Toto-Rex's story
Toto-Rex downloads an app that promises: 'Apply to 100 jobs while you sleep.'
Toto-Rex wakes up to 100 sent applications, and no replies.
Somewhere, a recruiter opens an inbox full of new CVs that all sound the same.
Toto-Rex's story is made up. The data and cases in this video are real.
The short answer
Easier applications can mean more applications for each job. But volume is only part of the story.
The details
Many job sites offer quick applications that reuse your saved details.
The New York Times reported in 2025 that LinkedIn received about 11,000 applications a minute, up about 45% in a year.
The joint chief executive of the UK's Institute of Student Employers (ISE) says tools that let candidates apply for many jobs at once are driving up competition.
Employers' own use of AI varies.
In the institute's 2026 survey of 155 large UK employers, only 16% used AI in recruitment.
More of them now accept applicants using AI for CVs and cover letters.
The most commonly reported misconduct involved unauthorised AI use during interviews and online assessments.
Writing help can also help applicants.
In an experiment with nearly half a million new users of an online work platform, some were offered writing help for their CVs.
Those offered the help were about 8% more likely to be hired during their first month on the platform.
The tool suggested edits to their own writing. It did not write the CV for them.
The researchers found no evidence that employers were less satisfied.
Useful to know: easier applications can increase the volume employers receive. Clear writing can help employers understand what you offer.
Real-life examples
Real life: what UK employers are seeing.
ISE's joint chief executive, Stephen Isherwood, said employers are faced with applications that look the same.
He also said that, in some cases, AI is used to the point where it misrepresents a candidate's skills and abilities.
In ISE's 2026 report, 77% of employers were reviewing or redesigning their recruitment.
92% of employers suspected or confirmed student misconduct in assessment and selection, up from 85% in 2025 and 78% in 2024.
82% now give guidance on what counts as acceptable AI use, up from 55% in 2025.
To tackle misconduct, some use more personal questions, time limits, and randomised questions.
To manage volume, some use automated eligibility screening, shorter application windows, or limits on how many roles a candidate can apply for.
More employers now accept AI in the hiring process: 64%, up from 46% the year before, mainly for CVs, cover letters, and applications.
Real life: the AI interviewee.
In 2025, NBC News reported on Chungin 'Roy' Lee, a Columbia University student who built Interview Coder, an app to discreetly solve coding questions during technical interviews.
He recorded himself using it in an Amazon internship interview and posted the video, which was later removed.
He said several companies rescinded offers after he posted about it.
Columbia later suspended him for a year, according to disciplinary documents reported by Business Insider. The documents said the suspension was for publishing material from a disciplinary hearing.
Columbia declined to comment.
Lee told 404 Media that he does not see his tool as really cheating.
He then co-founded Cluely, a start-up promoted in 2025 as a way to 'cheat' in activities including job interviews.
In June 2025, TechCrunch reported that Cluely had raised 15 million US dollars in a round led by the investment firm Andreessen Horowitz.
Real life: employers move some interviews back into the room.
In February 2025, Google's chief executive, Sundar Pichai, suggested at a staff meeting that some interviews should be in person again, according to an audio recording reviewed by CNBC.
CNBC also reported that Deloitte had brought back in-person interviews for its UK graduate programme.
Experts told CNBC that AI cheating tools had become nearly undetectable.
Back to Toto-Rex
So, what should Toto-Rex do with 100 identical applications?
ISE's tips for students include: understand your own skills first, use AI to enhance rather than create, show genuine motivation, and keep your own voice. Its last tip: authenticity is your advantage.
ISE's head of insights, Claire Tyler, advised checking how and where each employer is happy for you to use AI.
ISE says candidates are usually not allowed to use AI during online assessments, interviews, or assessment centres.
So Toto-Rex deletes the app, and sends ten careful applications instead.
Summary
In short: quick applications mean each job attracts far more applications, so competition is up.
Writing help can improve your chances, but volume is only part of the story.
Three key terms
One-click applying
A quick application process that reuses your saved details.
Some applications still ask extra questions or need documents.
For example: applying to several jobs in one evening with a saved profile.
Screening tool
Software that helps sort, rank, or score applications.
It may use fixed rules, AI, or both.
For example: a system that checks CVs for required qualifications.
Randomised field experiment
Researchers test something in a real-world setting.
Participants are randomly assigned to different conditions.
Comparing the outcomes helps estimate the effect in that setting.
Further reading
Start with the writing-help study by Wiles, Munyikwa, and Horton.
Then the Institute of Student Employers' survey summaries.
For how regulators view recruitment tools, see the ICO's audit report.
For the Interview Coder story, see NBC News' report of 2025.
Sources
The New York Times, 'Employers Are Buried in AI-Generated Résumés', 21 June 2025, citing LinkedIn data. Institute of Student Employers, Student Recruitment Report 2026, 14 October 2026. ICO, AI tools in recruitment: audit outcomes report, November 2024.
Wiles, Munyikwa, and Horton, 'Algorithmic Writing Assistance on Jobseekers' Resumes Increases Hires', Management Science, 2025.
NBC News, 'Kicked out of Columbia, this student doesn't plan to stop trolling big tech with AI', 2025.
404 Media, 'The man who wants AI to help you cheat on everything', 2025. Business Insider, 'Columbia suspends student who created AI tool that helps people cheat in coding interviews', 2025. TechCrunch, 'Cluely, a startup that helps "cheat on everything," raises $15M from a16z', 20 June 2025. CNBC, 'Meet the 21-year-old helping coders use AI to cheat in Google and other tech job interviews', 2025.