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Recruiters urge candidates to use AI to apply for jobs

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Top recruiters are urging job seekers to use artificial intelligence tools to apply for positions, signaling growing acceptance of the new technology among employers.

Several large international recruitment companies have started offering AI tools to candidates and suggest that using them to write CVs, draft cover letters and research job vacancies will help a wider range of candidates showcase their skills.

James Barrett, CEO of Michael Page Technology, said it was “well advanced in the established use of AI” in its recruitment processes and that it was “important for candidates to adapt accordingly”. “When used correctly, [AI tools] can help an application progress to the next stage.”

Sebastian Dettmers, CEO of European recruiting firm The Stepstone Group, also advocated the use of AI “whenever [it] “It supports you to show the best version of yourself in terms of what is required for the job.”

These opinions indicate that broad language models are being accepted as a necessary part of the job search. That suggests a shift in approach, following recent warnings from recruiters that automated applications could misrepresent candidates’ skills or complicate the process by flooding companies with mass applications.

Stepstone provides candidates with a tool that creates a cover letter from a CV and job description, and a CV builder, which it claims has been used 2.6 million times in the last year . These products join widely available tools from companies that specialize in AI-assisted CVs or cover letters, such as Kickresume.

LinkedIn, the career-focused social network, offers an artificial intelligence tool that assesses users’ suitability for jobs based on their skills and experience, helps write a cover letter, and provides feedback on resumes. LinkedIn said 90 percent of subscribers who used the features found them useful, and it will soon announce and roll out the next version of AI insights to non-paying users.

These tools are partly a response to recruiters’ use of AI detection technologies. Stepstone’s resume builder claims to “easily pass ATS scans,” referring to recruiting software built into applicant tracking systems that can rank candidates based on keywords.

Survey data indicates that a significant proportion of candidates are already using AI. According to research published this month by human resources group Randstad, around 57 percent of Generation Z workers say they use AI to write job applications, CVs and cover letters. For millennials the figure is 40 percent, for Generation X and baby boomers 21 percent and 13 percent respectively.

But even this may be an underestimate. Kelly-Ann Mallon, director of student employability at the University of Manchester, said she believed the “vast majority” of students were using AI for tasks such as researching potential employers and writing applications.

AI can scan job descriptions and CVs of applicants, identify a position’s specific requirements, and then generate a cover letter that “highlights and articulates why.” [they] matches that job,” Dettmers said.

This helps candidates understand what employers require and express why they fit a position. “Technology helps you present yourself as your authentic self to the recruiter,” he added.

However, applicants must strike a careful balance.

“As more employers integrate AI into their recruitment processes, it’s smart to consider how your CV or cover letter measures up,” said Amanda Whicher, UKI technology director at recruitment firm Hays. But he added that it was “crucial” to adapt the AI-generated content to “your own experience and adjust the language to reflect your style.”

According to Mallon, some employer systems are designed to weed out entirely AI-generated applications, while human recruiters are likely to be put off by presentations that seem generic, so candidates should be careful not to put themselves at a disadvantage with AI.

Michael Stull, UK managing director of multinational human resources company Manpower Group, said candidates should avoid using AI in assessments or misrepresenting their skills in other ways. “You could be selected for a position that is not right for you.”

The risks of cheating demonstrate the importance of responsible AI systems that don’t push candidates to exaggerate their achievements, Dettmers said, suggesting, for example, that they include skills that appear in the job description but not on their CV. However, he stressed that these types of cheats were not caused by AI.

Such barriers were necessary, recruiters said, given that AI use was already widespread. “We need some openness and to be open to the use of technology on both sides,” Dettmers added. “You can warn people not to use AI, but they will use it anyway. You need to be prepared.”

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