How You Should Use AI in the Job Hunt, According to HR Pros

Since getting laid off from a giant financial institution in March, Lamar Rogers has used AI to assist him apply to almost 200 jobs.

He turns to Claude to tailor his résumé, makes use of an AI-powered dashboard for each interview, and just lately vibe-coded a résumé-review app. But Rogers attracts the road at letting AI apply for jobs on his behalf.

For the senior roles in banking and tech that he is pursuing, utilizing AI to deal with your complete utility can be “disingenuous,” Rogers, 34, stated. “I need to put much more thought and care into it.”

Whereas employers use AI to display screen purposes, job seekers are utilizing AI to whip up résumés and apply for jobs.

But as AI corporations make it simpler to determine a bot’s serving to hand — Anthropic just lately stated new Claude fashions would insert an “imperceptible watermark” into textual content that AI kicks out — the large query is how a lot AI is an excessive amount of within the utility course of?

Enterprise Insider spoke with headhunters and HR execs about finest practices for utilizing AI in your job hunt:

You needn’t disguise AI

Job coaches stated that candidates do not essentially want to cover their use of AI. Employers are extra centered on whether or not a candidate’s claims maintain up than on how polished their résumé appears to be like.

“It is probably not about whether or not AI helped write it,” stated Stephen Telford, a headhunter and profession coach. “It is about whether or not the declare truly holds up as soon as I begin digging.”

If a candidate claims they “improved gross sales by 30%” but cannot present an in depth breakdown or level to proof of how they achieved that end result on their LinkedIn profile or elsewhere, Telford stated he begins to lose belief.

“That tells me it is simply AI-generated confidence,” stated Telford, who beforehand recruited for AWS.

He stated candidates can use a easy take a look at: Earlier than letting AI phrase an accomplishment, ask whether or not the declare would maintain up if a recruiter regarded into it. May you clearly clarify the mechanics behind it, the start line, what you probably did, and the result?

“If AI helped you say one thing you may’t independently show, that is the place I might draw the road,” Telford stated. “AI may also help you inform your story higher. It simply cannot be the supply of the story.”

Focus in your model

In a sea of AI-generated cowl letters utilizing the identical buzzwords and ideal grammar, sustaining a private model may also help candidates stand out and seem authentic.

Liz Andora, chief individuals officer at DHI, mum or dad firm of tech profession market Cube, stated that AI may be helpful for structuring a résumé or sharpening the language, although candidates ought to make certain their apps nonetheless replicate them precisely.

“You need to be sure you’re representing and placing ahead who you might be and what you supply to the potential employer,” stated Andora, who additionally does profession teaching.

That extends past your résumé and cover letter. At a time when it may be troublesome to inform whether or not you are interacting with an individual or a bot, recruiters need to see proof of the particular person behind the appliance. That does not imply leaving grammatical errors to show you are human. Nevertheless, candidates ought to hold their LinkedIn profile up-to-date and provides hiring managers a transparent sense of what they’ve achieved.

Ron Porter, a senior shopper associate on the recruiting agency Korn Ferry, stated he typically comes throughout supplies with phrasing that’s technically appropriate, however would not sound like the one that wrote it. Candidates ought to make sure the language displays how they really talk and is one thing they might have written themselves.

Do not attempt to undermine the ATS

In a job market the place getting past résumé-screening software can really feel not possible, it could be tempting to attempt to sport the system by doing one thing like hiding key phrases in white textual content.

Andora stated getting by way of ATS is a “legit problem.” Nevertheless, secretly stuffing purposes with key phrases that do not match your abilities might backfire.

Telford stated it might probably sign {that a} candidate is extra centered on maximizing visibility than constructing credibility.

“If that key phrase listing would not match what’s truly on their LinkedIn, their GitHub, or what they’ll converse to after I ask about it, it would not simply damage that one utility. It makes me second-guess every little thing else they’ve advised me, too,” Telford stated.

Job seekers’ frustrations are comprehensible, stated Xenia Wade, an AI adoption guide. Employers “don’t desire the résumés to sound an excessive amount of like AI, however they’re filtering it out with AI,” Wade stated.

One solution to sidestep the problem is to get a referral from somebody inside the corporate. DHI Group’s Andora stated it is best to search out an insider to ensure your utility will get seen.

Applicant bots are dangerous

Candidates are sending out extra purposes on common, making the competitors for every opening steeper. Within the third quarter of 2025, hiring software program firm Greenhouse discovered that the average job opening acquired almost triple the quantity of purposes from 2017, when the unemployment price was comparable.

That does not imply utilizing an AI bot to mass-send applications is the simplest solution to land an interview.

One danger is that, if it is apparent, it might probably sign that the job wasn’t definitely worth the candidate’s time or effort, Telford stated. And in a aggressive market, generic purposes are unlikely to get you very far.

All through his job search, Rogers has leaned on AI. However, he stated, it took months of experimenting to get his résumé, cowl letter, and utility course of the place he needed them.

“AI can not do every little thing for you,” Rogers stated. He nonetheless checks its work and makes the ultimate calls.

“It is the construction of the automobile, nevertheless it’s not essentially the engine,” Rogers stated. “You have got to have the ability to drive it your self.”