Application deadlines are approaching, and your CV still isn’t where you want it to be. You submit it to ChatGPT to polish it up. Now, it doesn’t sound as if it was written by you. In fact, it now reads as if it could have been written by the editor of The Times, but it does list your experiences and your achievements. This CV definitely presents you in the best possible light.

You add the CV to your application to your dream employer and hit ‘send.’ Thirty minutes later, you receive a rejection email! While it is clear that no human has read it, you have been rejected. What’s happened there?

Well, you may be surprised to hear that employers have been using AI for some time to support their recruitment work. Since the early part of this century, employers have used AI to scan CVs for relevant keywords or desirable university names or to analyse applications for grammar and spelling.

Of course, with the introduction of ChatGPT, this has moved up a level. Employers can now use ChatGPT to conduct initial interviews where the AI not only asks standard questions but can also assess responses based on the person specification or job description. Similarly, with psychometric tests, growth in the use of gamification in recruitment is based on the use of AI.

So, what should you do?

• Firstly, remember that AI can be your friend when applying for roles. Your LU Careers Portal offers CV360 to improve your CV and Interview360 to develop your interview skills.
• Try and be a little creative in your approach to applications. Think of (positive) ways you could stand out. Personalise your answers to application questions and use interview examples that help distinguish you from other candidates—those which can’t be sourced using AI. Interviewers get bored hearing the same stories about group work at university!
• While AI has changed the game, key skills such as communication, presentation, teamwork, and leadership are still critical. Being able to evidence these in an application process is the key to getting that opportunity.
• Whether human or AI, the recruiter wants to hear about your experiences, your reflections on those experiences and what you achieved—remember to use the STAR framework!
• Remember that the end of most application processes is an interview or assessment centre. The ability to dress and communicate professionally will not be replaced by AI, but AI, used properly, can help you get that call to interview with your dream employer.

Good luck!

PS: Employers are wise to the possibilities of AI. Using AI tools to help with researching employers or planning a presentation can be appropriate, but you must never present content provided by an AI tool as your own.

PPS: Yes, AI was used (appropriately) in the creation of this piece

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