I recently saw a post about how tough Gen Z have it in the job market, with salaries failing to keep pace with the cost of living. It got me thinking, because it isn't only the youngest workers feeling it. Millennials are being squeezed by the speed at which technology and AI are changing their roles. And plenty of people further into their careers tell me they feel they're being pushed out, through redundancies on one side and wages that don't stretch as far as they used to on the other.
At the same time, we're being told that AI is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. What I do know is that it's changing how people look for work, and it's worth talking about how to use it well.
My view is simple. AI should help you find a job. It shouldn't try to find it for you.
Why this matters right now
The job market feels very different from how it did a few years ago. I've spoken to recruiters and agents who all describe the same problem. AI tools are firing off applications in huge numbers, and many of them are generic. One recruiter told me he had to close a role by the end of the day because more than 500 applications had come in during the first half of it.
When hiring teams are buried like that, they start filtering harder and faster. Anything that looks generic, copied or automated is far more likely to be ignored. So the very tool that promises to give you an edge can quietly make you invisible if you use it badly.
Where AI genuinely helps
Used properly, AI is a very good assistant. Here's where I've seen it make a real difference.
Getting unstuck. If you can't work out how to describe what you've done, AI can ask you questions, suggest different ways to phrase things and give you something to react to. A rough first draft is far easier to improve than a blank page.
Understanding the job advert. You can paste in a job description and ask what the employer is really looking for, which skills come up repeatedly, and where your experience matches. That helps you tailor your CV with purpose.
Practicing for interviews. You can ask it to play the interviewer, throw questions at you and give feedback on how clear your answers were. It's a low pressure way to rehearse, especially if interviews make you nervous.
Tidying your writing. Spelling, grammar, structure and tone are all things AI handles well. If you're dyslexic or writing in a second language, as many people are, it can take away a lot of the stress.
Exploring options. If you're unsure where to go next, AI can suggest roles and industries that use the skills you already have. Treat the results as ideas to research, not as answers.
Where it goes wrong
This is the part that matters most, because the mistakes are easy to make.
Letting it write everything. Recruiters read a lot of applications, and they can spot AI writing quickly. The same polished, slightly empty phrases appear again and again. If your CV and cover letter could belong to anyone, they won't stand out to anyone.
Mass applying. Automated tools make it easy to send a hundred applications in an afternoon. The trouble is that quantity isn't the same as progress. Most of those applications will be generic, and you'll have learned nothing from any of them.
Trusting it without checking. AI can invent things. It can embellish your experience, add skills you don't have or state facts that are simply wrong. If you submit something you can't fully explain in an interview, you've created a problem for yourself.
Losing your own voice. Employers hire people, not documents. If your application sounds nothing like you, the interview becomes awkward very quickly, because the person who turns up doesn't match the page.
Handing over the thinking. This is the quiet one. If you let AI decide what job you should want and what you're good at, you risk skipping the reflection that actually leads somewhere. Only you know what matters to you.
A simple way to think about it
I find it helps to see AI as a keen but inexperienced assistant. It's quick, it never gets tired and it can produce a lot of material. But it doesn't know you, it can't judge what's true about your career, and it has no stake in whether you get the job.
So use it for the first draft, then make it yours. Add the specific projects, numbers and moments only you can describe. Read every line aloud and ask whether you'd say it. Check every claim. Cut anything that sounds like a brochure.
A good test is this. If an employer asked you about any sentence on your application, could you talk about it comfortably for two minutes? If the answer is no, change it or take it out.
The balance
AI isn't going away, and I don't think refusing to use it is the answer. People who learn to work with it sensibly will have an advantage over those who ignore it and those who rely on it completely.
The people who do best will be the ones who use AI to save time on the tedious parts, so they can spend more of it on the human parts: knowing what they want, building real connections, and showing up as themselves.
If you're finding the job search overwhelming, or you'd like help using these tools without losing what makes you stand out, I'd be happy to talk it through. Send me a message and we can arrange a short introductory call.