Local job fair highlights growing role of AI in job search strategies for candidates

FRESNO, Calif (FOX26) — Job seekers are finding a very crowded field, as those laid off are competing with recent college graduates and those looking to upgrade their positions.

“I’ve been looking for the past six months. It’s been really hard,” said Ethan Gonzalez of Kingsburg, who attended a recent job fair in Selma. “It takes a superpower to get a job these days.”

And many are enlisting the help of technology — turning to Artificial Intelligence to stand out.

According to the 2025 market trend report from recruitment firm Career Group Companies, nearly 65% of job candidates are using AI at some point of the application process.

Gonzalez says he’s shied away from it, so far.

“I have good people skills. That’s been my strongest suit,” said the 18-year-old.

But organizations helping link job seekers with jobs say it’s time to get on board.

“Any tool that can help anybody get their name and skillset in front of the right employer, people should grasp it with both hands. AI is such a tool,” says Blake Konczal, Executive Director of Fresno Regional Workforce Development Board.

He says at its most basic level, AI can be used to scan a resume and customize it for a specific job.

“General knowledge of how AI is used is going to become a basic job skill. Digital literacy, AI literacy,” Konczal says.

“Learn how to use it, just like we did 20 plus years ago with the internet,” says Leena Mendoza, a Silicon Valley-based business strategist.

She says AI shouldn’t be viewed as complementary—polishing what a candidate offer on paper and beyond.

She says tools, including ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude can also help once a job seeker has landed an interview.

It can help craft questions and answers for an interview, based on your resume, and learn the language of the industry.

“Don’t be intimidated,” Mendoza says.

It can also be used to research and learn about a company’s vulnerabilities.

“If you know the vulnerabilities they have, like safety issues, you can say ‘I have a successful track record of having 95% or 100% within 30 days’ or whatever your accolades are,” she says.

And it’s not just job seekers turning to AI for help.

Companies are using it more and more to speed up the process of finding the right candidate.

“Just think about it. What would take hours– you can do this in less than 60, 30 seconds,” Mendoza says.

According to the World Economic Forum, approximately 88 percent of companies already use some form of AI for initial candidate screening.

And job seekers are wising up to it.

The staffing firm “Manpower Group” says it detects hidden text in about ten percent– around 100,000– resumes it scans with AI every year.

Some prompts explicitly call on the AI to rank a candidate first – but the text is made transparent, so it isn’t seen.

For those not familiar, it can be intimidating.

“I kinda got it, but there are some words I don’t know what that means. I don’t want to look foolish,” said Justin Gonzalez, who also stopped by the job fair in Selma.

Experts say don’t focus on failure.

“Even if you don’t know the words, give yourself grace, you’ll start to learn the words,” Mendoza says.

“Think: ‘Does it sound like someone the employer would want to hire?’” Konczal says. “I think the biggest complaint companies have is trying to find qualified workers.”

Ethan Gonzalez says he’s not giving up.

“I’ve had one job where I had luck getting three interviews,” he says.

He’s hoping to land even more interviews after the job fair.

“I have good people skills. That’s been my strongest suit,” he says.

But until then, he’ll keep lining up to speak with recruiters—and maybe later logging and learning how to use AI.

Fresno Regional Workforce Development Board plans to provide upcoming workshops on how to use AI for job searches. You can follow its Facebook page for more information, or check out its website here.