Your CV looks great. But does it sound like you?

You ran your CV through ChatGPT or Claude. It came back cleaner and better organised than your own draft.

You sent it out. Then nothing.

There is rarely a single reason for that, and this issue does not claim to know yours. But one thing is worth checking: does each line say something only you could say?

One line, two versions

The second version has no impressive number. It works because a reader can see what you did, where, and how. That is the idea behind everything below.

What the research suggests about polished applications

Recruiters report more similar-looking CVs. In a CV-Library survey of nearly 500 recruiters, published in April 2026, 79% said AI-generated CVs had increased over the past year and 81% said CVs had become more standardised and less distinctive because of AI.

Some recruiters trust CVs less. In CV-Library’s August 2026 survey of 233 recruiters, hiring managers and employers, 36% said they were less confident than a year ago that a CV reflects a candidate’s true skills. Of those respondents, 52% cited obviously AI-generated CVs or cover letters, 44% candidate exaggeration and 31% increasingly polished or generic applications.

Tailored wording told employers less once AI could produce it. Yale researchers studied about 5.5 million bids for freelance coding and internet marketing jobs on Freelancer.com in 2023, before and after the platform launched an AI cover letter tool. After launch, the correlation between how closely a cover letter matched the job post and whether it got a callback fell by 51%. Employers leaned somewhat more on workers’ past work records. Workers who spent longer editing AI drafts tended to receive more offers, though that is an association, not proof of cause.

Clearer writing can help. In a field experiment with nearly half a million new jobseekers on an online labour market, those offered algorithmic writing assistance, mostly spelling and grammar suggestions, were hired 8% more often, with no evidence that employers were less satisfied.

Our reading: AI help with clarity is not the problem. When many applications are polished, polish on its own says less, and specific, truthful detail carries more weight. That is an editorial interpretation, not the finding of any single study. Rejection has many causes, including volume, the market and fit, and none of these studies shows that using AI causes rejection.

Four habits for a specific, accurate CV

Wording that needs supporting detail

None of these words proves AI was used, and none causes rejection on its own. They are common in CVs, so by themselves they tell a reader little. If a line leans on one, add what actually happened.

• results-driven
• proven track record
• spearheaded
• leveraged
• dynamic
• passionate about
• fast-paced environment
• seamless
• significant efficiencies

Two courses for the paper and the interview

One for writing accomplishment statements, one for backing them up in the room. Both are part of the University of Maryland’s Interviewing and Resume Writing in English specialisation on Coursera. Access options, pricing and certificates vary, so check Coursera’s current terms before enrolling.