Insights into the forces shaping our industry.

AI and algorithmic matching tools are often promoted as recruiting solutions. But in the lighting industry, where technical expertise must intersect with design, innovation, and shifting regulations, true headhunting is irreplaceable.

AI can scan resumes for keywords like “LED,” “lighting,” “controls,” or “IoT,” but it can’t tell whether a candidate has:

• Launched connected lighting systems successfully
• Influenced specifications and followed it through to ensure the order is placed
• Navigated changing energy codes or Title 24
• Built trusted relationships with reps, specifiers, distributors, or contractors
• The leadership style to fit your company’s culture and pace
• Understands architectural design trends or sustainability initiatives

These insights come from human conversations, industry reputation, and the recruiter’s network, not from algorithms. Successful recruiting will always demand human insight, relationship building, and a level of judgement that AI cannot replicate.

Overreliance on AI in recruiting can lead to several pitfalls in technical and senior searches:

• False negatives: excluding very strong candidates because their resume didn’t perfectly align with algorithmic filters. It overlooks people who:
  • Have non-standard titles
  • Are in transferable roles
  • Don’t list those specific keywords on their resume or LinkedIn profile
  • Aren’t actively looking and may not have a resume or LinkedIn profile
• Generic matching: AI might suggest many candidates who superficially match keywords, but who lack the specific lighting industry experience.
• Inability to assess intangibles: integrity, leadership style, resilience, adaptability to rapidly changing sectors, honesty.
• Inability to evaluate professional reputation in the industry, which often comes via network, word of mouth, past projects, and references.

At Egret Consulting, we go beyond resumes. We have 26 years of relationships cultivated by talking daily to our industry’s leaders, hearing about what’s happening “on the ground” in real time.

We partner with clients to define success metrics, reach passive candidates, evaluate cultural fit, and guide both sides through negotiation. With decades of relationships across the lighting industry, we know who delivers, who innovates, and who can lead in a rapidly changing market.

AI can assist with efficiency, but it can’t replicate trust, judgment, or industry expertise. In lighting, where the right hire can transform your business, human insight makes the difference.

For over 26 years, Egret Consulting has been the trusted partner to lighting companies building teams for growth and innovation.