Graduate jobseekers are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence to handle high volumes of applications, applying for over 200 jobs while employers grapple with rising misconduct in video interviews and a surge in submissions.
Job hunting has long been a demanding pursuit, but the modern graduate market has turned the process into an endurance test. He described the search as exhausting
and demoralising
due to employers frequently failing to respond, noting that surviving the process required leaning on artificial intelligence for assistance.
The Rise of Spray and Pray Applications and Employer Scrutiny
A summer survey by the ISE covering 155 of the largest UK graduate employers revealed that companies are growing more accepting of candidates using AI during early stages like writing CVs or answering online questions. However, the same survey found that 92% of employers encountered or suspected AI misconduct during the selection process—up from 85% the previous year. Most infractions involved candidates deploying real-time AI assistants during video interviews or online assessments.
Energy giant EDF experienced the direct impact of this surge when it opened its graduate recruitment scheme, closing it early after drawing 12,000 applications—a 10% increase from the prior year. Hollie Moody, head of early careers recruitment at EDF, told the source that AI undoubtedly fueled the increase and is being utilized a lot more freely
throughout actual selection stages.
Managing the Moral Dilemma of Recruitment Technology
To combat unauthorized assistance, firms like EDF issue formal guidance on acceptable AI usage and try to build AI-proof application structures. EDF delays reading CVs until later hiring phases, relying instead on skills- and behavior-based online assessments and video interviews. Even so, Moody noted that video interviews still catch applicants bending the rules when answers sound uniform or candidates pause to wait for an AI tool to feed them a script.
Tom argued that it feels hypocritical
for companies to ban candidate-side AI when firms routinely use automated screening algorithms themselves. A recently employed trainee accountant who spoke to the source after applying for 50 graduate roles admitted using AI for research, CV cleanup, and generating video interview practice questions, noting that desperate applicants feel compelled to keep pace with peers.
Data from the ISE shows that graduate roles currently pull an average of 141 applications each. While only 16% of surveyed employers currently screen applicants with AI, more than half intend to adopt the technology to manage swelling application volumes. Moody acknowledged that EDF might eventually adopt screening tools, describing the overall phenomenon as a lasting moral dilemma for both sides of the hiring table.
