Job search struggles: How tariffs and AI are shaping hiring in Canada

You personally drop off you resume or tweak your cover letter using ChatGPT, but you’re not getting any interview callbacks.

One career expert has tips on how to stand out and counter two major forces shaping job searches today: tariffs and AI.

“AI has made it so easy for people to just change their resume in a split second and get hundreds of applications out the door,” says professional career coach Ariel Hennig Wood from Parley Coaching. “And so employers are getting more applicants than they’ve ever received before.”

She says its not uncommon for employers to get 500 to 1000 resumes per job posting. The increase in job applications is not coming from just the unemployed, but also the 30 to 40 per cent of the workforce seeking to switch jobs.

The changes have extended hiring times from about four weeks, to eight or nine.

Hennig Wood adds that U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs aren’t helping things in the U.S. or Canada.

“We’re seeing hiring freezes come into effect,” she says. “I recently had a candidate who got to the third round interview and was really excited about a role, only to have them say the position was in cancelled due to tariff concerns.”

Hennig Wood says that companies may still post jobs during tariff-related hiring freezes, but they’re only collecting resumes, not hiring. 

To counter the effects of AI and tariffs, she advises job seekers reach out to job posters directly and focus on what they can bring to the table.

“The human element, we can’t forget about that value proposition,” she says. “When that hiring manager is reading your resume, or that recruiter or HR person is reading your resume, are they going to see your personality? Are they going to see the value that you can bring to their organization and say I need this person on my team?”

She says that while some may view it as outdated, asking for referrals and recommendations still remains one of the top ways people stand out and get hired.