Swipe Left on AI: Why Robots Shouldn’t Be Your Career Matchmaker

In the age of artificial intelligence, we’ve become all too comfortable letting machines make decisions for us. From what show to binge-watch next (thanks, Netflix algorithm) to whether we should splurge on those shoes (blame Amazon’s “suggestions”), AI has become the invisible hand guiding our choices. But when it comes to your career search, should we really be trusting AI to play the role of job matchmaker? Let’s pause for a second before letting robots decide our professional fate, shall we?

AI Doesn’t Get Your Personality

The most common job-search AI tools, from resume scanners to interview bots, aren’t exactly known for their charm. They don’t get sarcasm, humor, or the fact that your biggest weakness isn’t “working too hard” (wink). AI systems are programmed to look for keywords, skills, and phrases that align with job descriptions, but they miss out on something crucial: you. Your personality, energy, and communication style are what make you a unique hire—things a bot just can’t comprehend.

Think about it: You could be a charismatic, problem-solving dynamo, but if you didn’t sprinkle the magic buzzword dust over your resume, you’ll get ghosted faster than a bad Tinder date. According to a study by Harvard Business Review, 88% of resumes are rejected by automated systems before a human even sees them. Sure, AI saves recruiters time, but what’s that costing you?

AI’s Love of Keywords Can Lead You Down the Wrong Path

One thing AI loves? Keywords. It gobbles them up like a kid with Halloween candy. But there’s a dark side to this obsession. In your quest to please the almighty algorithm, you might end up keyword-stuffing your resume with jargon you barely understand. Suddenly, you’ve listed “quantum physics” under your skills section because, hey, that’s what the job description said, right? But now you’re stuck in an interview trying to explain Schr?dinger’s cat to a hiring manager who, by the way, actually knows what it means.

It’s a game of keyword bingo, and sometimes you win… but sometimes you win the wrong prize. A study by the Talent Board found that 72% of job seekers feel frustrated by the automated job search process because they often end up applying for jobs that are a poor fit. The moral of the story? Don’t try to outsmart the bots. Be authentic in your search and your applications, or you could end up knee-deep in a career you didn’t sign up for.

AI Can’t Spot Potential, Just Experience

Here’s a biggie: AI doesn’t understand potential. It’s programmed to look at past experiences and match them with a job’s requirements. If you’re someone pivoting careers, or maybe just breaking into a new field, AI doesn’t care that you’ve been upskilling through online courses and have killer soft skills. It’s going to look at your lack of direct experience in the role and—BAM—you’re out.

Hiring managers, on the other hand, know that potential matters. A human can spot that you’ve been leading volunteer projects or that you’ve developed critical thinking skills in an unconventional job. But AI? It’s too busy parsing through years of bullet points to recognize that you’re actually a diamond in the rough. In fact, a report by SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) found that companies using AI for hiring saw a 30% decrease in the number of candidates hired based on potential, relying more heavily on rigid qualifications.

AI Can Be Biased (Wait, Isn’t AI Supposed to Be Objective?)

Contrary to popular belief, AI isn’t some impartial machine making purely objective decisions. AI tools are trained on datasets, and those datasets are full of the biases that exist in the real world. Remember when Amazon’s AI recruiting tool was scrapped because it discriminated against women by favoring resumes that used traditionally male-dominated terms? Yeah, awkward.

AI’s judgment is only as good as the data it’s trained on, which means bias can creep in just as easily. A study by MIT found that AI tools designed for hiring were less likely to recommend candidates of underrepresented demographics because they mirrored past hiring patterns that favored certain groups. So, if your resume doesn’t fit the AI’s biased ideal candidate, you could be overlooked before you’ve even had a chance to prove yourself. Not exactly the future we were promised.

AI Won’t Take You Out for Coffee

When it comes down to it, career success often hinges on personal connections. Building relationships, having mentors, and expanding your network are all essential parts of finding (and thriving in) the right career. AI can’t do that for you. Sure, it might recommend networking events or suggest people to connect with on LinkedIn, but will it introduce you to a former colleague over coffee? Will it give you a pep talk before your big interview? Will it congratulate you when you land the job? Nope. AI might be fast, but it’s not personal.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 70% of all jobs are found through networking. So, while AI might help you find listings, it’s your human connections that will really give you a leg up. Don’t let your job search become a transactional, one-click process. Get out there and meet people (and don’t worry, real-life humans are less scary than robots).

AI Is a Tool, Not the Solution

Now, I’m not saying we should throw our laptops out the window and start sending resumes via carrier pigeon, smoke signal or Morse-Code (?— — -??? ? ??? ? ?-? -? -?-? ???). AI has its place, and it can certainly help streamline parts of the job search. But relying on it entirely? That’s where the danger lies. Remember, AI doesn’t get your personality, it doesn’t understand your potential, and it certainly won’t be grabbing a coffee with you anytime soon.

So, when you’re navigating the career search process, use AI as a tool—not the solution. Your career isn’t an algorithm—it’s a story that you get to write. And no robot can tell that story better than you.

Now get a Career Coach from LAK Group and learn how to write yourself into your own story!! What are you waiting for?

Sources:

1. Harvard Business Review. (2022). Why Your Resume is Being Ignored by Automated Systems. Retrieved from hbr.org.

2. Talent Board. (2023). The Frustration of Job Seekers with Automated Hiring Systems. Retrieved from talentboard.org.

3. SHRM. (2022). Hiring for Potential: Why It’s Being Overlooked in the Age of AI. Retrieved from shrm.org.

4. MIT Technology Review. (2023). How AI Bias Is Affecting Hiring Decisions. Retrieved from technologyreview.com.

5. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2023). Networking: The Most Effective Way to Find a Job. Retrieved from bls.gov.