You’ve probably heard or experienced that the job market is tougher than ever before, and data shows that competition for open positions is fierce. According to the World Economic Forum, big-name companies like Google and McKinsey receive millions of job applications every year. — far more than a human recruiter could realistically expect to manually review.
As a result, many organizations are turning to AI automation to sift through backlogs of resumes and narrow down large pools of candidates. Results are mixed. To stand out as a job seeker in today’s market, you’ll need to adapt your search tactics in a world where potentially flawed AI algorithms are gatekeeping nearly every job you apply for, and where other candidates are using AI to gain (or abuse) the process to their advantage.
The role of AI in job hunting
According to Resume Builder research Of 948 business leaders, “82% of companies use AI to screen resumes and 40% use AI chatbots to communicate with candidates.”
read more:
The double-edged impact of AI on cybersecurity jobs
These AI-powered resume filtering tools are known as applicant tracking systems (ATS), but they’re far from perfect. When screening candidates based solely on keywords, companies run the risk of hiring people who are good at creating resumes that pass the AI filter (a trick, some might say), rather than candidates who are actually qualified to excel at the job.
In an interview regarding AI recruitment Hilke Schellmann, author of “Algorithms: Who AI Hires, Monitors, Promotes, and Fires and Why We Need to Fight Back,” commented in a joint study with WBUR: skill. ”
Some companies are taking the use of AI recruiting tools a step further. Resume Builder’s research also found that 23% of companies are using AI bots to interview candidates via Zoom. But as with all things technology, bugs can rear their ugly heads. On our sister site Mashable, you’ll find viral videos showing glitches in AI-powered HR bots. Inexplicably, during an interview with a human job candidate.
AI tools for screening candidates are useful, but they can pose challenges for both employers and job seekers. But have no fear. If you have the necessary skills, you can find a way to tilt the odds in your favor, even if you’re looking for a new IT role.
How to increase your chances of passing the AI job filter
In the era of AI-based job selection, there is a lot of advice available for finding a job. Spiceworks contributor David Wheldon provided practical tips on how to circumvent ATS systems used to screen job candidates in his article on breaking out of the “AI hiring doom loop” and creating an AI-friendly resume.
- Focus on improving the quality of your LinkedIn profile and resume, as well as your social media accounts (some ATS systems take these into account).
- Customize all submitted resumes using job description keywords to improve alignment with role requirements.
- Make your resume machine-readable by using single columns of text and standard headings, avoiding non-standard formatting such as tables and graphics, and not placing text in headers or footers.
- Highlight key accomplishments and technical skills together (i.e., saving 10 hours of labor each month with an automated backup process using PowerShell scripts, or leading a server consolidation project that reduced energy consumption by 50% and resulted in annual savings of $50,000).
These are great tips to increase your chances of getting through the system. But given the plethora of applications overwhelming HR departments, perhaps the best way to focus on and defeat AI filtering systems is to work around them.
read more:
Class of 2026: The first IT graduates trained in AI
Human connections can help you avoid AI job filters
If you’ve talked to someone looking for a job recently, you’ve probably heard about them applying to hundreds or even thousands of jobs and receiving little follow-up from recruiters.
According to Resume Builder, 7 out of 10 companies let AI reject candidates without human oversight, meaning many qualified candidates are slipping through the cracks. Sometimes the best way to get through a filter is to avoid it. That means leveraging your network to get employee referrals so job applications bypass filters and go straight to real people’s inboxes.
When it comes to your career, it’s often said that it’s not what you know that matters, but who you know. We have the data to back it up. According to the 2025 Job Insights survey. Of 1,002 hiring decision makers surveyed online by Harris Poll on behalf of Express Employment Professionals:
- 89% have more confidence in a candidate’s stated skills if someone else recommends them
- 80% will prioritize interviewing referred candidates over equally qualified non-referred applicants.
But what if you don’t have a personal connection? Another option is to try to build a direct relationship with the recruiter. If you’re feeling embarrassed about this, it’s important to realize that you may actually be helping them do their job better. A high influx of job applicants makes it difficult to personally consider candidates and identify those with relevant experience and track records.
Use your network to connect to work
Is there one solution that could help both job seekers and recruiters? Good old social networking.
A friend of mine recently connected with a recruiter through LinkedIn and landed a coveted position at a top technology company. But he didn’t just coldly message them with a direct sales pitch. Instead, he gained attention with the help of creative marketing and AI.
First, they used AI to identify popular business articles about problems they had expertise in solving. He then used AI to draft a post that incorporated his own success stories (like the ones he talks about in interviews) and highlighted the major business projects he was involved with and the results he delivered. After personally editing these stories, he used AI to identify hashtags on LinkedIn that he could use to maximize the exposure of his posts.
After posting for a few weeks, asking friends to spread his posts to their networks, and commenting on and liking recruiters’ posts, he said recruiters started liking his posts and then messaged him directly about job openings that required the skills he had written about. After interviewing with several companies, he received an offer and accepted the job.
Admittedly, this is just a one-off example of what worked for one particular friend, but it illustrates the fact that cutting through the noise is important as the hiring process becomes more difficult for both parties in the age of AI automation. Showcasing your qualifications and skills while building genuine relationships is more important than machine-driven decision-making. However, you have to be smart to get noticed and build trust.
Bob Funk, Jr., CEO, President and Chairman of Express Employment International, says of the importance of relationships when searching for a job, “The strongest recommendation is to build on consistency and real connections, not convenience.” When people take the time to invest in each other, it creates opportunities that no algorithm can match. It’s the trust you get from showing up. It’s what advances your career.”
