AI tools to help job-hunters get past the recruiters’ bots

Are you missing out on interviews by not using artificial intelligence in your job hunt? If you are not tech-savvy, you could well be, warn recruiters. You may find the “computer says no” and your CV fails to make it through an AI-powered sifting process, compiled for the hiring company.

Last year, a report by AI-powered recruitment platform Jobscan found that almost all Fortune 500 companies now use AI tools to track applications — which usually involves scanning CVs to remove those deemed not to match job specifications. And, at the same time, almost half of jobseekers say they use AI tools when applying for positions.

It is easy to understand why.

Advances in technology, particularly in generative AI, have changed the job application process. Tools can help with refining CVs and cover letters, as well as highlighting skills and experience better, says Alex Bates, data expert at global recruitment company PageGroup. This can be advantageous to female jobseekers, he argues. For example, PageGroup research found that “more women [than men] say drafting a cover letter is a significant barrier”.

Anna Petosa, human resources executive at US retailer SwagDrop, also points out that “AI recruiting tools can help make job posts appeal to all, by avoiding coded language favouring one gender.”

With women still under-represented in senior and leadership roles, globally, some experts hope the adoption of AI in recruitment could encourage more women to apply for them.

Kirsty Garshong at recruitment firm Harnham Group says she finds women typically apply for a job only if they believe “they can carry out 90 per cent of the role”, but male candidates typically set the bar much lower.

However, thanks to AI, women might become more objective about their suitability for a role — and also feel prepared for interviews. “AI can help by facilitating further information-sharing between candidate and potential employer, such as creating mock interviews or generating potential interview questions,” she says. “It also gives candidates practice in effectively presenting their softer skills.”

Nevertheless, it is a tough time to be looking for work, irrespective of gender. Economic uncertainty has weakened the job market and demand from jobseekers is outstripping supply. Vacancies in the UK between June and August, for instance, were down 14 per cent year on year, according to the Office for National Statistics.

As a result, with AI tools making it easier and faster for candidates to find and apply for roles, recruiters find themselves being inundated with applications. Hung Lee, who runs the popular Recruiting Brainfood newsletter, says candidates’ fears that jobs might be advertised for short periods only lead them to harness AI to help submit applications as fast as possible: “It’s an arms race out there.”

Making an application stand out is changing. HR departments report seeing near identical applications that often contain generic phrases and examples. Applications that are sufficiently distinctive to make it through the initial AI sifts are then often scrutinised by human recruiters to shortlist candidates for interview. Lee says they increasingly look for evidence of original thinking and emotional intelligence. “And that’s where women can have an advantage,” he argues.

For now, at least, using AI in a job hunt seems like a no-brainer — to beat the bots and increase the chances of meeting a human hiring manager. The good news is that there are plenty of free and easy-to-use AI tools to polish CVs and covering letters, and prepare for interviews. Here is a rundown of some popular ones:

Gender Decoder

To help navigate any perceived gender bias in a job description or an application, Nicola Thomas, an AI and work specialist at the University of Sheffield business school, recommends uploading the job spec and your CV or cover letter to this intriguing tool. It quickly scans the text and assesses whether primarily feminine or masculine language has been used, while highlighting relevant examples. Users can try matching their own language to that used by the job ad in an attempt to beat the bias.
gender-decoder.katmatfield.com

ChatGPT

The generative AI chatbot is accessible as a smartphone app or by logging into the OpenAI website, enabling users to feed it their CV, covering letter and a job description, and to issue a prompt. Thomas says: “If I was searching for a job, the prompt I would give it would be, ‘I’m applying for a job at X company. I have uploaded my CV and the job description. How can I improve my CV?’” But she adds that, when she was a recruiter, she “was always looking for candidates to be as bespoke to our company as they could be. So use ChatGPT to fine-tune your cover letter and CV, not to write them for you.”
openai.com/chatgpt

Jobscan

This tool promises to optimise a résumé “for any job”. Upload a CV and job description and within seconds it extracts information from them to generate a compatibility rating. It provides a detailed breakdown of how a CV stacks up compared with the job description, including hard and soft skills, measurable results, layout and web presence. It also provides tips for improving compatibility scores.

One tip to avoid being discarded by the bots in an employer’s initial filter is to mention the exact job title being applied for, especially if your own work history does not include it. A simple mention of, say, transferable skills relevant to the job title within the CV summary section could make all the difference in ushering the application through to the next stage. Jobscan allows users to assess their CV twice a month for free; to do so more frequently, or to access further tools, requires a subscription.
jobscan.co

SmartMatch

This service promises to bring the recruiters to the jobseeker. Users create a profile in order to be matched to roles based on their skills, strengths and interests from the 300,000-plus employers that use Employment Hero, an Australia-based HR platform. It is free and takes a few minutes to create a profile and upload your CV. It asks users for the types of role they are interested in, then shares a list of employers recruiting for similar roles but not necessarily advertising. Register interest with any you choose in order to be contacted directly.

SmartMatch proved useful to 35-year-old London-based Ali Randell, who was made redundant from her role as a people and culture leader this year. “I found that it was matching me using more of my criteria than just the job title,” says Randell, who had become “a bit fed up with job hunting”. She has now had several conversations with hiring managers.
smartmatch.employmenthero.com

LinkedIn Premium Career

Think of this as a virtual job coach. The LinkedIn suite of AI tools includes a profile-writing assistant that doubles up as a CV improver. Users can enhance their profile’s headline and summary, which will make them stand out “for almost twice as many job opportunities”, says LinkedIn. They will also be able to mark three jobs a month as their top choice, which makes their profile stand out to those recruiters with a badge (that verifies their credentials) and a personalised message when applying.

Premium Career also gives access to advanced search filters, enabling users to find recruiters that are actively hiring and jobs where they would be a “top applicant”. Users can then direct-message recruiters even if they do not have a LinkedIn connection with them. The platform says this is almost five times more effective in eliciting a reply than cold emails. Premium Career is free for a month, after which there is a subscription fee.
linkedin.com/premium

Glassdoor and Payscale

Both offer AI-powered salary comparison tools that are useful at the final stage of a successful application process, as they give a detailed insight into what an employer, and its peers, will pay for similar roles. Input the job title and company name to find useful data to help negotiate a salary.
glassdoor.co.uk
payscale.com

HeadshotPro

If it is tempting to use AI-doctored headshots in job applications, remember that recruiters will not welcome discovering you supplied “fake” information. But if you are curious about what AI would do to your headshot, a site such as HeadshotPro is worth trying.
headshotpro.com