One of the hottest topics this year is artificial intelligence. Companies are desperate to find ways to use AI in all aspects of their business. They hope that AI will produce better, faster results that will ultimately increase quality and decrease costs. Many companies look at AI as the key to their future success.
Personally, I like to stick to the old-fashioned way of writing emails, for example. However, I’ve seen employers who require employees to install AI on their email platform, to be sure they sound just as smart as possible.
Employers also use AI in their hiring practices. Technologies exist to find candidates online who fit a certain profile. In other words, the employer can give the AI tool the profile of a person they like. The employer can ask the AI tool to find other candidates who look similar. When AI identifies those candidates, AI can then began an automated email conversation with the candidates to find out if they might be interested in the available job.
AI tools like the one described above allow companies to evaluate large numbers of candidates quickly, and at a lower cost. Companies find these tools helpful, as they receive large volumes of applicants today. The large volume of applications makes it hard for a company to review applications by hand.
In the same way that companies receive large volumes of applicants, job seekers must submit many applications to receive a job offer. Job seekers must also make it through complex AI systems that are weeding them out. It’s a numbers game.
To cope with the complex world of job searching, job seekers are also turning to AI. They use it to help write cover letters. They also use it to help optimize their resumes. It’s not uncommon for a job seeker to feed a job description and their resume into an AI tool, and to ask for feedback. Companies, after all, are using AI to screen the resumes and to look for specific keywords mentioned in each resume.
As I shared, I don’t prefer to use AI for my work. But, I don’t take issue with those who do. Frankly, it can be smart. It can help to save time, and to increase the odds of being seen by a company.
What’s ironic is the double standard that companies want to hold job seekers to. Many companies include information in applications about how the use of AI is not allowed. I have seen a company go so far as to say that they will scan application documents for the use of AI and will eliminate candidates who use it.
AI should be a two-way street. If companies are going to use it to process many applications at one time, job seekers need to submit many applications at one time. We should all be allowed to play by the same rules in order to get the best results.
Angela Copeland, a leadership and career expert, can be reached at www.angelacopeland.com.