AI-generated resumes frustrate employers and obscure talent

As part of the job search, outsourcing and offshoring company Oceans asked candidates to create a video answering one question: What is your most controversial personal belief about the workplace? The company received more than 300 responses, most of which were eerily similar.

“That was abundantly clear.” [artificial intelligence]Matt Wallert, Oceans’ chief experience officer, said of the repeated responses, which also followed the same structure: “You were as lazy as you could be…you failed in your fundamental duty of sharing your personal beliefs.”

The situation left Wohlert and his recruiting team confused about how to evaluate candidates, as even the most qualified candidates were mixed in.

Job seekers are turning to AI to find jobs faster in a tight labor market. With the abundance of AI tools, some employers may be screening applicants’ resumes and deprioritizing them as candidates. Employers claim this has unintended consequences, with many applications now looking and sounding the same. AI is complicating the process for both employers and job seekers, creating conflicts between them over how to get what they want.

Some employers say it’s easy to see candidates relying too heavily on AI. Executive summaries are often eerily similar to each other, strange phrases that you wouldn’t normally use in conversation sneak into the descriptions, fancy vocabulary comes into play, and people with entry-level experience use wording that suggests they’re much more advanced.

Some employers say the situation is made worse by the use of automated application AI tools that find jobs, fill out applications and submit resumes on candidates’ behalf. These people tend to misunderstand some of the application questions and fill in incorrect information in the wrong places. If these applications were evaluated in isolation, employers said it would be more difficult to identify AI usage. But when hundreds of applications all have the same problem, AI’s role in it becomes clear, they said.

Joseph Eitner, chief human resources officer at New York-based investment firm Eaton Capital Management, said he has no problem using AI to help candidates add keywords, clean up grammar and think through application questions. But in the end, he said, candidates must write their own texts, express their thoughts and personalities, and take the time to manually submit their applications.

“If that’s how you apply and work, I don’t want to hire you,” he said. AI automated application services are “snake oil. It’s a disservice to you and to the people you’re applying to.”

Ron Sharon, chief information security officer at financial advisory firm PTMA Financial Solutions in Denver, said not all employers rely heavily on AI to screen applicants, and some are using it just to prioritize candidates with the necessary experience. Sharon said it uses an AI tool that assigns percentages based on candidates’ qualifications. He said anyone who scores 75% or above will be considered for the position, but the AI ​​will never automatically reject candidates.

“I use AI as a tool to enhance what I do,” he said. “Job seekers should use AI to enhance their jobs, not the entire process.”

But some job seekers say they were inspired to hire after employers began using the technology to rank candidates.

Stephen Harris, 37, of San Antonio, who is looking for a job as a tech support specialist, said he plans to stop using AI to write resumes once recruiters stop using it to evaluate resumes.

“You know a significant portion of them are doing this, and you’re saying, ‘We shouldn’t be doing this,'” Harris said.

He says employers often get so focused on finding the perfect candidate that they lose some of their most adaptable candidates in the process. And while he still mails out resumes to try to stand out, he says using AI to quickly tailor resumes will make it easier to get in among early applicants.

Job seekers say one of the benefits of AI is that it can improve the flow of ideas, enhance language, and help fill in the blanks where they’re weak. However, some employers say they want to see you for who you are.

Prateek Singh, founder and CEO of New Delhi startup LearnApp, said that when candidates use AI in their applications, they are unable to assess what excites them about the job and what they don’t. Candidates ask him to “chat over coffee” in their cover letters, a phrase not common in India, he said.

“This is the perfect time for you to stand out with all your flaws and eccentricities,” he said. “If 100 applicants come to you using AI and you’re authentic, you’ll stand out.”

This advice rings true for applicants like Sneha Sharma, who started getting more attention in her job search after she stopped using AI on her resume.

She applied to up to 300 jobs in about six months using AI tools like ChatGPT and tools to help find potential customers. She briefly tried an AI application that automatically applied for jobs, but gave up on it after a few weeks. However, she was unable to get an interview.

After taking a break, she adopted a new approach. We stopped using AI and started building some resumes from scratch, adding a bit of personality, like including details about immigrating to the US and asking recruiters to contact us by phone or email. I passed 7 interviews within 2 weeks and got the job in less than 2 months.

“Don’t let the Internet blind you. ChatGPT does it all for you,” she said. “Use your head and keep changing and experimenting.”

Wahlert, the Oceans executive, said the company plans to use AI to contact qualified candidates with instructions to try again. The company also plans to update application instructions to prevent candidates from using AI for video responses. Wohlert believes the problem will eventually resolve itself, but in the meantime, he feels sorry for candidates who may be harmed by relying too much on AI.

“Over time, this gap will narrow, but at what cost?” he said. “That’s a shame.”