas knew it; he had seen him perform miracles. But Judas wanted more.

The world let him think he should have it. That he could have it. Greed had blinded him, and, unknowingly, had already spiritually killed him long before he decided to end his life (Matthew 27:5). That’s what spiritual apathy will lead to: a spiritual death. One small bad decision after another. A small lie here and there, no big deal, right? One small step in the wrong direction here, another there, and the next thing you know, you are heading into a path of destruction. Judas didn’t wake up one day and decide to betray Jesus; it was one small step after another, a coin here and another there. A thought he entertained for way too long turned into an emotion that led to the ultimate action, and then came the consequences he couldn’t take back! That’s what the world fails to tell you. There’s a lot wrong with wanting more when you have it all already, when you have Jesus!

So, I don't know what you may be struggling with today, but if you are finding yourself like me, wanting more out of life, but at the same time, struggling to let go, I'm here to encourage you to surrender and let God do the work.