AI That Actually Helps Recruiters: Eli Duane on Building NOVA by Dweet

In this episode of RecTalk, Nitin Sharma sits down with Eli Duane, Founder & CEO of NOVA by Dweet, to unpack one of the biggest questions facing the recruitment industry right now:Is AI actually improving recruitment… or just adding more noise?Eli brings over 20 years of recruitment experience to the table, having previously helped build and exit a staffing business before launching Dweet—a platform designed to connect frontline retail talent with employers quickly. Along the way, his team built internal AI tools to solve a problem many recruiters know all too well: how to efficiently identify the right candidates from thousands of applications and existing database records.Those internal tools eventually evolved into NOVA, an AI-powered recruiting copilot designed to help recruiters source, screen, and resurface candidates faster—without removing the human element that makes great recruiters great.In this conversation, Nitin and Eli dig into the realities of AI in recruitment, cutting through the hype to explore what actually works and where technology can genuinely support recruiters rather than replace them.They discuss:Why most AI recruitment tools fail to move the needleThe “ChatGPT in a trench coat” problem with many AI productsHow NOVA uses contextual intake to improve candidate matchingThe challenge of ATS “candidate graveyards” and resurfacing hidden talentWhy sourcing automation should free recruiters to focus on human relationshipsThe Iron Man analogy for AI-augmented recruitersThe real truth about bias in hiring and how AI should (and shouldn’t) address itWhy the future of recruitment is AI + great recruiters, not AI instead of recruitersEli also shares how NOVA was originally built to solve problems inside their own hiring platform before being spun out into a standalone product—giving the team a unique advantage: every feature is battle-tested with real recruiters and real hiring scenarios first.If you’re feeling fatigued by the endless wave of AI tools in recruitment, this episode will help you rethink where technology can actually make a difference.🔗 Connect with the guestEli Duane: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eli-duane/Check out NOVA by Dweet: https://www.rectools.io/product/nova-by-dweet/🔗 Connect with the hostNitin Sharma: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nitin-rectools/Discover recruitment tools and services: https://www.rectools.io/New episodes of RecTalk (including Founder Diaries and Talking Talent) currently drop on Wednesday and Friday.Look out also for new episodes of The Mixed Grill — the official podcast of the Recruitment Curry Club — dropping on Thursday.https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-recruitment-curry-club/Listen on another platform: https://rectalk.co.uk/🔗 Get in touch with these recommended suppliersAscen: https://www.ascen.com/ThinkinCircles: https://thinkincircles.com/Infinity Staff Global: https://www.infinitystaffglobal.com/The Marketing Junction: https://themarketingjunction.com/Konquest: https://konquest.io/#RecTech #RecruitmentAI #TalentAcquisition #RecruitmentTechnology #AIinRecruitment #StaffingIndustry #HRTech #RecruitmentPodcast