Artificial intelligence has reshaped the job hunting process. Major corporations — citing a shift toward artificial intelligence — are leading a trend in layoffs, with over 900,000 workers dismissed nationwide this year through September, according to CBS News. Job postings on the campus recruiting platform Handshake have reduced by 15% over the past year, while the number of applicants has risen by 30%, according to CNBC News.
Dartmouth students benefit from the third-strongest college alumni network in the country, according to LinkedIn, which may give them a leg up in the job search. That’s because in an AI-heavy landscape, networking is “more crucial than ever,” Tuck Career Services executive director Stephen Pidgeon Tu’07 said in an interview with The Dartmouth.
“If more people are applying, [an alumni connection] puts more weight on the ability for you to have your resume brought to the top of the pile,” Pidgeon explained.
To qualify for an interview, however, applicants now need to pass companies’ AI-powered screening methods.
Companies are using “automated methods” to screen applications as a “defense mechanism” against the overwhelming number of candidates, Pidgeon said.
“When candidates have access to AI to help them write a resume or a cover letter, what you’re actually seeing is a lot more people applying for a particular job,” Pidgeon said. “You’re now up against probably a thousand applicants instead of maybe a hundred a few years ago.”
In 2024, Goldman Sachs — a top investment banking placement for Dartmouth students — received over 300,000 applications for its internship program, up from 236,000 in 2022, the year ChatGPT launched, according to Business Insider.
Over the summer, Tuck Career Services adapted its services for the AI-powered job hunting landscape, according to Pidgeon.
“One of the things that we do have now [in Tuck Career Services] is our own AI interview platform,” Pidgeon said. “We advise students to be practicing with online video interviews, and the AI can give them feedback.”
He added that Tuck Career Services offers an AI product called Hiration that “screens resumes and gets them in shape.”
The Dartmouth Center for Career Design also offers online guidelines and resources on AI through a page titled “Utilizing Generative AI for Career Development.” According to its website, the center encourages students to use AI for career exploration and brainstorming, document analysis and optimization and content drafting, among other purposes.
The center also offers an AI prompt library with resources for tasks such as cold outreach emailing and industry research.
The College’s career centers aren’t alone in adjusting for the AI-powered employment cycle. Students have as well.
Grace Beilstein ’26, who received a return offer from Goldman Sachs after an internship this summer, said she was “very conscious” of “applicant tracking systems” when submitting applications.
“Programs will screen your resume out if it’s not compatible with certain [guidelines],” Beilstein said. “It’s crucial to be AI-friendly in the way you’re pitching yourself.”
According to Microsoft, AI-friendly resumes — those favored by non-human applicant tracking systems — use traditional fonts such as Arial or Times New Roman, maintain a single-column format and avoid colors and graphics. Applicant tracking systems also prefer active verbs, keywords from the listing’s job description and quantitative success metrics.
Deven Carkner ’28, who plans to pursue a career in sales and private wealth management, said he uses AI to help prepare application materials, including his resume.
“I tell [AI] in a paragraph what I did and it spits out two bullet points that have power words like ‘facilitated’ or ‘implemented’,” Carkner said.
But while AI can be a useful tool in the application process, it “can’t replace relationships,” Carkner added.
“[AI] can’t replace human to human connection,” he said. “If [a recruiter] played club basketball at Dartmouth, and I’m a fellow club basketball player from Dartmouth reaching out, that’s almost a guaranteed reply because you have a connection.”
Similarly, Beilstein said she uses AI to complement — not replace — interpersonal preparation and efficiency in the job search process. Her finance club, Granite State Student Partners, is working “closely” with the Center for Career Design to integrate AI in a constructive way.
“It’s important to help students understand the ways to leverage [AI] beyond just the chat interface model,” Beilstein said. “One way I enjoy using AI is to help me be more effective with the limited time that I have either looking for opportunities, learning things or preparing for interviews.”
Beilstein added that “AI is exciting,” especially “for the role of junior bankers.”
“There are so many breakthroughs in training [AI] to do the grunt work of junior bankers,” she said. “That would make the lifestyle way better and allow junior bankers to focus more on understanding the industry and deal-making rather than spending so much time on slides and Excel models.”
Carkner, on the other hand, expressed concern that AI may compromise people’s skills.
“People should be careful about losing their critical thinking skills,” Carkner said. “The more you stop using your brain and rely on a machine to do it for you, the less passion and the less connection you’ll feel with whatever you’re doing.”
