More than half of job applicants now use AI to write resumes — here's how to stand out

More than half of job applicants now use AI to write resumes — here's how to stand out

More than 50% of new job applicants are using artificial intelligence tools to help write their resumes and cover letters, according to a recent LinkedIn survey. But the people doing the hiring are using AI too.

OAKLAND, Calif. - More than 50% of new job applicants are using artificial intelligence tools to help write their resumes and cover letters, according to a recent LinkedIn survey. But the people doing the hiring are using AI too.

Vanessa Errecarte, a marketing and personal branding instructor at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management, says that's creating a problem for recent graduates trying to break into the job market. She says there are three things graduates can do to stand out.

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How to stand out on job applications

The first is building a digital brand early. 

"The time to prepare for the job search is not so much the time of those applications — it's before," she said. "You need to start creating a brand for yourself digitally far before you apply for the job, which means regularly thinking about how you're going to show up online."

Job seekers and professionals typically spend more time online than in-person, she says.

"In 2026, we spend more time online than we do in person professionally, yet we don't have a plan of how we're going to systematically show up there each week," Errecarte said, recommending graduates build a LinkedIn presence and personal website well in advance.

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Master uniqueness

The second is developing a unique point of view. 

"AI really tries to generalize us. That's how its algorithm works," Errecarte said. "If you have employers screening with AI and students using AI, everybody is going to sound and look the same."

Her advice: cover the basics AI expects, but add something distinctive. 

"You need to first say, I know all this stuff that other people know — cover the general," she said. "But then in the things you speak about online, the things that you put in your cover letter, the things you put on your resume, you also have to identify your own point of view. Then the filters say, I need to put this on its own line. I need a human to review it."

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Critical thinking

The third is mastering critical thinking. She says that — not AI output — is what will ultimately set candidates apart.

"If we go upstream and we conquer that critical thinking and we create our own message, then all of a sudden our output rises above," Errecarte said. "The same thing that makes people lean forward and listen to someone who's more interesting in person will also cause us to slow that scroll online."

Her first book, "Valuable and Visible: Redefining Personal Branding with Impact Over Image," expands on those frameworks.

"This is a tough time and I get it and I feel for you," she said. "But there is a way."