Expert Views: Should AI Be Used By Employers For Resumes?

According to a report by Adobe, 64% of hiring professionals support the use of AI tools to help with resume creation, which means that recruiters are open to the assistance that tech may provide during the job hunting process. Using AI to help with resumes can be quite useful in many instances…

Firstly, using AI can help show job hunters which career path is best. So, if you feed AI your skills, experience, qualifications and past projects, it can quickly list different jobs that would use these skills.

On the flip side of this, AI can help single out which of these skills and attributes would be relevant for a specific job. This could save several steps and time required to complete the resume.

AI can pick up grammatical or spelling errors that may have been missed, for a more professional resume. Small details such as these could make or break a resume’s credibility. According to the Adobe report, the biggest concerns recruiters have with resumes are, in fact, spelling or grammar errors, as well as other factors such as a lack of relevant experience, and frequent ‘job hopping’, where applicants move jobs too much, indicating a sense of unreliability.
 

How To Create A Resume That Stands Out

 
The employment process can be a very tough one to navigate. Finding the right job, that seeks specific skills and qualifications relies on different aspects, such as creating a resume. Here’s recruiters and employers can read through applicants’ strengths that they can then use within the company. Many applicants might lose out on countless opportunities all because resumes are not of standard. One of our experts, James Barret, MD at Michael Page Technology shares tips on how to make your resume stand out. He said:
 

1. Adapt your CV for each specific role and company. Research the company’s culture and values, and mirror these in your CV. Use keywords from the job description to align your skills and experience with the role.
2. Keep it simple – CVs should be well-structured and concise, without any unnecessary information. Key skills and achievements should jump out easily.
3. Spell check! It sounds simple but a typo can dissuade a hiring manager from taking you further, particularly if attention to detail is an important attribute listed in the job description.
4. Starting with an executive summary can be helpful in not just adding colour and introducing yourself, but providing a concise overview of your career so far. If you’re feeling stuck, Generative AI can be a really helpful starting point to provide inspiration. That being said, updating the language to feel more authentic to your own tone of voice is an important step and can help to showcase your personality.
5. The best CV layouts are clear, easy to read and well-structured. There are plenty of templates available online which can help you save time on the design and focus more on the content of your CV, but don’t overcomplicate things.
6. Demonstrate your achievements and show confidence in the value you added: use ‘I did’, ‘we did’ or ‘the task was’ appropriately as it clarifies your personal achievements against your contributions in a wider team. Show quantifiable impact where possible to provide context to the hiring manager. What impact did your personal actions have on the business or the team? Again, tailoring these examples to the company and role you’re applying for will set you apart.

 
We’ve asked more experts on their views on resume building, and how the use of AI could be either useful, or harmful to the job application process.
 

Our Experts:

 

• Gary Hemming, Owner, ABC Finance
• Chirag Mehta, Co-founder, Know You More
• Kiran Ramasamy, Managing Consultant, Data Science and AI, Harnham Group
• James Barrett, Managing Director, Michael Page Technology
• Aidan Cramer, Founder and CEO, AiApply

 

Gary Hemming, Owner, ABC Finance

 

 

“When I see a resume that I suspect is heavily AI generated it negatively impacts that candidates chances of progressing to interview.

“When hiring, I don’t look only at experience, I look for more intangible factors that suggest that a candidate will fit well with my team and become a valuable team member themselves over time. The right candidate should be looking to get their personality across and in my opinion, the use of AI sends the message that care and attention isn’t something that you’ll be bringing to the table.

“The only advantage to using AI in creating a resume is that it’s quicker and easier, but not better quality. For that reason, I assume that the potential employee will choose the easy option should I hire them, even if it means worse results for the company.”

 

Chirag Mehta, Co-founder, Know You More

 

 

“Using AI tools to write resumes can make all the difference. AI saves a lot of time by making it easy for job seekers to quickly make resumes that are tailored to specific industries and even individual companies. This customisation shows that effort has been put in, which makes a good impression on possible employers.
Customising resumes manually can take a lot of time.

“A lot of people who are looking for work can feel overwhelmed by the work it takes to make their CVs unique for each application. Because of this, they may use generic resumes that don’t stand out during the first round of screening. This one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t always give hiring managers the specifics they need to get their attention. AI is also a useful tool, but doesn’t remove all the effort, which is a good thing.

“It’s easy to spot content that was made by AI because it lacks the personal touch that “hand written” resumes have. People looking for work need to see AI as a tool to aid them, not something to remove all the work. The content that AI creates should be carefully looked over, customised, and edited to make sure it sounds real and accurately describes the applicant’s specific skills and experiences.”

 

Kiran Ramasamy, Managing Consultant, Data Science and AI, Harnham Group

 

 

“We’re often seeing job applicants putting a lot of trust in AI for the automation of mundane tasks such as resume writing. And because they don’t believe that they are inputting sensitive data, the potential repercussions of how that tool is using the data are not obvious.

“One example is a tool called Resume Worded which came about as a result of an increasing number of companies using AI tools to screen CVs making it more challenging for candidates to break through. To combat this, the tool scans your CV and then advises you on the key words and phrases that you should and shouldn’t include, to get through the screening process.

“As a result of using this tool, candidates are reporting receiving large amounts of spam email. Candidates are often unaware that they have essentially put all of their contact details, including a home address, and everything about them, in one place and have then given an app or platform the permission to use it, not realising what they are opening themselves up to.

“It comes back to putting too much faith in AI, and assuming these platforms will only use the data in the way that it was designed to.

“People should treat AI tools as they do other free internet services. If an AI tool is free to use, it is likely that they are making money another way, such as through selling your data. Most of us now have this awareness about websites or apps but it hasn’t yet translated to AI tools.”
 

 

James Barrett, Managing Director, Michael Page Technology

 

 

“In today’s competitive job market, crafting a CV that stands out to hiring managers is more crucial than ever. While templates and AI tools are great at reducing the time and effort needed, they can lead to generic, impersonal CVs that don’t convey an applicant’s unique strengths and personal story.

”Ultimately it’s about striking a balance. While AI and templates can be used to streamline the creation process, they shouldn’t completely replace the human touch. Authenticity and individuality can be the greatest assets in making a memorable first impression.

“Hiring managers aren’t just looking for qualifications—they also want to see genuine passion and a clear fit for their team. A CV that reflects your true self and highlights your distinct experiences can make a significant difference in a sea of similar-looking applications. What’s more, tailoring your CV to the specific role shows that you took the time and effort to understand the business and its needs.”

 

Aidan Cramer, Founder and CEO, AiApply

 

 

“Job site Indeed suggests applying to 10–15 jobs per week to maximise your chances of getting hired. But creating that many tailored resumes and cover letters and attending interviews alongside your existing work schedule and responsibilities might feel impossible.

“Artificial Intelligence (AI) might be the answer you’ve been looking for. By using AI job tools, you can supercharge your job search and create tailored applications at the click of a button.

“But with recruiters and hiring managers increasingly aware of AI, how can you use it in a way that helps – not hinders – your job search? Here are some dos and don’ts when it comes to using AI to land your dream job:

“Do: Use AI to tailor your resume & cover letter to each job role

“Tailoring your resume and cover letter to each job you apply for is essential to job hunt success. To do this, you’d normally scan through the job description, note down the skills and experience required for the role, and tweak your resume to make sure it reflects them.

“The problem? Re-writing your resume over and over is both tedious and time-consuming. Thankfully, that’s where AI comes in – by using AI tools, you can tweak your resume and cover letter to match a specific job description in seconds. Yep, seconds.

“This means you can ramp up the volume of jobs you apply for, without scrimping on personalisation. The result? You position yourself as the perfect candidate for the job and land way more interviews.”

“Don’t: Forget to proofread or add a personal touch

“AI job tools are a great way to increase your productivity when it comes to job hunting, allowing you to apply for more roles, in less time. But that doesn’t mean you should rely on them entirely – AI excels at efficiency, but only you bring the personal touch.”

“Once the AI tool has drafted you a resume or cover letter for a new role, always check over it before sending it. You might find that you want to tweak the tone, add a personal story to your cover letter to show your passion for the role or industry, or simply inject some more of your personality.”

“Do: Ask AI to review your resume and suggest improvements

“After staring at the same old document for hours on end, it’s easy to miss mistakes – even if they’re glaringly obvious. So if you’ve written your resume without the help of AI but need a second opinion or a proofreader that never gets tired, AI fits the bill.

“By uploading your resume and cover letter to an AI tool, alongside a copy of the job description, you’ll receive instant recommendations for improvement and rid your application of any pesky typos or formatting errors.”

“Don’t: Trust AI more than your judgement

“Have you run your resume or cover letter through an AI tool and disagree with a suggestion they’ve made? Although AI is likely to be accurate when it comes to the basics, like spelling and grammar, their suggestions aren’t necessarily the be-all and end-all.

“If you disagree with the tone they’ve provided or feel something comes across as inaccurate or exaggerated, trust your instinct and edit it back to what sits right with you.”

“Do: Use AI to practise job interviews

“There’s nothing quite as nerve-wracking or intensive as a job interview, but like most things in life, practice makes perfect. Rather than making your friend or Mom sit through hours of mock interviews (which run a serious risk of just turning into a cup of tea and a chat session), why not use AI instead?

“AI tools allow you to practise a real-time interview with an AI agent, and provide you with actionable feedback after each session. Even better? The interviews will be tailored to the job description you provide, meaning you’ll be 100% prepped when it comes to the real deal.”

“Don’t: Rely entirely on AI

“AI job tools provide a great way to practise for an interview, but don’t forget the basics.

“Before the big day, do some thorough research outside of your AI tool. Find out the company’s mission and values, take a look at some of their recent work or projects (if applicable), and have a look through their website and social media profiles to get a feel for the culture.

“Make sure to read through the job description to analyse the skills and experience they’re looking for, too. Think about what makes you a good fit, and keep this in the forefront of your mind throughout the interview.”

The Adobe report can be found here