Applied

One recently employed trainee accountant, who didn’t want us to use his real name, told the BBC he’d applied for 50 graduate jobs and used AI in every application. But he says it was only for researching roles, tidying up his CV and generating mock practise questions for video interviews.

While he says he would never use the tech to cheat on assessments he knows people who would.

“I know people who have applied for 100 jobs and after a while they become desperate. If they see everyone else is using AI, they think how can I compete?”

According to the ISE, the graduate market has stabilised after a sharp fall last year but remains tough. Graduate roles currently attract an average of 141 applications each, it says.

And while only 16% of employers it surveyed are using AI to screen candidates, more than half plan to introduce it due to the large volumes of applications they are receiving.

Hollie Moody says EDF does not currently use AI screening but may have to in future.

For her, the use of AI in job applications remains a “moral dilemma” that employers and candidates will continue to grapple with. But she stresses it cannot replace what her firm is looking for in new recruits.

“It’s about authenticity, but also personality. We want diversity of thought in the business.”