In a recent BBC article, business leaders have described seeing a “real trend” in the use of generative AI for job applications. In some cases this is obvious, but in others, where applicants are well-versed in using AI chatbots to generate text, it could mean applicants are getting through the job application process without actually having the skills needed for the job they’re applying for.
Candidate use of AI tools in job hunting
A recent survey by CharityJob discovered that out of 2309 candidates, 46% said they’d used AI to help with the job application process. When asked what they used it for, 41% used it for generating a cover letter, 22% used it for creating a CV, 25% used it for generating practice interview questions and answers, and 11% used it for completing any pre-assessments or work examples.
With the job market being incredibly competitive at the moment and candidates needing to send a lot of applications just to get one interview, the temptation to use AI in order to help speed up the process makes a lot of sense but doesn’t help business owners – especially those running independent SMEs who might not have as much experience when it comes to recruiting.
Ways to spot AI in job applications
So if you’re looking to hire, how can you spot AI-generated cover letters and CVs? At the moment, unless someone includes specific instructions in their AI prompt, many job applications will include obvious and similar sentences. One business owner in a BBC article on the topic suggests lines like “leveraging my skillset” and “my skills align with your organisation’s objectives and goals”. He does go on to say it can be very difficult to tell them apart, and that it’s a struggle other business owners are discussing with him on LinkedIn.
Also watching out for many generic statements and a lack of personality can be an indication that something has been written entirely by an AI tool.
There’s a time and a place for AI
While this new technology is still in its infancy, it’s natural for people to want to use AI wherever they see that it’s helpful, and actually, using AI well for certain parts of a job application shows a skill that could be incredibly useful for businesses.
Buuut, and there’s always a but, it’s important that candidate personalities and uniqueness also shine through their applications, something that can’t be generated by AI. Using it to help tidy up a cover letter after writing it, for example, could be a great use of the technology while using it to complete pre-assessments and work examples could make it look like candidates possess skills and experience that they do not have.
If there’s one thing for sure, it’s that artificial intelligence is here to stay, and we’re going to have to adapt to it the best way we can. Do you have experience with AI-generated job applications? Do you have a good way of dealing with the issue? Join us on LinkedIn and let us know!
Further reading: Lowering tech fraud risk
