Recruiters urge candidates to use AI to apply for jobs

It is becoming acceptable to use the technology to draft letters and CVs — but not to answer assessments

Author of the article:

Financial Times

Bethan Staton

Published Nov 14, 2024  •  3 minute read

Paul Carpenter describes AI software during an interview in New Orleans on Feb. 23, 2024. Photo by AP Photo/Matthew Hinton

Top recruiters are urging jobseekers to use artificial intelligence tools to apply for roles, indicating a growing acceptance of the new technology among employers.

Several big international recruitment companies have started offering AI tools to candidates and are suggesting that using them to write CVs, draft cover letters and research job openings will help a wider range of candidates show their skills.

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James Barrett, managing director at Michael Page Technology, said it was “well down the path of established AI usage” in its recruitment processes and that it was “important for candidates to adapt accordingly. When used correctly, [AI tools] can help an application progress to the next stage.”

Sebastian Dettmers, chief executive of European recruitment company The Stepstone Group, also advocated for using AI “as long as [it] supports you in showing the best version of yourself in terms of what’s required for the job”.

Such views signal that large language models are becoming accepted as a necessary part of job hunting. That suggests a shift in focus, following recent warnings from recruiters that automated applications could misrepresent candidates’ abilities, or complicate the process by flooding companies with mass applications.

Stepstone provides candidates with a tool that creates a cover letter from a CV and job description, and a CV generator, which it says have been used 2.6 million times in the past year. Such products join widely available tools from companies that specialise in AI-assisted CVs or cover-letters, such as Kickresume.

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LinkedIn, the career-focused social network, offers an AI tool that assesses users’ fitness for jobs based on skills and experience, helps draft a cover letter, and gives feedback on resumes. LinkedIn said 90 per cent of subscribers who used the features found them helpful, and will soon announce and roll out the next iteration of AI insights to non-paying users.

Such tools are in part a response to the use of AI screening technologies by recruiters. Stepstone’s CV generator claims to “easily pass ATS scans”, referring to screening software embedded into applicant tracking systems that may rank candidates based on keywords.

Survey data indicates a significant proportion of candidates are already using AI. According to research published this month by human resources group Randstad, about 57 per cent of Gen Z workers say they are using AI to write job applications, CVs and cover letters. For millennials the figure is 40 per cent, for Gen X and baby boomers 21 per cent and 13 per cent respectively.

But even this may be an underestimate. Kelly-Ann Mallon, head of student employability at the University of Manchester, said she believed the “vast majority” of students were using AI for tasks such as researching potential employers and drafting applications.

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AI can scan job descriptions and CVs for applicants, identifying the specific requirements of a role then generating a cover letter that “highlights and articulates why [they] match to that job”, said Dettmers.

That helps candidates understand what employers require and express why they fit a role. “The technology helps you present yourself as the authentic you to the recruiter,” he added.

Applicants must strike a careful balance, however.

“As more employers integrate AI into their hiring processes, it’s smart to consider how your CV or cover letter measures up,” said Amanda Whicher, UKI technology director at recruiter Hays. But she added it was “crucial” to fit AI-generated content to “your own experience and adjust the language to reflect your style”.

Some employer systems are designed to weed out fully AI-generated applications, according to Mallon, while human recruiters are likely to be put off by submissions that appear generic, so candidates must be careful not to disadvantage themselves with AI.

Michael Stull, U.K. managing director of human resources multinational Manpower Group, said candidates should steer clear of using AI in assessments, or misrepresenting their abilities in other ways. “You could be selected for a role that’s not right for you.”

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The risks of cheating demonstrated the importance of responsible AI systems that did not nudge candidates to exaggerate their achievements, said Dettmers, for example by suggesting they include skills that appear in a job description but not their CV. However, he stressed cheating of this kind was not caused by AI.

Such guardrails were necessary, recruiters said, with AI use already widespread. “We need some openness and to be open to using technology on both sides,” Dettmers added. “You can warn people not to use AI, but they’ll use it anyway. You need to be prepared.”

© 2024 The Financial Times Ltd

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