AI May Be Screening Your Application
You should not have to become a software engineer to apply for a job. But you do need to make your qualifications easy to understand.
Artificial intelligence is becoming part of the hiring process. Depending on the employer and platform, technology may help organize applications, identify relevant qualifications, recommend candidates, administer assessments, or determine which applications a recruiter reviews first.
That does not mean a robot is independently making every hiring decision. It also does not mean every rejection resulted from AI. However, a lawsuit against Workday is raising important questions about how automated hiring tools affect applicants.
What the Workday lawsuit alleges
In Mobley v. Workday, applicants allege that Workday’s screening tools discriminated against candidates based on age, race, and disability. The lead plaintiff, Derek Mobley, says he applied for more than 100 positions with companies using Workday and was repeatedly rejected. Sometimes shortly after applying and outside normal business hours.
Workday denies the allegations and argues that employers, not Workday, make hiring decisions. In June 2026, a federal judge allowed significant disability-discrimination and California claims to continue. That ruling does not mean Workday discriminated. It means the plaintiffs can continue pursuing those claims. Reuters provides a helpful overview of the case and the latest ruling.
While the courts determine where legal responsibility belongs, job seekers are left with a more immediate question: What can I do when I do not know how my application is being evaluated?
What you can control
Use clear, conventional formatting. A visually elaborate résumé may look attractive but become difficult for some systems to read. Use recognizable headings, consistent formatting, and straightforward organization. Avoid placing essential information only in graphics, text boxes, headers, or footers.
Use the employer’s language when it is accurate. If the posting requests “employee relations” experience and that genuinely describes your background, use that term. Do not assume the system or recruiter will infer it from less familiar language. This is not permission to copy the job description into your resume. Keywords should reflect real experience.
Make your qualifications easy to find. Employers should not have to search through several pages to determine whether you meet a central requirement. Prioritize the experience, skills, and accomplishments most relevant to your target work.
Complete required application fields. Some platforms evaluate information entered into the application separately from the attached résumé. Writing “See resume” may leave the employer without important data.
Request an accommodation when needed. If a disability affects your ability to complete an online assessment, video interview, timed exercise, or other part of the process, you may request an accommodation. You do not necessarily have to use legal terminology; the EEOC explains that applicants can request a workplace adjustment in ordinary language.
Keep basic records. Save the job posting, application date, resume submitted, assessment instructions, and correspondence. You may never need the information, but it is difficult to reconstruct later.
Use more than one path into the market. Online applications still matter. They should not be your entire strategy. Professional relationships, recruiters, direct company research, former colleagues, associations, and targeted outreach can provide additional avenues for consideration.
What you cannot control
You cannot control:
Which technology an employer purchases
How the employer configures it
How candidates are ranked
How many qualified people apply
Whether the position changes or is paused
Whether the employer already has an internal candidate
Whether a recruiter reviews every application
A rejection is frustrating, but it is not proof that an algorithm eliminated you unfairly. Often, candidates receive too little information to know what happened.
Do not try to beat the system
Hidden keywords, copied job descriptions, exaggerated qualifications, and resumes written entirely by AI may get information into an application, but they cannot create credible experience.
The goal is not to trick the technology. The goal is to communicate your real qualifications clearly enough for both technical and people-related audiences to understand.
Employers and vendors are responsible for using hiring tools fairly. Job seekers are responsible for presenting their experience honestly and strategically.
You cannot control every part of the hiring process. Focus on making your value clear, maintaining multiple paths to opportunity, and ensuring that AI amplifies your experience rather than replaces your voice.
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