When All Candidates Sound the Same

By Russell Pearlman

March 25, 2026

The talent recruiter thought the candidate’s cover letter, résumé, and interview were great, especially when he mentioned skills like “forecasting accuracy,” “interpreting large datasets,” and “building three-statement models.” But the next day, another candidate sent in a résumé that used the same phrases. Then another. And another.

Facing a deluge of competition in a tough job market, candidates have made AI a go-to source for crafting the perfect pitch to win over hiring managers. The only problem is that the tech tends to spit out the same advice and keywords to every applicant for a given role. “AI has commoditized résumés, cover letters, and even interview answers,” laments Malvika Jethmalani, a talent consultant who has spent most of the last decade leading recruiting efforts for companies around Chicago. Ask the technology itself why so many AI-infused job applications sound the same, and it will answer candidly: Two popular platforms, ChatGPT and Gemini, say that AI tools are trained on large datasets that include common phrasing and best-practice advice, and that this leads to standardized language and an overreliance on keywords.

The problem might only get worse, because hiring on most jobsites has become a brutal numbers game, with hundreds, if not thousands, of candidates applying for a single job in some cases. That forces candidates to use the remarkable skills of AI to craft job applications by the hundreds. Not surprisingly, about two-thirds of job candidates say they use AI in one form or another when applying for jobs, according to the 2025 Market Trend Report by Career Group Companies, a talent market-research group. As the numbers game balloons, experts say, that percentage will go up and up. “Many résumés and cover letters are generated by AI; that’s just reality now,” says Ali Gohar, CHRO at the business consultancy Software Finder.

To some degree, hiring managers should have seen this problem coming. After all, firms led the way when they deployed AI to filter out candidates by keywords and experience. But the problem now is that it’s slowing down hiring by inundating firms with look-alike applications for a decreasing number of open roles. “Companies are having to go through hundreds of résumés to find one qualified candidate,” says Brittney Molitor, a Korn Ferry managing consultant in the firm’s Human Resources practice.

For now, experts say the only answer to all this high-tech jostling may be decidedly analog. Simply checking references, a measure some overtaxed HR departments have been quietly skipping, can help. Conducting job interviews face-to-face, and asking questions about the type of culture they thrive in, negates a candidate’s ability to use AI to come up with answers in real time. Recruiters should also be watching a candidate’s reactions, body language, and comfort level. “Watch to see how a candidate reacts to a curveball,” Gohar says. Some recruiters recommend that candidates “audition” for the role: While the candidate is on-site, ask them to code something, pitch a product, solve a math problem, or take a writing test. In the AI era, “auditions let employers evaluate the work itself, rather than the words around it,” Jethmalani says. 

Photo credits: Gerenme/Getty Images