Is AI Changing the Job Search Process?

?? Welcome back to Never Job Search Alone! This week, we're talking about how AI is actually changing the job search process.

Q: I keep hearing that I should use AI in my job search to write my resume and cover letter. Is this something you would recommend?

A: It's true that tools such as ChatGPT can be utilized by job seekers for things such as writing resumes, answering interview questions, and advising on career transitions - and many job seekers are doing exactly that. While it may seem like an obvious time-saver (the natural evolution of spell check) these practices come with risks: misrepresentation of abilities, spreading of misinformation, and an over-reliance on tools that maybe aren't quite as "intelligent" as promised.

Online discourse (and marketing) around AI often promises big results. But just as AI becomes a more common part of daily life, so too does backlash against it, specifically the mindset of, "Why bother reading something no one was bothered enough to write?"

What about on the employer side?

Employers see the advice to write cover letters, resumes, and outreach using ChatGPT -- and they believe it's happening. "Is this authentic, or was it written by AI?" is becoming an increasingly important question to ask when vetting applicants, and they often have no way of knowing.

While an employer might decide to take every application at face value, they're likely to make the assumption that many applications are AI-generated and may not be quite what they claim to be. The solution will often be turning to the human alternative -- that could mean working with a recruiting agency such as Boly:Welch or tapping into their own network, but it might mean turning to technology-mediated solutions to prove your humanity, such as the dreaded one-sided prerecorded video interview.?

For most of us outside of the high-tech environments where it's being developed, AI technology has only really been on the market for a couple of years -- neither enough time for the technology to have matured to a point of being particularly useful, nor enough time to be implemented broadly for employers.

This is not to say that no companies are using software-assisted ranking in their application process, but this technology has been implemented into applicant tracking systems for many years and is not much more advanced than a search engine's results sorting algorithm. Those companies using (and relying on) modern AI services to evaluate candidates ultimately make up a small number of the many employers in the job market.?

While an AI system might be able to "read" a pile of resumes and present the "most qualified" candidates back to a recruiter, human intelligence is required to evaluate the most appropriate for the job based on the needs (both objective and subjective) of their hiring authority.?

In short, much like the Internet before it, AI is a double-edged sword in the job search process. For everything it offers as a tool to job seekers, its usability by a large swath of the population contributes to employer overwhelm, and may just amplify the importance of human conversation and relationships -- instead of just relying on the latest technologies.?

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What's your take on job searching in today's hiring landscape? ??