Oh, Great: You May Have to Pay to Apply for Jobs, Thanks to A.I. 🤖💸
Job hunting just got even trickier. 😅 Thanks to the flood of A.I.-generated résumés, some companies are actually considering charging applicants a fee just to apply. 💸 Would you pay $10 to send in your résumé—or is this a terrible idea?
10/3/20251 min read
Looking for a job is already stressful enough—but now you might have to pay just to apply. Yep, that’s the latest curveball coming from the rise of A.I.
According to a new report, around 20% of companies say they’re so buried in A.I.-generated résumés that they’ve actually considered putting a pay-to-apply system in place. Basically, job hunters would need to pay a small application fee—think $10 per résumé—to be considered.
The logic? Companies say it would help cut down on the overwhelming flood of copy-paste A.I. résumés and highlight the candidates who are serious about the role. Nearly 90% of those companies even admit they’re likely to adopt some kind of fee in the future.
Of course, this could hit desperate job seekers the hardest—especially people applying to multiple positions every day. Imagine shelling out $50+ just in fees before even landing an interview. 😬 On the flip side, it could give applicants a better shot at actually being seen, since fewer résumés would clog the system.
And here’s the kicker: while applicants are being dinged for using A.I., plenty of companies are already using A.I. themselves—to scan, filter, and even reject candidates. 🙃
So what do you think? Would you pay $10 for every job application if it gave you a better chance at landing an interview—or is this the worst idea ever?