Despite launching not even three months ago, ChatGPT has already made major waves across many sectors, including recruitment and HR. Although HR managers may be able to tell when a candidate uses AI to write their application materials, the time saving benefits for job seekers may be too good to pass up.
In February, ResumeBuilder.com surveyed over 1,000 current and recent job seekers (defined here as having looked for a job within the past two months) who have used ChatGPT when applying.
Key findings:
- 46% of job seekers are using ChatGPT to write their resumes and/or cover letters
- 7 in 10 who have used ChatGPT report a higher response rate from companies
- 78% got an interview when using application materials written by ChatGPT
- 59% were hired after applying to a job using materials written by ChatGPT
- 11% were denied a job when the interviewer discovered they used ChatGPT
46% of Job Seekers Report Using ChatGPT to Write Their Resumes and/or Cover Letters
When being screened for this survey, 1,000 of the initial 2,153 current and recent job seekers say they wrote their resumes and/or their cover letters with the help of ChatGPT.
More specifically, 72% have used ChatGPT to write their cover letters, 51% to write their resumes, and one respondent even mentioned they have used it for practicing interview prep questions.
“Job seekers who use ChatGPT for their cover letters and/or resumes are really no different than those going to a resume writing service or using readily available templates and online tools,” says Chief Career Advisor Stacie Haller. “Hiring managers know this when reviewing these documents and can likely tell if they were written by ChatGPT.”
3 in 4 Say Resumes Written by ChatGPT Are High Quality; Don’t Require Much Editing
The primary motivation for job seekers using ChatGPT to write their application materials is to save time, which makes sense when you consider that many view finding a new job as a numbers game. According to respondents, they’ve had good results with the materials produced by ChatGPT.
Twenty-eight percent say they only had to do ‘a little bit’ (17%) or ‘no’ (11%) editing to the resumes and cover letters written by ChatGPT. Additionally, 3 in 4 say the materials written by ChatGPT are ‘high’ (52%) or ‘very high’ (24%) quality.
7 in 10 Report Higher Response Rate When Using ChatGPT
Of recent job seekers who have used ChatGPT to write their application materials, 69% say they’ve found that they have a ‘somewhat’ (50%) or ‘much’ (19%) higher response rate from companies.
“Today, hiring managers must be aware that the application materials they are reviewing might not have been written by the person submitting their info,” Haller continues. “Unfortunately, this makes things more difficult as you therefore can’t evaluate their skills based on what they are presenting,” she explains.
“However, the purpose of a resume is to get someone an interview. From there, it’s up to the hiring managers to use other tools to evaluate a prospective employee during the process,” she advises.
Majority Received an Interview and Job Offer After Applying With ChatGPT
Not only are respondents reporting a higher response rate from companies when applying with ChatGPT generated resumes and cover letters, but the majority are receiving interviews and job offers as well.
Seventy-eight percent of respondents say they got an interview after applying for a job using a resume and/or cover letter written by ChatGPT, and 59% say they were hired.
4 in 10 Say Interviewers Have Not Been Able to Tell They Used ChatGPT
Although cover letters written by ChatGPT have been described as “structurally sound but qualitatively questionable,” 40% of respondents say that, to the best of their knowledge, an interviewer has never been aware that they used ChatGPT to write their application materials.
Additionally, 40% of respondents say their interviewer was aware they used ChatGPT to write their resume and/or cover letter, while 20% of respondents were not sure if the interviewer knew or not.
11% Have Been Denied a Job Because They Used ChatGPT
Of the 40% who say an interviewer was aware they used ChatGPT to write their application materials, 35% (or 11% of the total sample) report that they have been denied a job because of this.
However, 58% of this group say they were not denied a job even though the interviewer was aware they used ChatGPT.
It seems that the time saving benefits outweigh the risks for most job seekers, as an overwhelming 88% of the total sample say they are ‘somewhat’ (41%) or ‘highly’ (47%) likely to continue using ChatGPT to write their job application materials in the future.
“We will see how this plays out, as it is still a changing environment,” comments Haller. “I don’t see this changing the hiring process as much as it becoming a tool for job seekers to be able to produce more effective collateral in their search,” she says.
“The most important part of the hiring process is still the interviews, skills and personality testing, and references. It is not new that job seekers are not writing their own resumes, this is just using a new technology,” she finishes.
Methodology
This survey was commissioned by ResumeBuilder.com and conducted online by the survey platform Pollfish on February 7, 2023. In total, 1,000 participants in the U.S. completed the full survey. All participants had to pass through demographic filters to ensure they were currently employed for wages or out of work and looking for work.
