Online surveys conducted by recruiting software firm Softgarden have revealed that more and more job applicants are turning to artificial intelligence (AI) when writing their job applications. According to the survey, 19 percent of respondents already admitted to using AI tools such as ChatGPT to write their applications. In comparison, only 12.7 percent answered this question in the affirmative in May 2021. The use of AI is therefore clearly on trend.
The surveys also indicate that a further 42 percent of respondents could imagine using AI to create job applications in the future. This is a significant increase on the previous survey in the spring, when 37 percent still stated that the use of AI in this area was conceivable.
What is also striking here is that the number of those who oppose the use of AI tools in creating job applications is falling. While 37.8 percent still considered AI-generated job applications to be fraudulent in the first half of 2021, this figure is currently only 32 percent. Furthermore, only 7 percent of respondents still report that using AI tools would be too complex for them.
The results are based on two online surveys, for which around 2,700 job seekers were interviewed in September and another 3,800 applicants in May.
Interestingly, recruiters are not in principle negative about the use of AI in job applications. As Rimma Pitkevich from Comspace points out, they primarily value truthfulness in the information provided, regardless of whether it was created by an AI or by the applicant themselves. Therefore, the experts recommend carefully checking what AI tools suggest before using them.
According to the Softgarden study, some job seekers even rate cover letters written by AIs as higher quality and better than if they wrote them themselves. However, there is a need to customize and touch up the cover letters.
The study also raises the question of whether traditional cover letters are still necessary at all. Softgarden recommends that companies dispense with cover letters, as in the future they will probably provide less information about the motives and personality of job seekers and more about their understanding of AI.
Doing away with the classic cover letter in this way could even be advantageous for companies that are urgently looking for new personnel. After all, according to the survey conducted in May, such a change in the application process could increase willingness to apply: just over half of job seekers said they would be more likely to apply for a job if a cover letter were not required.
