For many jobseekers, it sometimes feels impossible to push your CV through the HR quagmire and land yourself an interview.
And this process has not got any less complicated with the growing use of Artificial Intelligence.
Increasingly, before a human being even sees your CV, there’s a chance it has already been ‘read’ – and rejected – by an AI-enhanced application. An estimated 70% of companies and 99% of large Fortune 500 enterprises are already using AI tools to ‘weed out’ employees.
In parallel, many job seekers now use AI to write or edit job applications, leading to potentially surreal situations where job applications are both written and rejected by AI.
Yahoo News spoke to experts on how to turn AI to your advantage.
AI tools known as applicant tracking systems (ATS) are used to streamline the hiring process, scanning CVs for specific keywords, skills and experiences.
The speed of using such systems means recruiters can reach more candidates, faster – but it can mean CVs are never seen by human beings.
The ease of posting jobs and scanning CVs in this way has also led to increasing reports of ‘fake jobs’ – posted simply to harvest CVs for possible hires in future, with four in 10 US companies, for example, admitting to posting fake roles.
The problem is that the tools can weed out the wrong employees, says Andy Pardoe, author of Confident AI: The Essential Skills for Working with Artificial Intelligence.
He explains that the tools are used to speed up recruitment and bring costs down, but mean CVs can be thrown out simply for not including the right combination of keywords.
“AI’s role in the recruitment process presents a conundrum: it brings efficiency for employers but complicates the path for job seekers,” says Pardoe. “Central to this challenge is automated filtering, which relies on AI-generated keywords. While this enhances speed, it can reduce personal narratives to buzzwords.”
This means job seekers often don’t understand why they didn’t get an interview, Pardoe warns.
“A candidate’s distinct abilities may be overlooked if not precisely matched to algorithmic requirements. Furthermore, how AI screens applications is often unclear, leaving applicants puzzled about rejection reasons.”
How can job seekers stand out in the age of AI?
With ATS systems looking for very specific keywords, you can no longer rely on using the same CV for every job, says James Barrett, managing director at recruitment experts Michael Page Technology.
Instead, you should update it every time, referring closely to the job description in order to successfully ‘target’ the automated stage – are specific skills required?
Ironically, using AI applications such as ChatGPT can help here, Barrett says.
“For candidates applying for a role, there are some steps you can take to ensure your CV passes these initial stages. My advice is to tailor your CV to the job ad as closely as possible, as the AI model will be set up to identify skills pertaining to the job description. Generative AI tools like ChatGPT can help with this,” he says.
“If you plug in the job description and a summary of your work experience, the AI can highlight any of your skills that relate to the requirements of the role. In using these specific keywords and attributes, you’ll increase your chances of progressing to the next stage of the process.”
But this should be a starting point, and it’s key to ensure your CV is both in ‘your voice’ and accurate.
“It’s important to still personalise your CV to ensure it’s faithful to your experience and stands out amongst other AI-generated CVs. In doing so you’ll also avoid tricky interview situations where you’re unable to corroborate what’s on your CV,” adds Barratt.