Automated resumes flood US job market as AI drives 11,000 applications per minute

A wave of artificial intelligence (AI)-generated résumés is inundating the US job market, leaving employers overwhelmed and job seekers frustrated. According to LinkedIn data, the number of applications submitted on the platform has jumped more than 45 percent over the past year, with an average of 11,000 job applications being submitted every minute.

Much of this surge is being fueled by generative AI tools like ChatGPT, which can instantly tailor résumés to match job descriptions.This surge has thrown a wrench into the traditional hiring process. Recruiters now find themselves buried under a mountain of nearly identical résumés, often generated with minimal human input. As reported by The New York Times, Katie Tanner, a human resources consultant in Utah, posted a remote tech job requiring only three years of experience and was stunned by the response: 400 applications in 12 hours, 600 in 24, and more than 1,200 before she removed the listing.Recruiters face an ‘applicant tsunami’The application deluge is leading to what some experts describe as an “applicant tsunami.” Hung Lee, a former recruiter and current writer of a popular industry newsletter, described it to The New York Times as a crisis that is “just going to get bigger.” With job seekers increasingly relying on AI to generate and submit applications, employers are turning to automation themselves in an escalating arms race.

Companies like Chipotle have begun using AI-powered chatbots for screening and scheduling interviews. Chipotle’s chief executive Scott Boatwright said at a recent conference that their tool, named Ava Cado, reduced hiring time by 75 percent, The New York Times reported. Meanwhile, platforms like HireVue offer AI-driven video interviews and assessments, including games designed to test skills like memory and pattern recognition.However, the use of AI on both sides has led to recruiters facing a new dilemma: determining which candidates are genuinely qualified and which are simply good at gaming the system. As The New York Times noted, “we end up with an AI versus AI type of situation,” according to Hung Lee.Identity fraud and fake applicants on the riseAnother rising concern is the use of fake identities in the application process. According to The New York Times, in January, the US Justice Department indicted individuals in a scheme to place North Korean nationals in remote IT roles at US companies.

Emi Chiba, a human resource technology analyst at Gartner, stated that cases of candidates using false identities have been “growing and growing and growing.”A Gartner report co-authored by Chiba projected that by 2028, about one in four job applicants could be fabricated. The report recommended that companies adopt more advanced identity verification technologies to stay ahead of increasingly sophisticated fraud tactics.AI rewires job search behaviorJob seekers, frustrated by automated screening systems, are turning to AI to level the playing field. Alexa Marciano, managing director of recruiting agency Syndicatebleu, told The New York Times that candidates are responding to the cold automation of hiring with tools of their own. She noted that many applicants invest time in highly customized applications, only to face bots on the receiving end.Jeremy Schifeling, a career coach who trains students in tech-driven job searching, told The New York Times that this cycle of automation is likely to continue, with both sides escalating efforts. “A lot of people are going to waste a lot of time, a lot of processing power, a lot of money until we reach that realization,” he said.The road ahead for US hiringAs AI continues to disrupt hiring at scale, employers and job seekers alike are caught in a loop of escalating automation.

While AI can offer efficiency, it also introduces new complexities—bias, fraud, and a loss of human connection in recruitment.

With no federal law currently regulating the use of AI in hiring, companies are navigating a murky legal and ethical landscape. As The New York Times reported, US anti-discrimination laws may eventually come into play if AI-based decisions lead to unfair outcomes. Meanwhile, the European Union has already classified AI use in hiring as “high-risk,” signaling where regulation may be headed globally.