Using AI for Job Applications: What You Told Us

3 minute read

If you’ve ever used a virtual assistant, bought something online, or even typed a query into a search engine, then you’ve used AI – it’s pretty hard to avoid these days. But what about when it comes to recruitment? Should you get help from AI for a job application? And is that fair? We set out to find out…

Last year, we surveyed both CharityJob candidates and recruiters to find out their use of and opinions on AI for job applications. We received responses from 2,309 candidates and 97 recruiters, whose data we analysed.

Here we explore the standout findings from the candidate survey, which examined the use of AI for job applications and its impact on the candidate recruitment journey.

You can find out more about how recruiters are using AI (and what they think about candidates using it) or for the full findings please download the Perspectives on AI in Charity Sector Recruitment 2025 report.

 

Familiarity with AI

Given the increasing prevalence of AI in everyday life, we asked candidates how familiar they are with AI. 82% of respondents said they were either ‘somewhat familiar’, ‘very familiar’ or ‘extremely familiar’.

 

Do candidates use AI for job applications?

Candidates were asked if they had used AI to help with job applications.

More than half of respondents said they had never used AI to help with  a job application.

Those who answered ‘no’ or ‘don’t know’ were asked how likely they were to use it for future applications. 26% of respondents said they were likely to use AI for future job applications, 25% said neither likely nor unlikely and 48% said unlikely.

 

How are candidates using AI for job applications?

Those who have used AI for job applications, were also asked what they used it for.

We saw that 41% of respondents used AI to help them create their cover letter, and a quarter used it for interview preparation. Some of the other uses mentioned included checking spelling and grammar, summarising text more concisely and writing in a more coherent way.

 

Views on AI for job applications

All respondents were given some statements about AI and asked to rank how strongly they agree.

68% of candidates said they were concerned about the future of AI. Although we can’t be certain of their reasons, when asked for any final comments on AI, a few people mentioned the idea of ‘AI taking over’. More than three quarters of respondents said they would prefer a recruiter to check their application, rather than it be checked by AI; this suggests candidates would prefer the use of human judgement when it comes to assessment of their application.

60% of respondents felt that, due to other candidates’ increased use of AI to tailor their applications, it’s now harder to stand out in a job application. But 43% felt that using AI increases their chances of doing better in the job application process.

 

Is it fair to use AI for job applications?

All candidates were also asked how much they agree with the statement ‘it’s fair to use AI to help with the job application process’. Half of respondents agreed that it’s fair to use AI for job applications.

 

Interest in AI

Candidates were asked how interested they were in developing their skills in AI. We saw that 79% of respondents were either extremely interested, very interested or somewhat interested.

 

Final comments from candidates

At the end of the survey, we asked candidates for any final thoughts they had on AI. There were a mix of responses, with positives being that AI can spark ideas, helping them to communicate their skills and experiences more effectively in job applications. However, there were concerns about AI being subject to biases, which could be detrimental to candidates being assessed by AI. This aligns with the quantitative data, where 77% of respondents agreed that they would rather have a recruiter check their application than it be assessed by AI.

To find out more about candidates’ usage and perspectives on AI, please download the full report.

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