With the rise of AI-powered writing assistants, typing up your job application can be quicker than ever.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT, for example, is a chatbot powered by machine learning that can write out detailed resumes and cover letters in less than five minutes with the prompts you give it. But if you are doing this, know that recruiters can tell.
“Easily 25% of apps appear to be AI-generated,” said Bonnie Dilber, a recruiting manager with app-automation company Zapier.
And these blatant examples do not leave a winning impression on recruiters. At worst, “it signals to me that the person may not know what they are talking about or how to blend AI-generated content with their own ideas,” Dilber said.
The Biggest Tell You Used AI On Your Job ApplicationThe biggest red flag, recruiters said, is when your application reads like a copy-pasted, robotic and formulaic template.
If you are using an AI-powered writing assistant, think of the hundreds of other job candidates who are doing the same. For recruiters who sift through many applications, the ones that are done through AI become obvious, because they have similar sentence structures and they use the same case studies.
Dilber gave the example of asking “Why are you interested in this position?” on a job application and getting candidates who use the same word-for-word response of “Company’s mission of ‘insert mission statement’ resonates with me and my experience in ‘insert their current job.’”
“First time I saw it, it was cute, the next few times, it becomes obvious they all plugged this into the same tool.”
– Bonnie Dilber, a recruiting manager with Zapier
“After seeing this exact same response over and over again, it becomes clear that the candidates are all using AI,” she said.
When the application asked about how to use Zapier’s product, which automates tasks, Dilber said, “a bunch of people all came up with the same use case of a flower shop. First time I saw it, it was cute. The next few times, it becomes obvious they all plugged this into the same tool.”
For Gabrielle Woody, a university recruiter for the financial software company Intuit, the telltale sign of a ChatGPT-written application is also the “robotic tone” that is markedly different than how early-career professionals actually talk.
“I almost always see words like ‘adept,’ ‘tech-savvy’ and ‘cutting-edge’ repeatedly now on resumes for tech roles,” she said. “I mostly review intern and entry-level resumes, and many of the early-career candidates I reviewed were not using those terms in their applications before ChatGPT.”
“A good recruiter can spot an AI-written application from a mile away,” said Laurie Chamberlin, head of LHH Recruitment Solutions in North America. For her, the clear giveaway is the generic buzzwords.
“We might catch candidates listing skills like ‘excellent communicator’ or ‘team player,’ but they don’t back them up with real-life examples,” she said. “The absence of specificity, authenticity and personal touch can be a red flag.”
In some cases, it’s obvious because of the lack of editing. Tejal Wagadia, a recruiter for a major tech company, said that she will see job applications that still have the font, parentheses or phrasing like “add numbers here” that ChatGPT will give in its summarized answers.
“They will literally copy and paste that into their resume without any kind of editing,” Wagadia said. This can backfire for candidates, because it signals you are careless. “If you’re missing that level of detail, it shows the employer that you’re not detail-oriented. Yeah you use technology, but not well,” she added.
How Recruiters Feel About Using AI OverallIdeally, you use AI writing tools as a starting point, recruiters said. Woody said ChatGPT can help job candidates generate ideas about which experiences to present on their resumes: “You can ask ChatGPT to break down a job description or identify the most relevant skills and experiences for the position you’re applying to.”
In other words, AI writing assistants can help you write a first draft, but you need to edit and write your final draft with specific, detailed experiences only you know to share.
Wagadia advised making your job search “targeted and not templated.” So don’t mass-apply with hundreds of AI-generated job applications.
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“It’s better to have five targeted applications where you put in effort than 100 where the other person can clearly tell that you’re not interested,” Wagadia said.
And don’t lie. Tech and digital marketing recruiter Kelli Hrivnak cautioned applicants against using the suggested achievements generative AI tools can create in their answers if they are not true: “If you have misled the company, then this jeopardizes your integrity as an employee,” Hrivnak said.
Ultimately, a strong job application will include personal anecdotes and specific achievements that are relevant to the role you’re applying to. That level of good storytelling cannot be automated.
“If the company was simply looking for AI-generated work, they’d use an AI tool,” Dilber said. “They are trying to hire a human for the unique things only humans can offer, so make sure your application showcases that.”
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