A few years ago, keyword-stuffed résumés caused chaos in recruitment. Candidates learned that screening tools scanned for specific terms, so they packed their CVs with the right words to get past the filters. For a while it worked, until it didn't. A keyword match meant nothing once a candidate sat down for an interview or a screening call and couldn't back up what their résumé claimed.

Today, a similar pattern is playing out again, this time with AI. Applications are polished, cover letters are flawless, and emails read as fluent and confident. Then the recruiter picks up the phone. The interview happens, or a skills test is scheduled, and the gap between the written application and the real person becomes obvious. The distance between what's on the page and what shows up in person, whether that's a call or a face-to-face meeting, keeps widening.

The technology has changed, but the outcome hasn't. Just as keyword stuffing eventually stopped working because it couldn't survive real scrutiny, AI-generated polish runs into the same wall the moment a candidate has to perform rather than present.

The advice for job seekers is straightforward: use AI to sharpen your application, not to manufacture a version of yourself that doesn't hold up under questioning. Recruiters and hiring managers are already adjusting to this shift, and candidates who lean on AI to fabricate rather than refine are likely to find themselves in the same position as the keyword-stuffers before them, further along in the process than their actual skills or experience warrant.