Every week, I hear the same question from job seekers: How do I beat the AI screening my resume? It has become almost as common as asking how to beat the ATS.
I had absorbed some of that thinking myself, so I spoke with talent acquisition leader Leandro Gomes da Silva. I came away believing that candidates are worried about the wrong thing. AI actually creates opportunities for job seekers that receive far less attention.
AI isn’t screening every resume
Automated resume screening is not as widespread as many candidates assume. Legal and ethical concerns have made many companies cautious about using it. Some employers are experimenting with these tools, but they are not yet the norm.
The same applies to sourcing. Leandro estimates that AI adoption in this area is around 10–15% of the market. The tools already exist, but adopting them requires companies to change established processes and working habits.
As he explained:
“Having the tools is one thing. Going through change management and digital transformation to embrace those tools and change the behavior of people doing the job for many years is something completely different.”
The main barrier is often organizational change; most didn’t see that coming.
An old myth in a new form
This is the same myth as before: ‘Hey, every ATS has a certain screening tool,’ which was never the case. It was always human.”
Companies are at very different stages of AI adoption, so there is no universal system for candidates to game. Trying to reverse-engineer an invisible algorithm makes little sense when, in many cases, no such algorithm is making the decision.
Remember, the fundamentals still work!
“Optimizing for a role is optimizing for a human and AI either way. If you know how to write a good resume and how to answer screening questions well, it optimizes for both.”
Instead of guessing who or what will read an application first, candidates should focus on making the content clear, relevant, and specific to the role.
Where AI is making a difference
I expected AI’s biggest impact to be at the resume-screening stage. In practice, much of its value appears elsewhere in the recruitment process.
Teams are using AI to collect and analyze market information, develop role and sourcing strategies, and assess whether a position is realistically fillable. It can also help recruiters prepare more thoroughly before speaking with clients or candidates.
Better preparation means less time spent asking questions that basic research could answer. Recruiters can use the conversation to understand motivations, expectations, and details that require an actual exchange.
Leandro shared several practical examples. A custom outreach tool he built increased one agency’s LinkedIn response rate from 19% to 40%. A similar tool in a previous role raised response rates from 30% to 60%.
In a more recent workflow, information from intake meetings was passed to an AI sourcing tool. The tool identified potential candidates, while recruiters remained responsible for reviewing, rating, and deciding whom to contact.
There is no single solution that works for every recruitment team.
“There is not one thing that will help all of the recruiters out there. What I can say is that for most things there is a solution, and the mistake that most people make is that they don’t know how to leverage that solution: how much should be technology, how much could be automation, how much could be AI, and how much should be human.”
Finding the right balance is one of the main challenges teams face.
What candidates should focus on
If beating an algorithm is not the goal, what should candidates do instead?
“Candidates need to focus on showing what kind of value they are bringing to a certain role.”
That begins with research. What has the company been working on? What problems might it be trying to solve? What can employees’ LinkedIn posts tell you about the team or its hiring plans?
That information gives candidates specific points they can connect to their own experience.
“The research will give you hooks to attach your story to.”
AI can then help candidates present that story in different ways. Depending on the role, that might mean creating a personal website, recording a short introduction, or developing something more unusual that demonstrates creativity and initiative.
“The things are endless. The only limitation here is truly your imagination.”
Candidates do not need to outsmart AI. They need to understand the role, explain the value they can bring, and use the tools available to communicate that clearly.
Thanks to Leandro from PromptMates for sharing his experience and perspective.