How AI Changed UK Job Applications

The way we write CVs is undergoing one of the biggest shifts since the concept first emerged. AI now plays a major role in how people apply for work and how employers review applications. Explore how AI changed the process of making a job CV.

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By Mariusz Wawrzyniak, Senior Content WriterLast Updated : January 22, 2026

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Companies use AI tools to scan, sort, and judge CVs in seconds, while many job hunters use AI to write or refine their documents. As a result, the hiring process in the UK has become faster, more competitive, and far more automated.

This article explores how the CV is evolving in the post-AI landscape, what UK employers look for today, and how job seekers adapt their CVs to stay ahead.

The new labour market of 2025–2026

The UK job market is not the same as it was even a few years ago. Hiring has slowed, competition has increased, and employers have become much more selective.

However, the market isn’t cooling down uniformly across all sectors. It’s becoming polarised, creating pockets of intense demand amidst general stagnation. While generalist roles face a slowdown, specialist recruitment services are seeing a sharp rise in demand – up 67% year-on-year.

This means the CV must now act as a targeted marketing tool. A broad “I can do anything” CV no longer works. Employers want a document that shows:

The “bot vs. bot” arms race

AI is rewriting the rules on both sides of the hiring process. On the candidate side, 46% of UK jobseekers now use AI during their search, whether for writing CVs, generating cover letters, or even using bots that auto-apply while they sleep. The scale of applications has exploded, not because more jobs exist, but because rapidly applying to them has become effortless.

In response, employers have tightened their filters. In fact, up to 80% of UK hiring managers have rejected AI-written applications because they “don’t sound human”. At the same time, 90% of AI users admit some level of fabrication in their documents.

This creates a strange paradox where candidates feel forced to use AI to keep up, but employers reject anything that looks like it was written by AI. This is why the modern CV must:

The growing pressure on young jobseekers

The job market is especially tough for younger people. The number of NEETs (Not in Education, Employment or Training) has reached 946,000, according to the ONS. These young people are entering a market where:

Entry-level white-collar roles may decline by half due to AI automation, posing a significant challenge. The traditional early-career CV, which leans on education and part-time jobs, no longer works. Young candidates must now rely on:

And this shift isn’t optional. It’s becoming a requirement for breaking through the “no experience, no job” loop.

How ATS systems shape the modern CV

AI hasn’t only changed how people write CVs. It has completely reshaped how employers read them as well. Most medium and large UK companies now rely on Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to sort, scan, and score applications long before a human sees them. These systems don’t “read” a CV the way a person does. Instead, they break it into data points, look for patterns, compare your wording to the job description, and filter out anything that doesn’t match.

In a tight job market, this automated step decides who gets through the door and who never gets seen at all.

The UK’s most common ATS platforms

The UK hiring landscape is dominated by a handful of ATS platforms, including Workday, SuccessFactors, iCIMS, and Greenhouse. Each system parses your CV into categories: experience, skills, education, and checks for relevance. Because of this, a modern UK CV must be:

From keyword matching to semantic search

Older ATS software relied heavily on exact keyword matching. If the job description said “customer onboarding,” and your CV said “client onboarding,” the system might reject you. That’s changing.

Modern ATS platforms now use semantic search, meaning they look for meaning rather than matching every letter. They recognise that “team leadership,” “leading a team,” and “managed a team of five” can all signal similar experience. But there’s one crucial detail:

Semantic search only works if you give the system enough context to understand what you mean. That’s why vague CV entries like “responsible for reports” don’t pass AI filters. You need to show:

STAR and CAR methods for describing accomplishments are now more important than ever.

The anatomy of the post-AI CV

The CV of 2026 looks very different from the CV of even five years ago. It’s still a one- to two-page document, but the way information is presented has changed. A modern CV must cater to two audiences simultaneously:

Below is what the new, post-AI CV needs to include:

Focused personal profile

The old-fashioned career objective is disappearing. Employers no longer want to read statements like “Seeking a role where I can grow my skills…”

This kind of line offers no value to the company. Instead, post-AI CVs open with a short profile that gives a direct summary of:

Recruiters want early proof that you can solve real problems. AI also scores these sections highly because they contain keywords and contextual clues.

Core competencies ‘stack’

Immediately following the profile, the post-AI CV features a “Skills” or “Core Competencies” section. This serves two purposes: it feeds the ATS semantic search engine with high-value keywords and provides a quick visual scan for the human recruiter.

Grouping skills under specific categories is also becoming more popular. These categories include:

Experience written for both humans and AI

In a post-AI landscape, job experience must be detailed yet concise. Each role should follow a clean pattern that both humans and algorithms can read. Context, action, and result – known as the CAR formula – ensure every bullet point shows your impact.

Generic descriptions may not even pass ATS checks, and they definitely won’t impress recruiters. You need numbers and outcomes such as:

Education & ongoing learning

In the past, many of us were told to get a degree, and a great job opportunity would open right before our eyes. Nowadays, you need to tie your education to experience and show continuous learning. Your education section should:

AI adoption is driving a surge in short courses, and employers consider them a sign of adaptability.

The rise of soft skills as “power skills”

As AI takes over more routine and technical tasks, UK employers are placing far greater value on abilities that AI cannot replicate—attributes such as empathy, communication, teamwork, judgement, and adaptability.

These soft skills are no longer seen as “nice to have”. In the UK, 96% of professionals believe soft skills are now equal to or more important than technical skills, and 92% of employers have rejected candidates for a lack of interpersonal abilities.

Why soft skills matter more in 2026

AI tools can summarise data, generate reports, and automate workflows. But they cannot read a room, comfort a customer, negotiate a difficult conversation, or decide when a process should change. Employers are noticing the gap. They seek individuals who can bring emotional intelligence, sound judgment, and human insight to the company.

Soft skills matter now because:

These skills are predicted to gain relevance in 2025–2030:

Using AI without sounding like it

AI has become a normal part of job searching in the UK. Many applicants use it to fix grammar, tighten sentences, check keywords, or even swipe on job boards like they were dating apps. But employers are becoming very good at spotting CVs that “sound AI-generated”, and most reject them instantly.

As previously noted, 80% of hiring managers have rejected AI-written applications because the voice appears unnatural or generic.

So, how can you ensure your CV won’t be rejected for sounding artificial?

Avoiding the “AI Voice”

AI often produces writing that sounds polished but oddly flat. Sentences are long. The tone is formal and repetitive. The vocabulary leans on clichés like “dynamic professional,” “devoted team player,” or “proven ability to leverage strategic synergies.”

When a recruiter sees these patterns, they know instantly that the CV wasn’t written by a human, and they begin to question how much of the content reflects the applicant’s true ability. The key is to keep your natural voice present. Start by writing bullet points yourself. Then, if needed, ask AI to shorten or tidy up the wording while keeping your message intact.

When AI helps—and when it hurts

AI can absolutely make your CV stronger when used correctly. It’s excellent at reducing long sentences, checking grammar, and helping you identify skills or keywords you may have missed. It can even suggest clearer wording or a stronger structure. These are all low-risk, high-value uses.

AI is helpful for:

But there are clear limits. AI hurts your application when you let it generate content from scratch. Fully AI-written summaries often sound bland, unfocused, and unrealistic. They also tend to include skills you don’t have.

AI becomes harmful when used to:

The more the CV sounds “machine-made”, the weaker your chances become.

AI literacy: the new standard on UK CVs

AI has become a basic expectation across much of the UK job market. Employers now want candidates who can work with AI tools. And it’s all because AI has become part of daily workflows in marketing, HR, finance, customer service, design, logistics, and beyond.

“AI literacy” has become as essential as digital literacy once was. A modern CV needs to show that you can use AI properly. This means showing how AI helps you work smarter, solve problems faster, or improve your output. You don’t need to be an engineer to demonstrate this. Even basic use cases, like summarising meeting notes or analysing trends, show you understand how to integrate AI safely into everyday tasks.

AI literacy can appear in your CV through examples like:

The different levels of AI proficiency employers look for

Not all jobs require the same amount of AI knowledge. The report highlights four broad levels of AI literacy. Showing where you sit helps employers understand how you work.

How British job seekers need to adapt to AI

The most attractive candidates position themselves not just as users of AI, but as the managers of AI. They emphasise the “Human-in-the-Loop” concept, which is about showing that they use AI for efficiency but apply human judgement for quality control and ethics. This alleviates employer fears about data security, bias, and hallucination risks, which are major concerns for boards and executives.

Employers value candidates who can:

Methodology

This article was developed using a mix of authoritative industry research, official UK labour data, and expert analysis from leading recruitment and consultancy organisations. We reviewed reports from recruitment agencies, HR technology providers, and global labour market studies to examine how AI is influencing job applications, screening processes, and candidate behaviour in the UK. Insights were supported by quantified findings from reputable sources.

Mariusz Wawrzyniak

Senior Content Writer

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Mariusz is a career expert at My Perfect CV who writes practical, research-based guides that help professionals from all industries craft impactful CVs, write compelling cover letters, and advance their careers.