tech
Neither side thinks hiring is working': Gen Z job seekers are rewriting their CVs as they're worried about sounding like AI — and they aren't alone
Gen Z job seekers are rewriting their CVs to avoid sounding like AI, worried about AI screening systems.
Key points
- Greenhouse surveyed over 1,100 job seekers in the UK and Ireland for its 2026 Future of Hiring Report.
- 81% of applicants are rejected without speaking to anyone at the company they applied to.
- 97% of job seekers wish they could showcase something that cannot be included in their application.
Why it matters. The findings suggest that employers and applicants are both dissatisfied with hiring, which may push the market toward new ways for candidates to show who they are.
Greenhouse surveyed over 1,100 job seekers in the UK and Ireland for its 2026 Future of Hiring Report, finding younger applicants more aware of AI screening challenges than those over 60. The report says 81% of applicants are rejected without speaking to anyone at the company, and 42% sat through an AI interview in the past 12 months. Sharawn Tipton, Greenhouse's Chief People Officer, said applications go 'into a black hole' as employers sift through AI-polished CVs.
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Neither side thinks hiring is working': Gen Z job seekers are rewriting their CVs as they're worried about sounding like AI — and they aren't alone
Gen Z jobseekers are rewriting job applications to pass AI detection Applying for a new job is increasingly difficult, as applicants navigate AI screening while trying to sound human and "hireable" AI can streamline the applications process, but it is also increasingly trivializing it AI is becoming increasingly prominent in both job applications and hiring, with a new survey highlighting how Gen Z applicants are handling the challenge of appearing both human and attractive to an AI screening system. Research by hiring platform Greenhouse of over 1,100 job seekers in the UK and Ireland has found that younger applicants are more aware of the challenges of AI job screening than those over 60. The survey, which appears in the 2026 Greenhouse Future of Hiring Report, also reveals that 81% of applicants are rejected without speaking to anyone at the company they’re applying for. Could it be time for the whole hiring market to change, and offer applicants a new way to demonstrate who they are and what they can bring to a potential employer? Interviewed by computer The challenge with finding a job in 2026 is getting your application in front of a human. Doing so means it has to be impressive enough to be flagged by an AI system, typically an agent configured to evaluate CVs and applications and highlight the strongest candidates. Greenhouse’s research found that 97% of job seekers wis.