Artificial intelligence is reshaping the job application process, simplifying some aspects but creating new potential frictions in others.
The introduction of technology into the hiring and recruitment process comes as job searches reach record highs. As of August 28, more than 28% of Americans were looking for a new job. As the use of AI in hiring and applications increases, many job seekers will have to go the extra mile to stand out.
“You have to be willing to mess up,” content creator Jeff said on TikTok, explaining a series of AI-powered job interview preparation processes. To land the job, this author said he used ChatGPT at every stage of his application, including writing applications, connecting with current employees, and practicing interview questions.
Recruiters and recruiters, on the other hand, have mixed feelings about AI.
“What AI is doing is actually just creating more noise. … Ordinary people who are not using AI are hurting in the job market, and they are struggling to get a competitive edge.” must use AI to apply for jobs,” said Maddie Macho of Reverse Recruiter, an applicant services provider that manages applications and communications. companies), he said in a TikTok video.
With the help of new AI software, applicants can now modify resumes and cover letters, receive live interview scripts, and launch chatbots to submit thousands of applications almost instantly.
For some, the use of AI is seen as a useful tool to enhance applications in a competitive job market. For others, it raises questions about the credibility of applicants and the integrity of the hiring process.
When AI software like ChatGPT and Gemini started to take off, self-proclaimed “millennial” Chantal Cowie started looking for a new job.
“I was working about 60 hours a week at the time, so the time I saved was valuable,” she said.
When Cowie applied for a job, she shared her experience with ChatGPT and used AI tools to write her cover letter and answer application questions. This has allowed her to “apply for more jobs in a shorter amount of time,” she said.
She found a job, was laid off, and re-entered the job market nine months later. AI had come a long way at that point. She was able to use more specialized AI platforms such as Teal to build resumes and Claude to analyze company websites and job descriptions.
“I’d like to get further in the interview rounds. Most of the interviews I’ve had have been to the penultimate or final round,” Cowie said. “I think it was because I was able to go to them well-prepared because of the extra tools I had.”
Cowie explained his AI-powered process on social media and said he landed a “six-figure fully remote job.”
“AI is going to be integrated into our lives at every level, and it’s here to stay,” she told NBC News. “Learn how to use it to your advantage and maybe even add a new skill set.”
As artificial intelligence grows in ease of use and popularity, more platforms are catering to the needs of job seekers.
LazyApply, Simplify, and AI Hawk are all AI services that launch assistants that help collect applicant information and submit automated job applications through sites like LinkedIn and Indeed. The service says job seekers can save hundreds of hours using the tool and apply to up to thousands of jobs a day.
AI apply, which claims users are “80% more likely to get hired,” offers tools such as a cover letter and resume builder, an auto-apply feature, an interview practice generator, and a professional interview buddy. According to the website, premium memberships start at $38 per month, making AI Apply Notes much cheaper and more accessible than the cost of a career counselor.
“We do what every job seeker is told by their career coach: customize their resume for every job they apply for,” CEO of AIApply , Aidan Kramer told NBC News.
While watchdog groups have warned of the risk of hallucinations and errors from AI tools, Kramer said AI apply does not create an experience, but rather a tool specifically tailored to translate a skill set into the language best suited for a particular application. It is said to be designed.
“AI is prone to hallucinations,” Kramer explained. “If someone is using ChatGPT to update their resume, they’re giving it very little context because they don’t understand exactly what the user is trying to do. I tend to make stuff up.”
“The way we tried to build it is that you enter the job description and that kind of acts as a basis. So the level of hallucination is much lower,” he added.
That view was echoed by a spokesperson for OfferGoose, a company that boasts a 300% higher success rate than normal due to its AI interviewing capabilities.
“We believe it’s important to be clear that AI is a tool designed to support and enhance human capabilities,” a spokesperson said in an email interview with NBC News. “The quality and accuracy of content generated by AI is highly dependent on its training data and how it is used.”
“Employers should not fear this tool nor should they resist it as a form of fraud,” the spokesperson said. “We encourage job seekers to discuss using OfferGoose with potential employers.”
According to their respective websites, OfferGoose has helped applicants land more than 17,000 jobs, and AI apply has more than 340,000 “freelancers and job seekers” using its services. .
Nevertheless, many companies are taking additional safeguards to detect the use of AI. Some employers now require electronic verification codes to submit applications, preventing automatic submission. Mike Peditto, a longtime recruiter and director of talent at a technology agency, says asking the AI bot to use specific words like “banana” to catch answers for applications generated in chat. Some companies have added prompts.
But job seekers aren’t the only ones using AI in the application process, according to a recent study from the University of Washington. Researchers estimate that “99% of Fortune 500 companies already use some form of AI assistance when making hiring decisions,” and resume screening tools are implausible for white male applicants. I discovered that there is a certain amount of bias. Large-scale language models favor white people. It is associated with men about 85% of the time and disadvantages black men in “up to 100% of cases.”
The use of AI by both applicants and employers has created a clear power dynamic where applicants are using AI but employers are reluctant to use AI to screen applicants. is being born.
According to research from Capterra, 58% of job seekers use AI in their job search, and 83% of those same respondents also use AI to “exaggerate or lie about their skills.” I found out that However, according to a 2023 Pew Research survey, approximately 66% of Americans said they would not apply to an employer that uses AI to make hiring decisions.
“The mission is to help job seekers have an advantage in situations where they’re competing against the AI tools that have been screening them,” Kramer told NBC News. and encouraged hiring managers to “rethink automated pre-screening.” “Process” and “Giving people more opportunities to come forward and shine as human beings.”
Rachel Boston, a retail product manager who focuses on educating potential applicants on social media about the possibilities of AI, believes such technology can reduce the effort of crafting resumes and cover letters by hand. I explained.
“To get past[applicant tracking software]you need a certain type of resume that matches the job qualifications and job description,” Boston told NBC News. “Doing this manually, one by one, for every odd job application would take hundreds of hours and exhaust even an unemployed person.”
“If I was unemployed and could afford to pay for tools and services that could help me get ahead, I would have no hesitation in doing so,” she added.
Ruth Edwards, head of Tiger Recruitment’s New York office with more than 20 years of experience in senior commercial recruiting, expressed excitement about the potential of AI in the workplace.
“I think 18 months ago, people were pretty intimidated by the idea of AI,” she told NBC News, adding that AI has quickly become “part of everyday life.”
Although Tiger Recruitment does not use AI to screen personal information such as resumes due to data privacy concerns, we do use AI to assess diversity demographics and create competitive salary benchmarks. I am using it.
“(The client’s) entire recruitment process has become much more time- and cost-effective,” she added.
But recruiters also warn that if used incorrectly, the software can be highly damaging to candidates seeking employment.
“You’re not getting kicked out because you used AI, you’re getting kicked out because you didn’t use AI well,” Peditto, known as @realisticrecruiting to his roughly 150,000 TikTok followers, told NBC News.
“When you play with AI tools, there’s only so much you can do,” Edwards says. “We noticed that certain keywords and key phrases tend to appear when something is artificially generated.”
Peditto, who makes his living screening and recruiting job candidates, emphasizes the need to use AI judiciously to help, not hurt, your chances of getting noticed by companies. He acknowledges that using AI is a good “starting point,” but points out that “there are things that AI misses,” and that applicants should always review the answers generated. Recommended.
“I think leaving it 100% to AI would be detrimental to the application,” he said. “AI isn’t perfect. I think you need to talk to the right people and make sure you’re looking for what you’re missing.”
