There’s a new scourge facing organisations — the rise of the AI-perfected résumé.
What once reflected genuine achievement now feels processed and packaged.
Achievements are inflated, language so polished it sparkles, and individuality replaced by algorithmic symmetry.
On paper, candidates look extraordinary — but in interviews, they fade.
By the time I meet a candidate, they’ve already been identified as credible, capable and relevant.
Yet even then I am often handed résumés that look immaculate but don’t quite hold together under scrutiny. They’re loaded with buzzwords, superlatives and factoids — not lies exactly, but not the truth either.
AI has given candidates the power to reshape their story. Many now feed a position description into an AI tool and ask it to optimise their résumé for the role.
The result is a masterpiece of alignment — every competency ticked off, every buzzword dropped in, every line echoing the brief.
To an untrained eye it’s impressive. To a selection panel it’s reassuring. But to someone who has spent decades separating substance from polish, it’s a red flag.
What makes this more troubling is the irony of where it’s happening.
In the For-Purpose sector, leaders speak often about authenticity. They value it, they promote it and they expect it of others — yet more and more leaders are reshaping their careers in ways that step away from the authenticity they claim to value.
In an interview the gaps surface quickly.
The “servant leader” who speaks in slogans, not practice.
The “impact-driven leader” who can’t explain how impact was measured.
The “transformational leader” who can’t describe how change was achieved.
The “advocacy-focused leader” who struggles to show where they influenced policy.
In the sector that champions authenticity, more leaders are presenting versions of themselves so refined that their real story becomes harder to see.
This is where executive search earns its worth.
Claims of experience and achievement are challenged and validated. It’s not about catching people out — it’s about finding what is real.
I found myself reflecting on this in conversation with my technical-minded colleague Edward Mandla — both of us observing how quickly confidence evaporates when polish is not matched by evidence.
AI can make anyone sound extraordinary. What it can’t do is make them truthful, self-aware or fit to lead others.
In the end, organisations aren’t buying stories. They’re investing in substance.