AI and the job search: What’s changed and how to come out on top

Job hunting in 2025 can be a nightmare. Never-ending redundancies are flooding the market with good people, allowing hiring managers to be super picky. We’ve been through this before, but in 2025, candidates on the job search also have to navigate biased AI-recruitment platforms and awkward bot-interviews.

05 August, 2025

Is there a good time to look for a job?

Job Seeker

By Sadie Said

Shock, the human recruiter isn’t a fan of the AI tools that will no doubt replace them.

Let’s ignore that… AI is an amazing way to make the recruitment process more efficient and to stop applicants from getting ghosted. Outside of that, I think it has some flaws. 

Garbage in, garbage out. A recent study by the University of Melbourne highlights the systemic biases in hiring that are now ingrained in recruitment algorithms, with not enough auditing of AI vendors. So, a hiring manager might have a deep appreciation of DE&I, but that won’t matter if the problematic algorithm filters out any diverse candidates in the first place.

“AI tools used for recruitment need to be trained on good-quality, diverse data.”

I don’t think idle threats are the way to go about gathering that data, like AI-recruitment platform Jobgether seems to be doing:

Adapting your job search

You need to hedge your bets. Speaking of bias, I’d recommend working with a specialist recruiter as we do the legwork for you and will usually have 1 or 2 clients whom we work exclusively with, so you’re not competing against every man and their dog. 

30 July, 2025

In a tough job market, building your personal brand on LinkedIn isn't optional.

Job Seeker

By Karen Monjo

But in a competitive market, more businesses opt to save the recruitment $ and advertise themselves, so you also need to apply for jobs directly. It’s daunting when you see 100+ applications for a job that was posted 5 minutes ago, but remember, 90% of those applicants will be completely irrelevant.

If a company doesn’t usually recruit directly, it’ll probably have poor internal processes. A small-medium sized business that can’t afford a fancy Application Tracking System will likely have someone from HR reviewing CVs who might not know what they’re looking for when it comes to the nuances in a job description. So, if you’re not hearing back from roles that seem to be a perfect match, I’d do a little digging and connect with the hiring manager directly. They might not have even seen your CV—and if you’ve missed the boat, you’ll at least be on their radar for next time.

Small tweaks, big impacts for your job search

It’s sad to hear that people feel the need to hide their gender, age, or race on their CV to get past an ATS. People shouldn’t have to make their CVs anonymous to get a job. It’s a massive red flag for that business. Less depressing changes you can make to your CV are having an ATS-friendly format and an SEO-focus when it comes to key terms that are relevant to the role. Canva has free CV templates to help with this.

Getting past automated systems is important, but not as important as having a succinct, outcomes-driven CV with metrics that show your value to a business. Mirror these achievements on your LinkedIn profile, as that’s the first port of call for hiring managers when reviewing candidates. 

This LinkedIn Guru says they're a professional Resume Writer, but it sounds like ChatGPT is the only Resume Writer here?

Using AI to refine your CV is great, but be careful when relying on it too much, as it should be there to optimise your own work. I’ve met a few strong candidates who have then sent me a horrible AI-written CV. Recruiters spend all day reading them, so there are obvious patterns such as the same phrasing used as my job ad or if you’re ‘spearheading’ every project. A CV that’s clearly been created by AI gives an impression of poor communication skills, and some recruiters might doubt the validity of your achievements. 

I can’t see bot interviews going away anytime soon, so you need to get comfortable with them. There are plenty of training tools, such as interviews.chat, which you can use to practice how to please our new robot overlords.

The saying is true: Your network is your net worth

28 April, 2025

Building Your Creative Network: How To Make Your Own Career Safety Net

Job Seeker

By Barrie Seppings

The most important thing you can focus on is building your own networks. A personal recommendation is worth its weight in gold in the current job market. 

Connect with experienced recruiters in your market, as they’ll often run free, in-person meetups and workshops, which are a great place to meet like-minded people. I hosted 2 events in Melbourne last year and have 1 on the way this year (I’m slacking due to becoming a new Dad in July… so maybe it’s the baby’s fault?). Also, look out for free events from brands such as Canva’s upcoming world tour, stopping off in Sydney and Melbourne. 

If you have accessibility issues or no free time in the evenings, online events are a good alternative. Aquent hosts regular events focused on Marketing, Design & Analytics. You can still use online events to build your network by connecting with the speaker afterwards or, if you’re feeling brave, posting about it and tagging them.

It's worth knowing in this current market that you can be doing everything right, and it may still take longer than you'd hope to find your next role. 

It’s tough out there. I was made redundant back in 2020, so I know how demoralising it can be, but things will improve. Connect with me here if you want to chat about the market or your career in more detail.

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