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A high-profile entertainment agency with a 115+ person team, came to Braintrust with a challenge familiar to many small but growing companies: too many applicants, not enough time.
With no dedicated recruiter or Talent Acquisition function, the company’s sole HR leader was tasked with managing the entire end-to-end hiring process—from sourcing to screening to advancing candidates. And for each open role – anywhere from 12-24 per year – they were receiving over 1,000 applicants.
“Each open role brought overwhelming volume,” said the company’s Head of HR. “Screening even a fraction of the inbound candidates took time and bandwidth we just didn’t have. We weren’t even worried about missing great people - we were just racing to find good enough candidates to fill the seats.”
With a growing business and ambitious hiring plans, the team needed a better way to identify the right candidates—quickly and efficiently.
The Solution: Letting Braintrust AIR Lead the First Round
Instead of hiring a full-time recruiter—which would have meant a lengthy ramp-up period, a significant annual salary investment, and still relying on manual processes— the company’s CFO suggested exploring AI solutions.
That led them to Braintrust AIR—a smart, AI-powered recruiting solution. They decided to pilot Braintrust AIR across two open roles over the course of a few weeks.
“The implementation was seamless: AIR was integrated directly into the hiring process, requiring minimal oversight while offering immediate value. Candidates began completing asynchronous interviews within days, allowing me to shift my focus from resume triage to more strategic work,” said the client.
They went ahead and implemented AIR as a virtual first-round interviewer. The process ran like this:
- Candidates completed asynchronous interviews right after applying
- Structured scorecards and video clips were generated automatically
- The Head of HR reviewed the scorecards and selected who she would interview for culture fit
- The Head of HR advanced the people who passed her screening to the hiring managers
This new approach removed the manual burden of early-stage screening from the Head of HR’s plate, gave hiring managers confidence the candidates they were spending time with were worthwhile, and ensured the team was casting a wide net to ensure they found the best candidate for the job.
What followed was clear proof of impact:
✅ 100+ interviews conducted across two open roles
✅ 30–40% interview completion rate — well above average
✅ Candidates advanced to hiring managers with minimal HR lift
✅ Scorecards and videos surfaced overlooked talent with non-traditional backgrounds
✅ Structure and efficiency delivered without disrupting the hiring manager experience
The Takeaway: AI as a Force Multiplier for Small Teams
For this small team with big ambitions, Braintrust AIR proved to be the smart, scalable alternative to adding headcount. It gave their lean HR team a way to:
- Scale hiring efforts without hiring a recruiter
- Save hours per role on early-stage screening
- Find the needle in the haystack by identifying high-potential candidates others might overlook
- Support hiring managers with deeper candidate insights and structured evaluations
"AIR supported our biggest year of growth in 13 years—and now we’re equipped with tools that scale for future years of high growth,” said the team.
Ready to Transform Your Hiring Process?
Contact Braintrust to learn how AIR can support your growth. Better yet; try it for free today!
