Artificial intelligence tools are increasingly used in Hungary to rewrite CVs and cover letters and to generate application texts tailored to specific job ads. The trend is visible in individual experiences as well as in recruiter feedback.
Márk, 37, with ten years of work experience, spent about five months applying for fleet manager positions with little response. After he had his CV and application letters rewritten using ChatGPT—then generating letters tailored to specific job posts—he applied to roughly half a dozen companies. Within three weeks he was invited to interviews, and after about a month he secured a job. He said only minor manual edits were needed to correct awkward Hungarian phrasing or AI‑specific punctuation, but overall his applications were significantly improved.
Others use AI more cautiously. Eszter, who has been searching for a job for over a year, treats AI more as an editor: she occasionally asks it to review her CV and list items to fix, but does not let it fully rewrite documents. She usually drafts the motivation letter herself and incorporates the AI’s suggested corrections manually.
Frustration on both sides
A Washington Post article recently chronicled similar tensions in the United States, where both jobseekers and recruiters increasingly use AI. Employers say that many AI‑generated, often near‑identical applications make it difficult to assess candidates’ real abilities and personalities. Jobseekers report feeling it is unfair to be penalized for AI usage when employers themselves often use automated screening and ranking tools. Moreover, AI‑based pre‑screening can be opaque and may filter out otherwise suitable candidates.
In Hungary, the spread of AI usage coincides with a tougher labor market. According to the Nemzeti Foglalkoztatási Szolgálat, the registered number of jobseekers fell by 3,500 to 232,500 between last March and this March. At the same time, the number of people employed on the primary labor market decreased by 85,000 over the year and the unemployment rate rose from 4.3% to 4.7%. In March the average job search duration was 12.2 months; the share of those searching for work for 4–11 months increased by 7.7 percentage points to 28.4%, and 36.3% of jobseekers had been searching for more than a year.
How recruitment is changing
Recruiters and HR researchers in Hungary report a clear increase in AI‑generated applications and in the use of automated and AI tools by companies. Large employers commonly use automated screening systems that rank applicants by keywords. Some employers use AI to standardize first‑round interviews or to help write job ads. The result can be a paradoxical situation where one algorithm optimizes applications to please another algorithm—undermining the original purpose of the application process.
Tajti Tamara, with nearly ten years of recruitment experience in the private sector and a human resources advisory master’s student at the Magyar Agrár‑ és Élettudományi Egyetem, says that AI tools have fundamentally reshaped recruitment. She warns that CVs increasingly fail as reliable first‑screening tools because AI‑generated, “too perfect” resumes often achieve high keyword matches without reflecting genuine professional suitability. This effect can be observed from manual labor roles to mid‑management positions.
To cope, HR teams are adding more manual validation steps: deeper phone screenings, manual checks and recruitment elements that measure real, demonstrable skills. Tajti’s research indicates that transparency about how AI tools make decisions is crucial for ethical and professional acceptance; without it, recruiters tend to rely less on automated outputs and more on manual verification.
Practical responses and best practices
The headhunter firm No Fluff Jobs says AI use in itself is neither an advantage nor a disadvantage—what matters is how applicants use the tools. Properly used AI can make applications more structured and readable, but generic, template‑like materials are easily spotted. Recruiters now look less for flawless phrasing and more for specific, realistic details and concrete professional achievements that an algorithm cannot invent.
Consequently, many employers are incorporating practical tests, realistic work scenarios and an increased reliance on personal referrals into their hiring processes. Personal recommendations have gained importance because referrers risk their own credibility by endorsing candidates; this gives recruiters a more trustworthy picture of a candidate’s skills, work ethic and cultural fit.
Conclusion
AI‑assisted application writing is on the rise in Hungary and is changing recruitment practices. While some applicants—like Márk—have benefited from AI‑improved documents, others prefer cautious, editor‑style use of AI. Recruiters respond by increasing manual validation, adding practical evaluation steps and placing more value on personal referrals to uncover the real competencies behind polished, AI‑generated profiles.
