A recent poll that we published on LinkedIn revealed that 73.3% of people admitted to using AI in their job applications. With AI tools such as ChatGPT taking over our personal and working lives, we thought we would discuss the topic and give you some of our personal insights about the pros and cons of using AI in job applications.
The Benefits of Using AI 
There are so many free to use tools such as ChatGPT in the market now which means that AI has become accessible to everyone. It’s a great tool to use, as it can help add more of a creative flair to your work. However, we always say that AI should be used with caution and that candidates should use AI mainly for idea generation, rather than getting AI tools to write their work for them. Seeing as 60% of the people surveyed said that they use AI but adapt the work, we’ve listed some of the key benefits of using AI in your job application below. We recommend using AI as a support, but not relying on it!
1.It can save time and effort when writing CV’s and cover letters
We all know that writing your CV’s and cover letter takes a lot of time and effort, especially when you need to adjust them for every single role you apply for. AI tools can answer your query in a matter of seconds and can save candidates a lot of time when creating documents as they can give you an example of the things you should be including. However, you should not copy this work and simply just use it as a guide for things that you could include.
2.It can help you structure your cover letter or CV
AI can help people come up with a plan or structure to follow when writing their CV or cover letter. If you are struggling to start typing up your application because you don’t know what to say, asking AI to help with structuring your document can be a huge help, providing that you then write your cover letter in your own words.
3.It can generate ideas for what to say and include in your cover letter
You can tell AI tools what your experience is, and it can generate ideas for which skills you could highlight in your application. However, this does require you to input detailed information as AI produced work can lack the personal touch and can be quite noticeable when it is not made personable.
4.It can help with wording and come up with creative adjectives for your CV and cover letter
One great way to use AI is to come up with “buzzwords” that you can put in your CV. Hiring Managers love to see dynamic adjectives such as “orchestrated” or “managed” in a CV, so if you struggle when adding flair to your written work, AI could really help.
The Dangers of Using AI
Although we have discussed the benefits of using AI in your job applications and the ways that you could use it effectively, we would always advise using it with caution.
We have received many comments from Hiring Managers that have been put off by candidates that have used AI generated work in CV’s, cover letters and interview presentations as this work lacks a personal touch and bespoke company research. Therefore, we know first-hand that AI can also be a huge hinderance to your success when finding a new job, especially for younger candidates and graduates who are particularly likely to use the tool.
Recent articles by Bright Network and another by NHS Employers highlight the key ways that Hiring Managers can spot that you have used AI in your application. These are things to watch out for, so we have detailed these below:
- The text is too formal and doesn’t sound like it was written by a person.
- The text overuses adjectives in sentences.
- The text doesn’t use a consistent tone of voice.
- The text uses too many semi colons.
- The text is very long and complex sentences.
The use of AI has really helped and hindered some of our candidates in their job search, so we wanted to tell you about the pros and cons of using AI in job applications so that you can make an informed decision before using it in the future. We really hope this article has helped you and for more tips and tricks, please do view our blogs page here.
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