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A recent Resume Now survey found that 84% of U.S. workers say AI has made job searching easier, but 66% acknowledge it has increased competition as more applicants use the same tools to pursue the same roles. (Credit: Paradee Paradee | Dreamstime.com)
Experts in Puerto Rico say artificial intelligence tools help candidates and recruiters, but shouldn’t replace authenticity or personal interaction.
Job seekers, employers and recruiters are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence-powered tools to improve the job search and recruitment process. But as helpful as AI may seem, both sides should strive to avoid its pitfalls.
A majority of U.S. workers (84%) say AI has made it easier to find jobs, but most (66%) admit it has intensified competition by making it harder to stand out, as more people now use the same tools to discover and apply for the same positions, according to a recent survey by Resume Now.
Among the job seekers surveyed, 68% said they use AI tools to write resumes (including keyword optimization), and 67% use them to craft personalized cover letters that better align with job descriptions. Notably, 76% said they fully trust AI-generated job recommendations.
The most widely used AI job search tools include ChatGPT (58%), AI-powered resume builders (52%), AI-driven interview preparation tools (32%) and AI-based networking tools (17%).
In its report, Resume Now advises job searchers to be proactive in setting themselves apart by focusing on tailored applications, unique skills, personal branding, networking and building a well-rounded professional profile that highlights both technical expertise and soft skills.
“While AI can help get applications through the door, human elements — like strong communication skills and meaningful connections — remain critical in landing the job,” the online resume builder reported.
Job seekers
AI offers job applicants many advantages, but they should be vigilant about potential drawbacks.
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Pros:
AI tools enable job seekers to create better quality resumes, cover letters, and professional profiles and to target the jobs they seek more effectively. Given how extensively automated human resources processes are, AI should not be overlooked, Melissa Rivera-Roena, general manager of ManpowerGroup Puerto Rico, told News is my Business.
“AI gives candidates a mechanism that helps them perfect the language they need to express who they are as a resource and make themselves more attractive to employers,” Rivera-Roena said, “But the interview process is what determines if your resume is consistent with who you are, and if you’re the person the organization is looking for.”
Vimary VĂ©lez-Mangual, partner and U.S. country leader at Jobs@PR, said AI allows anyone to build a competitive resume and cover letter and to customize their job search for positions that match their competencies, knowledge and educational background.
“For me, the greatest benefit of using AI is that it increases the candidates’ chances of landing that first interview — something they would struggle with before,” Vélez-Mangual told News is my Business.
Another advantage, she added, is that candidates who use AI tools to apply for jobs show they are up to speed with what’s happening in the job market.
Cons:
Because AI-powered tools are available to everyone, they level the playing field for people who may not naturally excel at job searching.
“In the past, if I had the skills, experience and education to create a great resume and cover letter, to communicate effectively with potential employers, search for positions and guarantee that first interview — that gave me a competitive edge. Because of that edge, I had a greater possibility of getting called for an interview,” Vélez-Mangual said.
“Now, anyone can do it with AI,” she continued. “They don’t have to have those skills. So, AI is making them as competitive as me, and maybe the probability that I’ll get that call is lower.”
VĂ©lez-Mangual explained how using AI can backfire.
“You can use it so much that you stop using your thinking muscle; [you] stop thinking for yourself. And then, when you’re on the spot during a job interview, words won’t come to you. You won’t know how to express yourself because you relied too much on AI,” she said.
Rivera-Roena had another warning: “One has to be careful because you can ask AI to use language that is more aligned with the industry in which you’re searching for a job, but you can also put anything on a resume — whether it’s true or not.”
“However,” she continued, “there’s a misconception that AI is helping people make themselves look better than they really are, yet that used to happen before AI. You can put whatever you want on a resume with or without AI, but the interview will show whether you meet the profile.”
AI tools can also reduce human contact during the job application process, disheartening candidates who are eliminated by an AI system during the pre-screening stage.
“We tell them to pay more attention to how they market themselves,” Rivera-Roena said. “They need to know how to express who they are, so when they pass the initial stage, they can deliver a good elevator pitch about who they are and why they’re the right person (for the job). That’s something they have to practice.”
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Recommendations for job seekers
VĂ©lez-Mangual encourages candidates to use AI tools to focus their job search and align them more precisely with who they truly are.
“AI may increase the probability that you get that first interview, but — watch out — once you’re in the door, if you didn’t prepare for that interview, if you can’t communicate well … show your emotional intelligence … your leadership … your energy … how you make decisions, if you don’t show your authenticity in the process as a candidate, then AI helping you to get that interview was for nothing,” she said.
“So don’t lose your authenticity. What you project during that interview — no one can take that away from you. That’s your edge,” Vélez-Mangual added.
Talent seekers
Pros:
Like job candidates, employers and recruiters are using AI to screen resumes, assess candidates and automate parts of the hiring process. This process, Rivera-Roena said, has been affected in a positive way.
“AI has helped us to be more agile and further centralize the process so we can identify the candidates we want to attract based on their profiles, industry, experience, education, skills — all of that is generated through algorithms that allow us to reach candidates more directly,” she said.
VĂ©lez-Mangual named as an advantage the increase in the number of candidates applying and qualifying for jobs.
“Because so many people are using AI, the applications are more efficient. AI tools connect with what our systems are looking for, mix and match the transferable skills and competencies, and a position for which I used to get 10 candidates, now I get 100,” she said.
Resumes built with AI arrive already polished, saving headhunters like Vélez-Mangual time when presenting the candidates to their clients. “It makes the process easier for me because I used to have to invest a lot of time talking to the candidate and working on the resume before I could show it to the client.”
Cons:
One downside talent seekers face is that candidates sometimes fail to live up to the expectations set by their AI-polished resumes.
“As interviewers, we can get frustrated, even disappointed, when the people you meet don’t match the great resume they submitted,” Vélez-Mangual said.
AI can also make it easier to include false or exaggerated information on a resume or application. “Applicants should always be validated through interviews that must be conducted by human beings and include tests and assessments,” Rivera-Roena said.
Recommendations for talent seekers
The Manpower executive stressed that employers and recruiters must keep focusing on the human element.
“At the end of the day, we have to ask ourselves why we’re using AI,” Rivera-Roena said. “It’s not to substitute human labor. It’s to facilitate and accelerate processes and to save time — time that we don’t have to spend looking for paper resumes in an office, one by one, time that we can invest in making face-to-face contacts with candidates and improving the quality of the interview process.”
Recruiters are still learning how to embrace AI, but they still believe in manual processes, she added. “We simply need to invest more time in human contact.”
G. Torres is a freelance journalist, writer and editor. She’s worked in business journalism for more than 25 years, including posts as a reporter and copy editor at Caribbean Business, business editor at the San Juan Star and oil markets editor at S&P Global Platts (previously a McGraw Hill company). She’s also worked in marketing on and off for decades, now freelancing for local marketing and communications agencies.