A free AI tool can help you apply to hundreds of jobs per day. Users said there are risks, but they’re worth it.

A new AI tool released in August is helping some people quickly apply for roles on LinkedIn. But like many AI programs, using it comes with risks.

Federico Elia, 23, created the tool, which he named AIHawk, after graduating earlier this year and finding the job hunt for a software engineering role to be slow and boring, he told B-17

AIHawk automates the application process for LinkedIn’s easy-apply jobs — which pulls info from a user’s profile to simplify the application process. After Elia set it up, he adjusted the filters for his preferred role level, location, and job description keywords, then uploaded his résumé and let the tool go to work.

“It was really efficient,” Elia, who’s based in Italy, told B-17. “I sent like 1,000 applications and received a lot of interview proposals.”

In August, he published his project on the code hosting platform GitHub and received a positive response. To date, AIHawk has been “starred” — or bookmarked — by more than 20,000 people from across the globe, including job seekers in the US. There are more than 6,000 members of the AIHawk community on the messaging service Telegram, where users critique the tool, share résumé tips, and keep tabs on how many interviews they’ve landed.

This comes as many Americans have told B-17 they’ve struggled to find work recently. While the unemployment rate remains low compared with historical levels, job openings are at their lowest level in over four years and the hiring rate is the lowest it’s been since 2014, excluding a pandemic-induced dip in 2020. White-collar workers, particularly those in the tech industry, have been especially impacted: There’s been a nearly 20% decrease in hiring for information technology roles since the summer of 2018, per LinkedIn.

Faced with a challenging labor market, some job seekers have turned to AI tools that promise to write their résumés and cover letters and help them prepare for interviews. Relying on AI carries significant risks, including a résumé littered with mistakes and false information. Additionally, in the quickly evolving AI landscape, there’s a lack of clarity over how employers and job platforms view candidates’ use of these tools.

When reached for comment, a LinkedIn spokesperson did not specifically answer whether using AIHawk would violate the company’s user agreement. The platform states that it “does not allow third-party software that scrapes or automates activity on LinkedIn.”

AIHawk is free but users found problems

AIHawk is one of many AI job application tools on the market. For example, LazyApply allows users to apply for roles on multiple job platforms for a one-time fee, ranging from $99 to $249.

While AI Hawk can be installed and used without any cost, users told B-17 that doing so requires some coding background and familiarity with the programming language Python.

This isn’t an obstacle for GitHub users like Anthony Ettinger, a 49-year-old based in Silicon Valley. In August 2023, Ettinger was laid off from his software engineering job and he’s struggled to find work since. He said unemployment has taken a toll on his finances: To make ends meet, he’s had to draw upon his Roth IRA and has started driving for Uber to help pay the bills.

As designed, AIHawk tailored his résumé to match each job description but instead of tweaking some wording, it occasionally added false information, including qualifications he didn’t have. To make matters worse, an earlier version of AIHawk prevented him from seeing the résumé that was submitted.

Ettinger said issues like these have been improved in recent months, in part due to his and other GitHub users’ recommendations. He said the tool inserts fewer errors and that users are now able to access the résumés submitted for each job to check for accuracy.

Additionally, users can now choose to submit their résumé without any AI tweaks, allowing them to take advantage of the tool’s mass application benefits while avoiding the chance of errors.

Ettinger estimated that he’s applied to about 500 jobs with the tool and landed a few interviews. While he hasn’t found a job yet, he said he’ll continue using AIHawk, in addition to more traditional application methods.

“It’s a pretty good tool because applying to jobs is the most painstaking thing for candidates,” he said.

Using the tool could come with some risks

Tommi, who hopes to land a full-time data engineering role to supplement his freelance work, estimates he’s applied for over 1,000 jobs with AIHawk over the past few weeks.

“I can basically just leave it on autopilot applying for jobs,” the 28-year-old, who’s based in Mexico City, told B-17. Tommi, whose identity was verified by B-17 but preferred to use his first name due to fear of professional repercussions, said it’s a waste of time customizing materials for job applications.

Tommi estimated that it can take AIHawk between three and six hours to apply to 250 LinkedIn easy-apply positions, which he said is roughly the limit LinkedIn allows per day. He said he’s only applied for jobs using his own résumé — rather than letting the tool tweak it — because he’s concerned it could add false information.

While Tommi hasn’t been hired yet, he said he’s averaging about one interview and three pre-interview examinations a week. He plans to continue using AIHawk, though he has some concerns that he could face repercussions from LinkedIn.

This concern among Tommi and other AIHawk users originated in September when LinkedIn restricted Elia from using the platform. To be sure, LinkedIn did not specifically answer a question about why Elia’s account has been restricted.

AIHawk users told B-17 that the tool could be difficult for a platform like LinkedIn to detect because its scrolling and speed mimic the way people typically apply for jobs.

Alexander Alonso, chief data and insights officer at the Society for Human Resource Management, said he thinks most HR departments have limited insight into how much their applicants are using AI to craft and submit their applications, in part due to technological limitations.

He said that false information on résumés and cover letters is a real concern for departments, but there is likely less worry about tools that help people mass-apply for jobs due to some of the benefits.

“It is having a positive effect in that you’re seeing a broader pool of people come to your job,” Alonso said.

After using AIHawk to apply for jobs — and the notoriety that came with the tool’s popularity on Github — Elia saw an uptick in interest from recruiters. Instead of taking a job, he teamed up with six cofounders to launch AIHawk.co, which he hopes to develop into a job search platform for candidates and employers.

Elia said that he’s never encouraged people to use AIHawk to apply for jobs. The AIHawk GitHub page includes a disclaimer that the tool is intended for education purposes only and advises users to comply with a platform’s terms of service.

Guilherme, a 28-year-old based in Brazil, said he’s applied to more than 500 jobs with AIHawk and had six interviews. While he hasn’t received a job offer yet, he’s hopeful the tool will help him reach more employers. Guilherme, whose identity was verified by B-17 but asked to use a pseudonym, was laid off last year.

“I’ve been struggling financially for over a year at this point,” he said.