When AI Writes the Résumé and AI Reads It — Where Did the Human Go?

It’s been a while since I sat on the hiring side of the desk. Recently, though, I heard the term “ghost résumé,” and it caught my attention.

We’ve entered an age where technology can make it incredibly easy for job seekers to create résumés and send them to employer after employer — sometimes hundreds or even thousands of them. And it got me thinking.

If AI is helping write the résumé and AI is helping decide which résumés an employer sees, at what point do we actually meet the human being? Believe it or not, some of this isn't entirely new.

During my corporate career, I worked for one of the largest engineering firms in the world, headquartered here in Canada. Over the years, I found myself hiring for a number of open positions. I could have simply interviewed the candidates who were selected and sent to me.

But I chose not to. Why?

Because I didn't always agree with how they got there — or, more importantly, who might have been left behind. Résumés were electronically screened for qualifications and keywords. From there, they went to HR for another review before a select number eventually made their way to me. I understood the reason for the process. When you're dealing with a large number of applications, you need some way of narrowing them down.

But I didn't particularly like relying on a score to tell me who was worth talking to.

So I took the time to look through the résumés myself. Sometimes the person who didn't score quite high enough on paper was exactly the person I wanted to meet.

Qualifications absolutely mattered

Let me be clear about that. For the positions I was recruiting for, a BCom was a requirement.

These roles involved understanding debits and credits, performing reconciliations, and supporting the management of budgets. I also knew that for people who wanted to move into more senior positions, that financial and business education would become even more important. So yes, I wanted the BCom. I also wanted strong Excel skills.

We worked with a lot of data. It had to be manipulated, analyzed and presented, and I wanted people who understood formulas and could take things to the next level. I’ve always been someone who looks at a process and thinks, “There has to be a better or faster way to do this.” Why spend three hours doing something if you can figure out how to do it properly in one? So there were qualifications that mattered.

But here's where I had a problem with relying too heavily on résumé scoring. There were other things I wanted that weren't nearly as easy to find through keywords.

• Could this person think independently?

• Could they solve a problem?

• Could they make a decision?

• Could they work under pressure and meet a deadline?

• Could they communicate?

• Could they work well as part of a team but also independently?

• And something very important to me — did they understand that asking for help wasn't a weakness?

I wanted people to be able to demonstrate these qualities, not just put them in a list on a résumé.

Experience doesn't always come from a job

Some of the people I interviewed were fresh out of university. They couldn't give me five years of work experience because they hadn't been working for five years. That didn't mean they didn't have experience. Maybe they coached a sports team, volunteered or led a project at university. Maybe they had been responsible for organizing something, dealing with different personalities, meeting a deadline or figuring out what to do when something went sideways.

Tell me about that. That's what I wanted to hear. I wasn't just hiring a résumé. I was trying to figure out who was sitting in front of me. And I wasn't necessarily hiring that person just for the job I had available that day. I was also thinking about tomorrow.

These were entry-level positions. Some people would be perfectly happy staying in that type of role, and I needed those people too. But I knew many of the young people I hired wouldn't want to stay there forever. I wanted people with potential, who wanted to learn, grow and eventually take on something bigger. I was looking for people with drive and determination who thrived when faced with a challenge.

Years later, I had the pleasure of seeing quite a few of the people I hired move into more senior positions — some within the organization and some elsewhere. I was happy for them because to me, that was part of hiring good people.

One question told me a lot

There was a scenario I used during interviews that I always found interesting. So, I'll give it to you.

You're supporting two project managers. Both project managers need invoices completed before the end of your workday at 5 p.m. Sometime before lunch, you realize there is absolutely no way you're going to get both of them done by 5 p.m. Even if you worked nonstop, it isn't going to happen. What do you do?

I interviewed some incredibly intelligent people over the years. And I was always fascinated by the answers to this question. Quite often I would hear:

“I'd stay late.”

Or:

“I'd work overtime.”

Sometimes:

“I'd work all night if I had to.”

And I'm sitting there thinking... No, no, no. Please don't say that. I'd already told you the invoices had to be completed before the end of your day. Working until midnight isn't going to solve the problem.

I sometimes felt candidates were trying to give me the answer they thought I wanted to hear.

I'll work harder.

I'll stay longer.

I'll do whatever it takes.

But that wasn't what I was testing. I wanted to know how you think. You don't have all the pieces of the puzzle. I haven't given them to you. So ask me.

Is it possible to get help?

Is there someone else on the team who could assist?

Is there a faster way of completing the task that I don't know about?

Am I missing something?

Can I talk to my supervisor or manager?

Can I speak with the project managers?

What other resources are available?

Very few people naturally went there. But when someone did, I paid attention because real problems at work don't usually arrive with all the information you need neatly attached to them.

Sometimes you simply know: This isn't going to work.

Now what?

That's when I wanted someone who could stop, think, ask questions, communicate and figure out another way forward.

And here's something I'd say to anyone looking for a job today

Please don't be afraid to ask those questions during an interview. You don't have to magically know everything about a company you've never worked for.

If I gave you that scenario and you said:

“Angie, I don't think I have enough information yet. Can I ask you a couple of questions?”

I'd be thinking: Good. Ask away.

And I'll take that one step further. If you're sitting in an interview and you're afraid to ask those kinds of questions, pay attention to that.

Does the person interviewing you make you feel comfortable enough to ask a question?

Can you say, “I'm not sure I have enough information to answer that”?

Can you admit that you might need help without feeling as though you've just admitted some terrible weakness?

Remember, they're interviewing you.

But you're also interviewing them.

If you're going to work somewhere where asking for help makes you uncomfortable, what happens when you're actually in the job?

What happens when you're facing a real deadline?

What happens when you make a mistake?

What happens when you genuinely don't know what to do?

Is there somebody you can go to?

Or are you going to feel like you're working on an island?

Asking for help never told me someone couldn't do their job. Sometimes it told me exactly the opposite. They recognized a problem, knew they couldn't solve it alone and had enough confidence to say so. That's a strength.

Maybe this is why the human part matters so much to me

There's probably another reason I feel so strongly about actually meeting the person behind the résumé. I've been on the other side of that desk.

I was born with Poland syndrome and have a visible limb difference. When I was starting my career, there were times when I was judged by what someone saw when I walked into the room rather than by the skills, abilities and potential I could bring to the job. I just needed someone to give me a shot.

And eventually, someone did.

Once I had that opportunity, things began to change. I gained experience. I gained knowledge. I developed my skills. And probably most importantly, I gained confidence. Then I was off to the races.

One opportunity led to another, and another, and ultimately to a corporate career that lasted 35 years. But somebody had to give me that first opportunity.

Maybe that's one of the reasons I became the hiring manager who wanted to see the résumés that didn't make it through the scoring system.

I knew firsthand that what's written on a piece of paper — or what someone sees when you first walk through the door — doesn't necessarily tell them what you're capable of becoming. 

I don't want us to become so efficient at finding the perfect candidate on paper that we stop taking the time to discover the person behind it.

Because sometimes all somebody needs is that one person willing to look a little deeper and say: “Let's give them a shot.”

Which brings me back to AI

I don't have a problem with people using AI to help them with a résumé. How could I? Technology changes. Use it to help organize your thoughts, to improve how you describe your experience, to look at a job posting and identify something in your background that you might not have realized was relevant. But please don't let AI remove you from your résumé.

And I certainly wouldn't recommend creating one generic résumé and firing it off to hundreds of employers without giving much thought to the company or the position. Because eventually somebody might actually call you. And then what?

I remember interviewing candidates whose résumés I really liked. After the usual introductions and pleasantries, one of my first questions was often pretty simple:

“Tell me what you know about our organization.”

Every once in a while, I'd get:

“Not much.”

Okay...

Then I'd ask about the position. And yes, I actually had people say things along the lines of:

“What job did I apply for again?”

Or:

“Well, you called me.”

Those tended to be fairly short interviews. I didn't expect someone to memorize our annual report. I wasn't looking for a history lesson on the company. But I did expect someone who was interested enough in the opportunity to spend a little time finding out who we were and understanding the job they were interviewing for. And remember — these people had already been pre-screened. Their résumés had made it through the system. They'd made it through HR. On paper, they had made the cut.

But then I met the person. And that's the part I worry we're losing.

AI isn't the problem

I don't think the answer is to stop using AI. That would be ridiculous. Employers are going to use technology to help manage applications, especially when they're receiving enormous numbers of them. Job seekers are going to use AI to help prepare résumés, cover letters and even prepare for interviews. That's not going away. But maybe both sides need to be careful about what we're giving up in exchange for efficiency.

An employer can become so dependent on scoring, keywords and algorithms that a potentially great employee never gets through the door. And a job seeker can become so dependent on AI and sending out applications that the person doing the hiring never gets a sense of who they really are. And if AI writes the résumé...and AI screens the résumé...and AI helps prepare the interview answers...I have to ask:

Where did the human go?

Because after all these years, I still believe something I believed when I was hiring.

• Qualifications matter.

• Education matters.

• Experience matters.

• Technology matters.

But people aren't keywords. Potential doesn't always fit neatly into a scoring system.

And some of the best things a future employee can bring to an organization — curiosity, judgment, initiative, communication, common sense and the willingness to say “I don't know, but I'll find out” — can be pretty difficult to measure on a résumé.

So use AI. Learn it. Understand it. Let it help you.

But whether you're hiring or looking to be hired, don't let technology take over the part that matters most.

The human part.

And one final thought...

After 35 years in the corporate world, I've seen firsthand what can happen when someone is given an opportunity — because someone once gave that opportunity to me.

Today, as an Inspirational Speaker and Humourist, I speak to organizations about resilience, perception, potential and something I believe is becoming even more important in our increasingly technology-driven world: maintaining the human connection.

Technology can make us faster. It can make us more efficient. And yes, it can make our jobs easier.

But it can't replace the value of seeing, hearing and understanding the person in front of us.

What do you think? Drop your thoughts in the comments below, and thanks for reading

#ArtificialIntelligence #Hiring #Leadership #HumanConnection #FutureOfWork #JobSearch #CareerAdvice #HumanResources #WorkplaceCulture #AngieSandow

About the Author

Angie Sandow is an Inspirational Humourist, Comedian, Author, and Speaker who proves that age and difference don’t limit us—they give us better material.

Born with Poland Syndrome, a rare condition whose most visible sign is a limb difference affecting her right arm and hand, and later becoming a breast cancer survivor, Angie rides a motorcycle with one hand, plays guitar with a prosthetic, and shares humorous, inspiring stories that encourage audiences to live boldly, embrace new adventures, and never let limitations—or the opinions of others—define what is possible.

👉 Learn more or book Angie to speak at your next event: BOOKING