Joe McConnell
Nearly half of all job applicants use AI tools to apply, inundating employers and recruiters with low-quality applications in an already strained job market.
Candidates are increasingly turning to generative AI, the kind used in chatbot products like ChatGPT and Gemini to produce conversational text passages, to help them write resumes, cover letters, and complete assessments.
Estimates from employers and recruiters interviewed by the Financial Times, as well as numerous published surveys, suggest that the figure could be as high as 50% of applicants.
A “flurry” of AI-powered applications has more than doubled the number of job applicants, while “the barrier to entry is lower,” said Khyati Sundaram, chief executive of Applied, a recruiting platform.
“We’re definitely seeing higher volume and lower quality, which means it’s harder to siVscek through,” he added. “A candidate can copy and paste any application question into ChatGPT, and then they can copy and paste it back into the application form.”
Recruiters have received more applications for each job in recent months as labor markets on both sides of the Atlantic have weakened. Employers have fewer vacancies to fill, and more people are looking for work aVsceker being laid off.
Long-term trends, such as the rise of online job boards that make open positions visible to a wider pool of potential candidates and make it easier to apply, have already increased the number of applications.
Some 46 percent of job seekers are using generative AI to search for and apply for jobs, according to a survey of 2,500 UK workers by HR startup Beamery. In a separate survey of 5,000 global job seekers by creative platform Canva, 45 percent have used generative AI to create or improve their CVs.
“We are seeing increasing use of artificial intelligence,” said Andy Heyes, regional director at UK-based technology recruitment firm Harvey Nash, adding that “there are telltale signs [like] American grammar and “bland” applications provided “an indication of whether candidates had used artificial intelligence.”
Many recruiters are now dealing with large volumes of AI-generated CVs from candidates who have used the tools to refine their personal statements and add search keywords. The actual numbers could be higher, some added, but these estimates are based on those that have been obviously detected, usually because they have been cut and pasted without editing.
“Without proper editing, the language will be clunky and generic, and hiring managers can pick up on that,” said Victoria McLean, managing director of careers consultancy CityCV. “CVs need to showcase the candidate’s personality, their passions, their history, and that’s something AI simply can’t do.”
Many large employers have a zero-tolerance attitude toward the use of AI, according to several people familiar with their processes. The Big Four accounting firms — Deloitte, EY, PwC, and KPMG — have warned graduates against using AI in their applications.
More and more candidates are using generative AI to cheat on job assessments.
“Over the last 18 months, I have seen the most significant level of agitation from employers that I have ever seen,” said Jamie Betts, founder and head of product at Neurosight, a consultancy that advises companies including Virgin Media, Grant Thornton and the NHS on psychometric testing.
Betts highlighted the early career sector, where candidates tend to be younger and “very adept” at using advanced generative AI and “able to avoid detection.”
Neurosight, in a recent survey of 1,500 student job seekers, found that 57 percent had used ChatGPT to support their applications.
It was also found that those who used the free version of ChatGPT were less likely to pass psychometric tests, while those who used the paid version were more likely to pass.
A quarter of the candidates who paid for ChatGPT passed “with flying colors,” Betts said, and they are “overwhelmingly people from higher socioeconomic backgrounds, male candidates, non-disabled, mostly white because there is a correlation with socioeconomic status.”
Many employers and recruiters hope that if a candidate has cheated or lied during the job interview, the final interview, whether in person or virtually, will catch them red-handed.
“Candidates are getting pretty lazy about how to stand out in the job market, so they’re just turning to generative AI to provide an inflated version of their real experience,” said Ross Crook, global managing director of recruiting agency Morgan McKinley.
“At the moment everything is automated as much as possible, but… there will always be a need for human interaction before the final selection.”
