Over a half of UK job seekers are using AI to update their CVs and land a new role, according to fresh research from communications platform Canva.

In its second annual New Year, New Job report, Canva found that 52% of people in the UK searching for work are leaning on AI tools to revise their resumes, rising to 65% among the younger Gen Z group.

The survey, which took in the views of 6,000 job seekers and 4,200 hiring managers around the world, found that 69% of UK job seekers felt more creative using AI in crafting their resume, with Canva reporting that its ‘Magic Write’ AI text generator had been used 13.7 million times for CV designs in 2024.

AI is also being used to help candidates ace their interviews, with 41% of respondents saying they depend on AI tools to help them prepare.

Even when they’ve landed the job, 66% of new hires said they used AI to help them make a good impression with their employer, and quickly get up to speed.

It isn’t only candidates using AI, either, with the study finding that 90% of UK hiring managers have used AI for some part of the hiring process, including to summarise resumes (38%), screen applications (36%), or create visual materials to help with onboarding (79%).

However, 63% of these same hiring managers said that candidates should disclose the use of genAI in their applications, highlighting the importance of being candid and open when starting a new role.

The survey shows that it also helps for job seekers to have a strong social media presence, with 65% of hiring managers admitting to searching out candidates’ social media profiles most if not all the time, a fact candidates say they are leveraging to boost their chances of getting noticed.

The majority of UK job seekers said that they use social media to brand themselves as industry experts (84%), with over half posting about their current job or business trends (52%). 

That kind of visibility might make all the difference when looking for a dream job, with nearly all (93%) of UK hiring managers reporting that they value candidates with an established social media or online presence related to their career.

“Today, standing out among countless applications for a job can be tough. However, by leveraging social media, design tools and embracing AI, job seekers are unlocking new opportunities to get noticed,” said Faye Longhurst, regional people lead at Canva.

“Curating a professional brand and designing a visual resume have become essential steps to securing your dream job.”

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Canva’s study is only the latest research highlighting a growing trend. In September, another global survey from Workday Inc found that most business leaders (89%) thought AI was making the hiring process more efficient, with 70% thinking the tech helped level the job market, making it more fair.

Meanwhile, research from recruitment firm Hays found that 22% of professionals in the UK had already used AI during the hiring process, with a further 22% planning to do so in the future, and close to a third of employers said they expected to increasingly use AI to evaluate job applications.