The news: AI-fueled résumés have pushed LinkedIn job applications up 45% YoY, overwhelming recruiters and upending hiring norms.
Recruiters now face an avalanche of lookalike résumés and fake identities—some even auto-submitted by AI bots. Many are turning to AI-powered hiring platforms to fight fire with fire, per The New York Times.
Why it’s worth watching: With a prompt, AI chatbots like ChatGPT or LinkedIn’s AI Resume Builder can stuff résumés with job keywords. Some candidates go further, using AI agents like Sonara and Jobhire—which use AI to scan listings—to auto-apply to hundreds of jobs they might not be qualified for.
The deluge of applications is making it increasingly difficult for recruiters to find qualified candidates in a sea of nearly identical submissions.
AI’s vicious cycle: Recruiters now depend on AI to screen, interview, and assess as applicant numbers grow.
- LinkedIn’s AI agent helps screen résumés and recommends top candidates. Its AI job-matching tool for premium users cut “low match” application submissions by 10%.
- Tools like Ava Cado, used by Chipotle, automate scheduling and screening, cutting hiring time sharply.
Our take: Hiring is becoming a machine-versus-machine contest. Applicants use AI to mass-apply; recruiters counter with AI to filter the noise. But speed and scale are replacing discernment and raising the risk that qualified candidates with traditional, non-AI-optimized résumés get overlooked.
By relying on AI tools to chase efficiency, both sides could drive up skepticism and erode the core goal: finding the right person for the right role. Businesses with open roles should prioritize clarity, human relevance, and judicious restraint in their own use of AI.
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