Workers are turning to artificial intelligence to make themselves look younger on their résumés and LinkedIn profiles. The practice, dubbed “résumé Botox,” involves removing graduation dates, trimming early-career positions, changing senior-level titles, and using younger-looking photos on LinkedIn profiles to conceal their age, reports Fast Company.
What Are The Survey Findings?
A Use.AI survey of 4,263 people who applied for jobs in the last year found that 42% changed their résumés or LinkedIn profiles to mask their age or appear younger. Among women ages 45 and older, 53% reported making those changes, compared with 35% of men in the same age group. The findings suggest that experienced candidates may feel compelled to minimize the very credentials, leadership experience, and institutional knowledge that employers need.
The survey also found that 72% of respondents who altered their profiles to appear younger used AI to help make those changes. Of those candidates, 43% said the strategy helped them secure more interviews, while 10% reported receiving fewer.
How Is AI Becoming A Tool In Hiring?
Although the findings reflect users of a particular AI platform rather than the entire job-seeking population, they highlight how AI is becoming a tool for navigating perceived hiring barriers. Research published in Computers in Human Behavior in 2025 involving 366 human resources professionals found that LinkedIn screening was susceptible to age bias. Recommendations highlighting an applicant’s competence or warmth benefited candidates, but younger applicants gained more from competence-focused recommendations.
The trend creates a challenge for employers using AI-assisted recruiting, too. Automated screening can speed up hiring, but companies still need to assess whether their systems and selection criteria fairly evaluate applicants based on job-related qualifications.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says the Age Discrimination in Employment Act generally protects workers and job applicants ages 40 and older from age-based discrimination in covered employment settings.
Carly Roszkowski, AARP’s vice president of financial resilience programming, told Fast Company that ageism is “the one discrimination that we all will go through.”
RELATED CONTENT: Your AI-Generated Résumé Could Be Hurting Your Job Search
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