When Your Recruiter Is a Computer

Before a recruiter ever peers at your resume, there’s a growing chance a machine has already decided whether you're worth a second look.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the way people apply for jobs and employers find new talent. Understanding the roles of AI in recruiting can give job hunters an edge by helping them stand out as candidates while avoiding mistakes that could result in a digital “thumbs down,” said Assistant Dean Kimberly DeGross of the Office of Career Services at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.

She helps job-seeking Terps capitalize on new AI innovations as one of 12 faculty and staff members leading a new 10-module, self-paced AI certificate series. The free certification course, launched on May 1, is designed to prepare any employment seeker for the changing job market.

DeGross, who created the module “Job Searching in the Age of AI,” spoke to Maryland Today to offer insights about how to navigate this shifting technology—from not over-relying on it for cover letters to using it to help you practice responding to job interview questions.

How heavily involved in recruiting is AI in 2025?
Most employers we’ve talked to still hand-review the initial resumes, but they're using AI to move people along in the screening process. AI platforms screen for keywords, skills, experience and graduation date. For example, if the employer is looking for interns at a certain time in their college career, their graduation date has to be within that timeline. If not, the software will automatically remove the applicant.

Some companies ask people to certify that they have not used AI to generate their cover letter or their resume as a screening measure, as well. This ensures that the information given to the recruiter is actually generated by the candidate.

How can job seekers use AI to improve their application materials and prepare for interviews?
People often use AI in creating cover letters. Sometimes people take the job posting and their resume and tell AI to write a cover letter for them. Using AI to check grammar is okay, but the thing that makes you unique is how you articulate yourself and tell your story in your cover letter.

Your cover letter needs to originate from you. Otherwise, it's not going to be any different from the others.

It's also important to customize your resume for each application and make sure to use the correct keywords or skills needed for a particular role. If your resume is customized for that role and talks about you and your skills, AI is less likely to screen you out.

You can also use AI to ask it to generate possible interview questions. You can ask, “Based on this job description, what are likely questions that an interviewer could ask that can help me prepare in advance?”

AI can also be used to help you generate questions as the interviewee. Ask, “What are good questions to ask in the interview about this job?” Of course, make sure you edit and review before actually asking the questions.

How can job seekers avoid mistakes that might get their applications rejected? 
I’ve seen people take something they’ve generated using AI and copy and paste it right into a document, and they don’t take the time to edit. It will say, “Dear (insert name here),” and they’ll send it off as part of their cover letter. If you haven’t taken the time to edit, review and read everything that AI has generated, it might not be accurate.

We’ve seen a lawyer get in trouble because AI invented the citation for a case that didn’t actually exist. It’s really important that you actually edit and proofread AI responses before they’re submitted.

What can job seekers proactively do to make their application materials appealing to both AI and human recruiters?
Making sure that your resume talks about your skill sets and the outcomes of the work that you’ve done is really important. It’s one thing to say you participated in a project, but it’s another to talk about the impact of that project on a particular company or business. Those kinds of qualities on a resume will jump out.

Also, you want to make sure that you include anything that makes you unique; you play the violin, you ride horseback, you volunteer in the community. These are things that tell people about your personality and the kind of person that you are, and these are the intangible qualities that will help you stand out. There’s a lot of really smart, talented people out there. So, the question is: What makes you stand out from the crowd? That’s what you want in your cover letter.

Also, make sure your cover letter is tailored to the particular job you are applying for. Talk about why you want to work for that company, not just something generic. Do your research on that company. What are that company’s goals and mission, and how can you help achieve those goals using the group of skills you bring to the table?

Could AI ever fully replace human recruiters? Why or why not?
Absolutely not. When you are hiring someone, there are intangibles like body language, voice tone, interactivity, even the way you greet someone at the door. These behaviors and actions can only be assessed by human interaction. In the workplace, human interaction is critical for teams to function and be successful, and making sure that a person is the right fit for the culture of the organization can only be assessed by another human being. These intangibles could never actually be determined by a machine, in my opinion.

I think there’s a lot of fear surrounding this new wave of technology, but that fear doesn’t make it true. At one point, VHS was new. At another time, cell phones were new. There’s lots of new technology that people thought could end jobs. For example, there was once a worry that automating the dishwasher would suddenly put all of these people out of work, right? The innovation may, in and of itself, change some jobs.

Ultimately, history has shown that the implementation of technology has actually improved our productivity and the way we get our jobs done. I think when we look back on this time frame, we'll wind up seeing that AI actually helped people do their jobs more efficiently and yielded a more positive result overall for society.