LinkedIn is rife with AI but career coaches say it's still useful for job hunters

This Sept. 22, 2016, file photo shows a sculpture on a terrace outside the offices of LinkedIn in San Francisco. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Eric Risberg

Overused em-dashes, forced “rule of three” bullet points and buzzwords galore. Professional networking platform LinkedIn reeks of AI-generated content ever since chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini became mainstream a few years ago.

For some job seekers and recent graduates, the widespread use of AI on LinkedIn has made it harder to distinguish fact from fiction — like whether recruiters and managers genuinely wrote their own posts and if commenters are just automated bots.

“AI has really lowered the barrier for people to create content on the platform, to connect with 1,000 people, to comment quickly,” said Ariel Hennig Wood, career coach at Canada Career Counselling.

“But it hasn’t lowered the barrier in building trust or building relationships.” Instead, it has made many users more skeptical of the content and networking on the platform.

Professionals and job seekers alike often turn to LinkedIn to interact with other industry members, apply for positions and post work-related content. It’s a lot like Facebook but for co-workers and businesses.

Despite the widespread use of AI-generated content on the platform, experts say LinkedIn hasn’t lost its charm and still plays a role in networking, especially when messaging recruiters directly — even if it doesn’t always work.

Miriam Groom, founder of career counselling firm Mindful Career, said LinkedIn is still a gold mine of information that’s hard to find anywhere else.

It’s a directory that allows job seekers to contact hiring managers or the boss of a company directly, she said. “How AI interferes with that? It doesn’t, really.”

Groom said being intentional is still important on the platform. That means knowing what you’re applying to and making sure your LinkedIn profile reflects that experience.

“You cannot do this properly without understanding what you’re looking for,” she said. “You have to be very specific.”

The job-hunting process typically starts with a local search for relevant companies in your area, she said. For an entry-level job at an architectural firm, for instance, a new grad would shortlist all the architectural firms that have offices in their city.

“I would always go local first because as a young person, you want to be on site. It’s very hard to learn anything remotely,” Groom said.

Then, search those companies on LinkedIn and find people who work there — ranging from C-suite executives, recruiters and managers, she said.

She suggested sending a request to connect on LinkedIn with a note saying you are interested in a job at their company. If you’re accepted to their network, you can likely get access to their contact information, including email addresses, she added.

Groom said it’s also important to end messages and emails with a question, which can entice a response. Or ask them to refer you to someone who may be hiring.

It’s also important to take that search beyond the social media platform. Job seekers should email at least three or four people from that company to share their resumé and cover letter and follow up with a call, Groom said.

“That personal touch, that’s going to make the difference,” she said.

Then repeat the process for the other firms.

“It’s a numbers game,” Groom said.

The search for genuine interactions on the platform still exists, even though it looks a bit different today, Wood said. “The advice now is: Don’t use AI without thought.”

For example, you can use AI to research people’s journeys or what kind of roles companies are hiring for. But not for networking, writing messages or outreach, she said.

“If you do that with AI or you’re still doing that, people have become sort of immune to it,” Wood said.

In May, LinkedIn increased its scrutiny of AI-generated content and comments, suppressing the reach of content that appears repetitive or automated.

Its goal isn’t to limit AI but to enhance human expertise, according to a blog post LinkedIn directed The Canadian Press to when asked for comment.

While LinkedIn can be the starting point, Wood said it may not be the best place to find work because of the sheer volume of applications turned in through the platform. More than 11,000 job applications are submitted every minute on the platform, according to LinkedIn.

“It may not uncover unique opportunities as much as maybe different approaches would,” said Wood, such as meeting people offline or going to a job fair. “I wouldn’t make it your only pillar, but it’s one of the pillars (of a job search).”

And if people are feeling fatigued from AI posts on the platform, then just log off, she said.

Meet people in person at a networking event, coffee shops or hot lunch spots of the industry. “Just start having conversations,” Wood said.

“Networking in person is just as effective, if not more effective, even if it’s slower or takes more time and more effort,” she said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 6, 2026.

Ritika Dubey, The Canadian Press