Many job seekers are trimming their resumes to look younger. A survey of 4,263 people in the US, UK, Canada and the EU who applied for a job in the past year found that 42 percent had removed or changed details on their CV or LinkedIn profile to appear younger or less senior. The practice has been nicknamed "resume Botox". The survey, released on October 15, was run by AI assistant company Use.AI among its own users.
Key takeaways
- 42 percent changed details such as graduation years, early jobs, senior titles or profile photos.
- 53 percent of women aged 45 and over made such changes, compared with 35 percent of men in that age group.
- 56 percent of those who edited feared human recruiters would filter them out; 38 percent feared AI screening.
- 72 percent used AI to make the edits.
- 43 percent reported more interview invitations afterwards; 10 percent reported fewer.
What did the survey find?
The most common edits were removing graduation years, cutting early jobs, toning down senior titles and changing profile photos. The gap between older women and men was 18 percentage points, though the survey does not explain why.
Interestingly, people were more worried about human bias than machine bias. Across the whole sample, 28 percent thought AI screening treated people their age less fairly than human recruiters, 25 percent thought it was fairer and 33 percent saw little difference.
How reliable is it?
Treat the numbers with care. Respondents were all users of an AI tool, so they may use AI more than the average job seeker. The interview results are self-reported and do not prove the edits caused more callbacks.
Who is affected?
Experienced workers, especially those over 45, who fear being seen as too senior or too expensive. Age discrimination against workers aged 40 and over is illegal in the US under federal law, and the UK and EU also protect against age discrimination, but many candidates still worry about how their history is read.
What should experienced job seekers do now?
- It is reasonable to drop graduation dates and to show only the last 10 to 15 years of work in detail.
- Do not change job titles or hide senior roles that are relevant. That can backfire in background checks and removes your strongest evidence.
- Never list false dates. Shortening a history is different from inventing one.
- Lead with recent results and current skills, including tools you use today.
- See our guides on skills-based resumes and resume length.
Does editing for AI help?
Other research this month suggests most candidates are already tailoring applications for software or to avoid sounding automated. Our report on job seekers rewriting to avoid sounding like AI covers that trend. The safest approach is an honest, focused resume that a person would enjoy reading.
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