About half of today’s job seekers use artificial intelligence systems to write resumes, cover letters, and fill out applications when applying for positions. According to HR experts, up to 50% of job seekers turn to AI for help.
The onslaught of AI-generated resumes has more than doubled the number of applicants for many jobs, but the quality of their applications has plummeted, making them harder to screen out. It gets to the point that applicants copy and paste questions from questionnaires into the ChatGPT request field, after which they also copy and paste the answer into the application form, Khyati Sundaram, CEO of the recruiting firm Applied, told the Financial Times. Due to the weakening of the global economy, cases of mass layoffs have become more frequent: employers are posting fewer vacancies in companies, and there are more job seekers. 46% of candidates resort to the help of AI when compiling a resume, as calculated by the recruiting firm Beamery based on a survey of 2,500 respondents; a survey of 5,000 volunteers on creative platform Canva found that 46% of job seekers used AI tools.
In some cases, this is clearly revealed by the “clumsy” language that distinguishes the AI responses – particularly lazy applicants do not bother to edit such texts, but if you take into account those who rewrite them, the number of such resumes may be higher. “Resumes should show the candidate’s personality, his history, and AI simply cannot do this,” complains Victoria McLean, executive director of the HR consulting company CityCV. Notably, younger candidates tend to be “more adept” at using generative AI chatbots and “manage to evade detection”: a Neurosight survey of 1,500 students found that young people are using AI to prepare job applications already in 57% of cases.
It is noted that the paid version of ChatGPT prepares better resumes than the free one; its subscribers are also more likely to pass psychometric tests than users of the free ChatGPT. A quarter of applicants who paid for ChatGPT scored with flying colors on the test; but personnel officers still expect that the deception will be revealed during a personal interview or video conference.