TikToker reveals the 'dystopian hack' that snuck her résumé past AI bots and landed her three jobs

Release time：2024-05-09 08:50:01 Source：Cultural Compass news portal

A singer-songwriter has taken to social media to share the 'dystopian' hack that she says snuck her résumé past artificial intelligence bots and landed her three part-time jobs.

Cami Petyn in a TikTok post says she was running out of cash after reaching out to some 65 companies but never hearing back.

Theésumén, she says, she learned of the trick known as 'white-fonting,' which involves pasting keywords into a document as white text, which can be read by machines but is not visible to humans.

The hope is that AI bots or digital filters in applicant tracking systems read the white text and shortlist the résumé for managers.

Wannabe rock star Cami Petyn says 'white-fonting' saved her from going broke

The job application process is increasingly carried out by digital filters nowadays  

'Did I girl-boss too close to the sun and now not only have one, not two, but three part-time jobs?' Petyn says in a post that's been watched 1.6 million times.

But while it worked for Petyn, human resources experts say it's no guarantee of success — and warn that it can even hurt your chances of getting to the interview stage.

The wannabe rock star says her job search was going so badly that she planned to sell her car.

Then, a friend revealed how to get her CV over the line by appealing to the digital filters used in the hiring process.

She calls the hack 'foolproof' and 'AI-friendly,' and explains how she pulled it off.

'Step one, go to the job description, whether it's on Indeed, LinkedIn, whatever,' Petyn explains.

'You are going to highlight the entire job description, and you are going to copy it, then paste it on to your resume. Then you're going to make that text super tiny and in white ink, so it's not visible to the human eye.'

Recruiters cannot read the text, she says, but 'AI still sees it there; and it reads every keyword … so your resume looks like it's a great fit.'

After that, Petyn says she 'started getting interviews left and right' and is now fully booked.

Petyn's job-hack post has already been watched 1.6 million times

@camipetyn

wanted to share this hack again bc it helped me SO much shoutout @Daym for teaching me it!!#recessioncore #jobapplytricks #jobinterview #applyingforjobs

♬ original sound - Cami Petyn

But there are downsides, she says.

Applicants must adapt CVs for each job, by adding the job-post text to each document, she says.

Also, the cheat says something about how AI is creeping into our everyday lives, she adds.

'We actually live in a dystopia and a Philip K. Dick novel,' she says, referencing a sci-fi author.

Petyn is not the first social media influencer to swear by the 10-second résumé.

They say it works because so many firms use applicant tracking systems, or software platforms that help manage job openings and candidates.

Many have simplified the application process, which can lead to more résumés and a need for digital filtering.

Up to a half of employers now use AI in some part of the hiring process, research shows.

Some systems contextualize and rate a résumé based on experience and skill sets.

Others use filters to scan for specific keywords like skills, job titles or qualifications.

Rocker Cami Petyn made her viral TikTok while eating lunch in her car

'White-fonting' can get applicants past AI filters, but can make them look untrustworthy, experts warn  

Some systems might automatically prioritize referrals or internal candidates.

Whether white-fonting can bypass filters and bots depends on the system an employer uses

Still, human resources experts say the trick can get applicants past automated stages, but hurt them later on.

Most job applications also involve human vetting and face-to-face interviews with shortlisted candidates.

An unqualified candidate won't make it through this stage.

Any applicant who used white-fonting could look untrustworthy — a red flag for any employer.

Experts say it's better to tweak CVs for each application.

They can do this by dropping keywords from the job posting throughout the document as regular black-font text.

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