Australian jobseekers are ramping up their use of artificial intelligence (AI), flooding inboxes with junk applications and frustrating hiring managers searching for the right talent.
But would-be employees are not the only ones using AI in the hiring process, as some local ventures build their own resume-reading tools.
Taking to TikTok last week, Showpo founder, Shark Tank investor and business coach Jane Lu revealed she had received “potentially the worst job application ever”.
Instead of listing the applicant’s relevant experience, the cover letter merely mentioned “[relevant experience/skill]”, seemingly as a placeholder.
The letter also included the phrase “Here’s a more polished and articulate version of your cover letter”, suggesting the applicant copied and pasted the text directly from a chatbot.
“I mean, I love ChatGPT, but you have got to use a little bit of this,” Lu said, pointing to her head.
@thelazyceo This may very well be the worst email I’ve ever received… also one of the funniest 🙂↕️ #email #chatgpt #fashion
While Lu showed a particularly egregious example of an AI-generated application, other Australian business leaders also say the obvious use of artificially-generated job applications is only becoming more prevalent.
Taj Pabari, co-founder of youth education venture The ASE Group, said a recent job listing for the company called on applicants to submit a customised cover letter — without using artificial intelligence.
Some users built their own websites and Miro boards to support their application, but the telltale sheen of AI-powered writing made it obvious which applicants turned to chatbots for help.
Of the 174 job applications submitted, 66 clearly used AI tools to craft a cover letter, Pabari told SmartCompany.
“I love AI, but this hiring round drove us crazy,” says Pabari.
“There were insane numbers of applicants, with so many being so perfect due to AI.”
The ASE Group typically receives a large number of applications when new roles open up.
But “this was the first time we’d seen AI use so bad, even when we said super clearly, ‘Don’t’,” Pabari says.
Meanwhile, a growing body of research shows the extent that AI is infiltrating the job application process.
New data from software marketplace Capterra shows 73% of Australian jobseekers are turning to AI for help, which is 15% above the international average.
The survey, which included responses from 250 Australians, found 90% of respondents also admitted to using AI to burnish or bolster their credentials in job applications, while just over half admitted AI tools are now very or extremely important to their jobhunting process.
In the future, ASE Group plans to include a video or audio component in its hiring process, making it harder for jobseekers to outsource their applications to AI.
Other business leaders have mixed feelings about AI use in job applications.
Dan Copsey is the group CEO of Agency Stack, a digital marketing and web design service.
After reading thousands of resumes and CVs in recent years, he agrees that overly formal writing — along with Americanisations, like the use of ‘z’ in ‘Americanization’ — can indicate when a jobseeker has used a tool like ChatGPT or Claude.
“It’s just become so obvious now,” he told SmartCompany.
Job applications built using AI can over-exaggerate job experience and qualifications, making life harder for hiring managers, adds Copsey.
More broadly, he fears over-reliance on large language models (LLMs) could “dumb down a generation, and they’re gonna become very lazy”, he says.
However, Copsey says using AI in the ‘right’ way — instead of simply fine-tuning a cover letter — could benefit job applicants.
“I find it really useful as a tool, and I view anyone who’s using it in the right way as a resourceful person,” says Copsey, whose workplace is an OpenAI enterprise customer.
“So that, to me, that gives a tick of the box.”
Online retailing kingpin Ruslan Kogan told SmartCompany the same thing last year, when Kogan received an unvarnished AI-written job application.
Artificial intelligence is not solely used by employees and job applicants, either: platforms like Sapia.ai and Employment Hero are deploying AI tools in their recruitment platforms, in a bid to made hiring fairer and easier.
Agency Stack itself is assessing how AI could help its hiring process, and has built an OpenAI resume reader to identify strong candidates.
Copsey says the project, in its early stages, has significant potential.
“I think it has a huge future, because businesses will look at a recruitment, and recruiters are very expensive,” he says.
But human talent will always play a role, so long as AI models require direction.
“Chat GPT, OpenAI … [are] only as good as the prompt that you give it,” he adds.
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Senior Business Journalist
Focused on the small business sector, David’s work covers the political, regulatory, and economic issues facing Australian entrepreneurs. Prior to joining SmartCompany, he was a reporter for Business Insider Australia. You can follow him on LinkedIn.
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