Recruiters reveal the easy way they can show you’ve used ChatGPT on a job application

AI can do a lot, but it won’t automate your career.

OpenAI’s ChatGPT has the ability to create a resume or cover letter in less than five minutes based on the information you provide.

But beware – recruiters can tell.

“Easily 25% of apps appear to be AI-powered,” Bonnie Dilber, a recruiting manager with app automation company Zapier, told HuffPost.

“A good recruiter can spot an AI-written application from a mile away,” added Laurie Chamberlin, head of LHH Recruitment Solutions North America.

And with recruiters being able to spot AI, it leaves a sour taste in their mouth – and makes them think you’re not cut out for the job.

“It signals to me that the person may not know what they’re talking about or how to mix AI-generated content with their own ideas,” Dilber said.

Dilber shared that the biggest red flag that a candidate used AI on their application is when it reads like a wordy template that’s copied and has a “robotic tone.”

“I almost always see words like ‘skilled’, ‘tech-savvy’ and ‘advanced’ repeatedly now on resumes for technology roles,” Gabrielle Woody, a university recruiter for financial software company Intuit, told the paper.

“I review mostly intern and entry-level resumes, and many of the early career candidates I reviewed weren’t using those terms in their applications before ChatGPT.”

Chamberlin added that platitudes are a dead giveaway for him.

“We may catch candidates listing skills like ‘great communicator’ or ‘team player,’ but they don’t back them up with real-life examples,” she said. “Lack of specificity, authenticity and personal touch can be a red flag.”

There is also a lack of care and editing when using AI tools, which is also a problem.

Tejal Wagadia, a recruiter for a large technology company, said she often sees applications that come with fonts, brackets or phrases such as “add numbers here” that come directly from ChatGPT.

“They will literally copy and paste it into their resume without any kind of editing,” Wagadia said. “If you lack that level of detail, it shows the employer that you’re not detail-oriented. You are using technology, but not well.”

If you’re using an AI-powered job app with an AI-powered assistant to help you, you’re not alone. Hundreds of other candidates will likely have the same idea, and your sentence structures and formatting will read similarly to theirs.

For example, Dilber noted that “Why are you interested in this position?” question on a job application often generates the same verbatim response via ChatGPT of “The company’s mission to “insert mission statement” resonates with me and my experience in “insert their current job.

“After seeing the same answer over and over again, it becomes clear that candidates are all using AI,” she said.

AI even generates the same anecdotes for potential candidates. In the job app Zapier, it asks applicants how to use their product, which automates tasks.

“A group of people came up with the same use case of a flower shop,” Dilber explained. “The first time I saw it, it was cute. The next few times, it becomes clear that everyone has entered this into the same tool.”

Recruiters advise that if you’re going to use ChatGPT, it should be used simply as a starting point or to help with a first draft, but you should make sure to modify it and make it personal to your experiences, making your job application “i intended and not modeled.”

“You can ask ChatGPT to break down a job description or identify the most relevant skills and experiences for the position you’re applying for,” Wagadia said. “It’s better to have five targeted applications where you put in the effort than 100 where the other person can clearly tell you’re not interested.”

“If the company was just looking for AI-generated work, they would use an AI tool,” Dilber added. “They’re trying to hire a human for the unique things that only humans can offer, so make sure your application shows that.”