Sandra Lavoy found herself a nasty pause and hesitant from a nasty candidate when she asked questions on a video call. The pause wasn't natural. There was no response either.
Sandra Lavoy found herself a nasty pause and hesitant from a nasty candidate when she asked questions on a video call. The pause wasn't natural. There was no response either.
Lavoy, the local director of employment agency Robert Half, suspected that candidates were using artificial intelligence to generate answers during live job interviews.
“I questioned that,” she recalled. “And they jumped off the phone.”
The experience wasn't just one-off for Lavoy, so she began asking candidates to show up in person.
With the unemployment rate at around 7%, those hunting for work are trying to gain an advantage over their fellow job seekers. Some have turned to AI, generating pristine, error-free resumes and even preparing interviews. However, that trend raises employment questions its ethics.
Alexandra Tiro, a senior talent strategy advisor in Canada, said companies are beginning to notice misuse of AI tools during live interviews, and have been trending over the past few months.
Many recruiters don't care about the use of AI in job hunting, Tiro said, but that they abandon all their personalities when candidates write cover letters or raise alarms when they rely heavily on technology during interviews rather than their own knowledge.
A similar answer to situational or behavioral questions from multiple candidates is to incline recruiters to fraudulent candidates, with delivery that lacks emotional intelligence, she added.
“It's very difficult to judge someone's skills, especially when the answer is not really their own and it leads to a bit of a waste of time… (and a) lack of trust,” Tiro said.
In a tough job market, there is little room for error from candidates. Tyro speculates that perhaps some people feel forced to use AI during live interviews.
Employers take time to hire the right candidate. It sifts through the mountain of applications and relies heavily on application tracking systems powered by AI. Meanwhile, candidates are using AI to insert the right keywords in the hopes of going through these systems, said Ariel Henig Wood, career coach at career counseling in Canada.
“We've lost our personalized resumes and lost our personalized responses on the part of our employers,” she said.
But Wood said there are ways to effectively use AI when looking for work.
Her strategies include step-by-step prompt engineering. This is to communicate your generation AI programs and apps such as ChatBot ChatGpt exactly what you need to do at every stage of your job search.
“When it comes to employer research, AI can definitely be your best friend,” Wood said. AI helps to gather insights into information ranging from company sales to why employees like to work there.
The next work is a cover letter. She suggests starting with a generic template borrowed from AI and personalizing in her own voice through the correct prompts.
“Not only did they say, 'I want a job,' but 'I want this job, so that's why I'm good. This is why I feel that leads to this role,” Wood said.
She then analyzes the job openings to add appropriate keywords, adjusting the research to her resume and cover letter, she added.
“AI needs to be used in the job search process to be effective against application tracking systems,” Wood said.
Next, Wood proposed to use AI for practice interview questions. This includes generating questions, extracting results from your resume and giving answers related to job interviews.
“You can record answering interview questions, and it gives you AI generated feedback. You will also get feedback from friends and career counselors, Wood added.
Once the candidate lands the job, Wood said AI could help provide negotiations.
“It can scan offers and flag anything that might be out of standard,” she said. “You can tell you… there may be room for negotiation for the offer.”
AI is more than just a tool to hone your resume for Karan Saraf, who is studying public relations and keeps an eye on the job. One day, he uses it to understand the thoughts he's been scattered about when applying for a job, which is about role-playing interviews.
And his strategy worked, landing interviews in the tough youth job market.
Saraf said he doesn't feel the need to reveal that he used AI on his job hunting journey, unless he plagiarized or misled his employer.
“But if I asked this question, I would be honest about it,” he said. “That's part of being an ethical AI user.”
Wood said that ethical AI users know exactly what is on their resume when asked.
“I don't think you need to go to the interview and say, 'By the way, I've prepared AI for this,'” she said. “What everyone is using now is a very common tool, and when you use it ethically, there's nothing to disclose.”
But Carly Bell believes it creates an imbalance between employers and job seekers. Future Ontario law requires that the use of AI in screening, selection and evaluation of electors be disclosed in public employment posts starting January 1, 2026. Other states have not yet opted for similar measures.
“I'm an employer… who's bound by legal standards about this kind of thing and expectations? But there's nothing yet to really guide job seekers,” said Bell, consulting director at Citation Canada.
Bell expects employers to begin to expect job seekers to disclose their use of AI for transparency in both ways.
Still, using AI in job hunting is unlikely to hurt candidates, as long as they remain creative and talk about their personal experiences, Bell said.
“Everyone is in the same world…and you're essentially trying to compete with the machines on both sides. What we know is that humans really matter,” Bell said.
The report, which was first published on July 13th, 2025, by Canadian report.
Ritchika Duby, Canadian media
