Recruiters turn back to referrals as AI makes applications look alike

In short: More recruiters are relying on personal recommendations because AI-written CVs and cover letters are starting to look the same.

What's going on

Recruiters say the usual job application documents, like CVs and cover letters, have become less useful. Many job seekers now use AI tools to help write them, which can make lots of applications sound polished in the same way.

Greenhouse, a hiring platform, says 87 percent of UK recruiters are seeing AI used in at least half of the applications they receive. Many recruiters also say they are dealing with a flood of low quality applications, and that it is their biggest problem. Greenhouse’s chief people officer, Sharawn Tipton, summed it up simply, when every application is polished, the polish tells you nothing.

As a result, some hiring teams are leaning more on referrals and letters of recommendation. Judd Kessler, a Wharton professor who studies hiring, argues that cover letters have turned into “cheap talk,” meaning words that do not carry much real information. A recommendation can still mean something because it costs the writer time, and it can risk their reputation if the candidate does poorly (like vouching for someone to a friend).

Kessler’s team studied New York City’s summer youth employment program. Young workers who were randomly given supervisor recommendation letters were more likely to get jobs faster and to find work in industries they were interested in.

What to watch

More referral based hiring could make it harder to keep hiring fair and inclusive. Tipton warns that relying on personal networks can reinforce existing inequalities, because referrals often bring in “more of the same.” One possible countermeasure is letting candidates show skills earlier in the process, instead of focusing on how perfect their documents look.

Source: Financial Times