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An AI resume is not the answer to landing your next job. While we can all benefit from the research and organizational value of AI tools, creating an AI resume plays into the broken hiring system and prevents you from standing out.

You’re not a bot. But relying on AI will effectively turn you into one.

Over-relying on AI lets the algorithm shape your narrative and value proposition based on statistical probabilities, not the unique value you can provide to the hiring managers looking for your unique value. You’ll never stand out and they’ll never find you.

AI Resume Nirvana

AI agents are the next phase of Generative AI. You’ve heard about them, read about, and may even be using them. AI agents are independent reasoning bots that are capable of carrying out more complex actions and collaborating.

Remember how at the end of the movie “Her,” Joaquin Phoenix’s AI lover “Samantha” breaks up with him because she’s upgrading herself to a new level of intelligence that does not require human interaction? This is what we’re looking at with AI agents.

Here’s what this means when applied to the job search marketplace.

Not only will you be able to have AI rewrite your resume to make it more compatible with a given job description (which by itself is pretty useful). Your AI agent will search the job boards for the latest compatible open positions (you set the search parameters), automatically tailor your resume to address the positions’ requirements, and then submit you for those jobs.

At the end of each day, you’ll probably get a report listing the job applications you’ve made, as well as a log of all your prior applications and their status. Based on your success (or rejection) rate, your AI agent will likely be able to make recommendations about open positions you could be better suited for, or suggest new skills or certifications you might consider obtaining in order to be more desirable to employers.

Sounds good, right?  But what happens on the employer side?

AI Resume Hell

If 250 is the average number of job applications received for each open position, AI resumes coupled with AI agents will likely explode that figure. We could see that number 10x or 100x for each position. If recruiters are already overwhelmed by current application volume, they’re going to need more than ATS (applicant tracking systems) to help sort through the mess.

The solution: more AI agents!

Employer AI agents will be detectives, determining which resumes are AI resumes and which are human-written. Naturally, they’ll weed out and reject the AI resumes (or resumes majority-written by AI). They will likely scan the web to determine what other positions you’ve automatically applied for. They’ll also deep-check your social proof and any other public data for a background check to determine how factual or accurate your AI resume really is. You’d better hope your AI isn’t “hallucinating.”

Given the sheer volume of submissions, your chances of getting culled during this process are high. And this process will play out for every single one of the hundreds or thousands of applications your AI agent has made for you.

Bottom line: AI resumes and AI agents will be contributing to more chaos and logjam, making it even harder for good candidates and hiring managers to find one another in this morass.

Candidates: Get Back to Basics!

Forget AI resumes. While AI has its uses, landing a job is not one of them. It’s a shiny new toy that is broken before you even unwrap it.

Instead, invest in tapping the “Hidden Job Market.” It’s the actual way that 80% – yes, 80% – of jobs are filled: personal referrals.

Savvy recruiters or hiring managers may post a job, but they rely on their professional networks to get recommendations and referrals to fill it.

Instead of submitting dozens (or, through AI, hundreds) of resumes to a range of open positions, savvy candidates reach out to their network to set up meetings with new and existing contacts to establish professional rapport and alignment. This leads to more meetings, more conversations, and eventually interviews and offers.

Human-Centric – Not AI-Centric

A human-centered referral strategy puts you in control of your career process. You define the work you do best, the work you love and want to do, and identify the companies and teams where you can be most valuable and effective.

You’re not trying to be all things to all employers. You’re looking to make meaningful connections with people who get you based on shared interests, values, and abilities.

Your search is qualitative, not quantitative.

Sure, each job has skill and experience requirements. But by connecting with real people, you put the human element at the top of the priority list.

In this era of digital overwhelm, your smart, engaging outreach will be a breath of fresh air to a recruiter or hiring manager bombarded by faceless, homogenized AI resumes that all look the same.

You Are Not Expendable!

If the only reason you got hired was because you fit some opaque set of criteria or matched the latest algorithm or ATS keywords, you’re easy to replace, especially if the criteria change.

Instead, if you’re hired because you’re a human, you have the inherent ability to grow and adapt. You’ll use your knowledge and experience to make better and better decisions as you embed deeper into the team and use your insight to drive expansion and innovation.

Experienced managers and recruiters understand this. They’re the people you want to connect with.

Start By Defining Your Value

In my coaching program, I start most engagements with an “Ikigai” exercise to answer four key questions to ground your job search. To get a copy of that exercise, click HERE