Is it OK for jobseekers or employers to use AI?
Graduates are increasingly using AI to misrepresent themselves in job applications, research suggests. But some say their peer group has no choice.
Key points
- UK graduate employers increasingly accept AI use in cover letters and CVs.
- 92% of employers suspect AI misconduct, up from 85% last year.
- EDF closed its graduate scheme early after 12,000 applications.
Jobseekers and employers are grappling with how much AI use is acceptable in recruitment. Graduates say they rely on the technology to cope with large numbers of applications, while employers report rising concerns about cheating. The Institute of Student Employers surveyed 155 of the UK's biggest graduate employers this summer and found growing acceptance of AI at some stages, but also more suspected misconduct.
Tom, 22, from Maidstone, applied for over 200 jobs before landing a restaurant manager role last month. He called the process exhausting and demoralising and said he used AI for cover letters, CVs and screening buzz words, though never in assessments or interviews. He described company rules against AI as hypocritical when some employers use it to screen candidates.
What employers reported
The ISE found writing cover letters or CVs was the most commonly accepted use of AI, followed by online application questions. But 92% of employers had encountered or suspected AI misconduct, up from 85% last year. The most common problems were real-time AI help during video interviews and AI completing online assessments. The technology is also enabling multiple applications at once, known as spray and pray.
Stephen Isherwood, joint chief executive of the ISE, said AI is driving up the competition and pressure on students in an already competitive graduate recruitment market. The ISE said graduate roles currently attract an average of 141 applications each. Only 16% of surveyed employers use AI to screen candidates, but more than half plan to introduce it because of high application volumes.
It's about authenticity, but also personality. We want diversity of thought in the business.
— Hollie Moody
Impact on recruitment
Hollie Moody, head of early careers recruitment at EDF, said she does not blame graduates for using AI given how brutal the jobs market is, but called it a growing problem. EDF opened its graduate scheme three weeks ago and closed it early after 12,000 applications, a 10% increase on last year. Moody said AI almost certainly contributed and is being used a lot more freely in selection.
Moody said there is no level playing field because some candidates use AI throughout the process while others do not. EDF issues guidance on appropriate AI use and tries to make recruitment AI-proof, reading CVs only in later stages and using skills and behaviour-based assessments. She said some applicants still bend rules in video interviews, with many answers the same or pauses while waiting for AI. She called AI use a moral dilemma that cannot replace authenticity and personality.
