An AI-powered sourcing tool at a mid-sized tech company delivered its most accurate match ever this week: it recommended a current employee as the ideal candidate for their own role. The employee was apparently so perfect for the job that the AI sent them a recruitment outreach email while they were literally sitting at their desk doing that exact job.

The Discovery

Reports indicate that the employee, a senior software engineer, received a LinkedIn InMail from their own company's recruiting team inviting them to apply for their current position. The message enthusiastically highlighted how their skills and experience made them an "exceptional fit" for the role, which tracks because they've been doing it for three years.

According to sources familiar with the incident, the AI sourcing tool had been trained to find candidates with specific technical skills, tenure at reputable companies, and signs of career growth. The current employee checked every box. The AI wasn't wrong—they really were the best match. They were just already employed. By the company doing the searching.

The really impressive part? The outreach message mentioned "exciting growth opportunities" and "working with cutting-edge technology." The employee was quoted as saying, "I've been asking for those growth opportunities for six months. Nice to know the AI thinks I deserve them too."

The Explanation

User reviews suggest that this happens when sourcing tools aren't properly configured to exclude internal employee data. The AI scraped LinkedIn, found a perfect profile, and did its job exactly as programmed. It just didn't know—or wasn't told—that this particular perfect candidate was already on the payroll.

The recruiting team apparently didn't notice until the employee forwarded the InMail to their manager with the subject line "Should I apply?" Management was not amused. The recruiting team was mortified. The AI, presumably, felt nothing because it's software.

The Aftermath

The company allegedly updated their sourcing tool settings to filter out current employees, which seems like something that should've been configured from day one but here we are. The employee reportedly asked if there was a referral bonus for referring themselves. HR said no. The employee was disappointed.

The incident has sparked internal discussions about whether the AI's assessment means the employee deserves a raise since they're apparently the best person for their own job. Those discussions are ongoing, but smart money says the answer will be "let's revisit this during annual reviews."

The Lesson

When your AI sourcing tool is so good it finds your own employees, you're either using incredible technology or you forgot to set basic parameters. Could be both. The real question is: if your current employee is the perfect candidate for their role, maybe stop looking and start retaining?

Just a thought. But what do we know? We're not AI.