In the past year, I’ve worked with job seekers, HR teams, and tech leaders, navigating everything from résumé optimization to the ethics of AI in hiring. And I’ve seen a clear pattern emerge: Candidates are using AI more than ever, and sometimes in ways that backfire.

The tools are smarter. The competition is fiercer. Used well, AI can be your most powerful copilot. Used poorly, it can quietly disqualify you before a human ever sees your name.

Here are five of the most common AI-related job search mistakes I see, along with one bonus pitfall you may not realize you’re making.

AI résumé and cover letter generators promise to help you create professional documents quickly. But these tools often generate generic content based on keywords, which can make your application blend in with the rest. 

Yes, with a single ChatGPT prompt, you can have a résumé draft in 30 seconds. But if you stop there, you’re hurting your chances. Remember: AI-generated résumés read like they were written by a robot, because they were.

Why it’s a problem: AI can help you with structure and grammar, but it cannot capture the nuances of your personal brand or unique career story. Worse yet, you also risk having a nearly identical résumé as another applicant because you are all asking for the same keywords/skills.

Solution: Use AI to improve rather than replace your writing process—for example, to check for grammar errors, suggest keywords, or guide you to quantify your impact further. But make sure to personalize the content with specific examples from your own career. Your résumé should reflect your unique journey, not just a collection of skills and accomplishments with AI-generated words in between.

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