Job Search 2026: How to Outsmart AI in Recruitment

February 11, 2026

Written by Natasha Hawker
Founder and Managing Director
Natasha is a leading HR expert, entrepreneur, author and sought-after media commentator for outlets such as Sunrise (Channel 7), ABC Radio and The Australian Financial Review. Natasha co-founded Employee Matters in 2011 to help Australian businesses achieve success through their people.

Transcript

Host: Welcome back. AI is changing how job seekers land their dream role. In Australia, more than 90% of bosses are using artificial intelligence when advertising and hiring, making it even harder in some cases for job seekers to secure that interview. But according to some experts, impressing your new boss is more important than beating the bots. And all it takes is being yourself. So how powerful is personality in the age of AI? For more, Natasha Hawker, managing director at Employee Matters, joins us now. Morning to you. How important is, uh, your true character in this world of AI?

Natasha Hawker: Absolutely important. What we're seeing now is that the vast majority of recruiters and organisations are using AI bots to actually do the screen. In fact, 64% of applications aren't actually a match to the job. So it's a really quick way for employers to cull people who aren't successful. My personal view is AI is great to screen, but we still need humans to assess.

Host: Right. So that's on that side of it. What if you are applying for a job? Should you be using AI to you know, um, help with your resume or make you look a certain way or does everyone look the same then?

Natasha Hawker: Yes, you should use it for an initial first draft, but you absolutely need the skills, experience, and aptitude for the role. And what we're finding is that already 45% of candidates are trying to hack AI recruitment processes, but 91% of recruiters can spot that deception. You might want to use humour to stand out. We had a candidate recently who in his cover letter said, "Hey everyone else is going to use AI here. I'm not. I actually don't have the experience for the role, but I've got 20 years of transferable experience. Why don't you just pick up the phone, give me a call, and we can chat." And that, that really stood out for us.

Host: So if 60% are being weeded out because you don't... because AI is weeding you out. Um, what are they weeding people out on?

Natasha Hawker: They actually don't have the skills, experience, or education to do the job. So you know, when you're going for an interview, you want to show up. You want to be prepared. You want to make sure that you've thought about the questions in advance so that you can put your best foot forward and not stumble through that, and maybe anticipate some questions you might want to ask them at the end.

Host: It... the AI is everywhere, right? And I'm just thinking about school students at the moment and how it makes it easier for study. Doing that personal research ahead of your job interview. So you potentially know, one, the the indepth nature of that role but also the company itself. Does that help?

Natasha Hawker: Absolutely. I remember years ago before we even had the internet that I used to go to the library to research companies before I went for an interview. You absolutely have no excuse not to know a lot about the company, their revenue, their turnover, maybe their go-to-market strategy, but also who's interviewing you so you can build that rapport and credibility. It's absolutely key. You want to make a lasting impression. And so have some great questions at the end as well. And maybe do a course in AI. Like, that's where we're headed, just in case there's a lot of recruiting in AI.

Host: Thank you very much.