A Candidate’s guide to using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Recruitment

A guide to using artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT and Copilot responsibly when applying for jobs at Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LYPFT).

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing how we work, communicate, and apply for jobs. This guide is designed to help candidates understand how to use AI tools effectively and ethically throughout the recruitment process at LYPFT. Whether you’re writing your application or preparing for an interview, AI can support you, but it’s important to use it in a way that reflects your true skills and experiences.

Artificial intelligence and recruitment

Artificial intelligence (AI) software such as ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot and Gemini are powerful tools that can create and review text in ways that mimic what people can do.

These tools can help you enhance your application and prepare for the process, but it is essential you use them appropriately. They must not be used to provide misleading or false information at any stage of the application journey.

This guidance focuses on acceptable and unacceptable uses of AI in the application process. It also suggests ways to use it that may be helpful to you.

What we look for in applications

The most important thing to remember is that we want to find out about you and how you align with the Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. Your application should represent your skills and personal experiences accurately and authentically. Good applications help us understand:

how your skills and experience align with the role you are applying to
what motivates you to do your best work
what you have achieved and how you did it

The two main parts of the process are the written application and interview stages. In each stage there are different things that AI might help you with.

The goal of using AI in your job application is to help you show us who you are and what you are good at. It’s not about creating a persona that isn’t you.

There are several ways that AI can improve the clarity and quality of your written application and remain an honest reflection of your skills and experience. Examples of effective use:

think about your own personal experiences and ask AI to help you improve how you present them
ask AI to summarise public information about important projects or policies at LYPFT that you can link to in your responses
ask AI to help identify relevant skills and LYPFT values and think about how you’ve demonstrated these skills in previous roles as you prepare your responses
write a list of examples with details of how you relate your experience and skills to the role, then ask AI to help you structure them using the STAR format or other ways to strengthen your examples
ask AI to check your answers are concise and recommend improvements that maintain their meaning.

Acceptable Use – You can use AI in the application process to:

help you refine and clarify your ideas and thoughts
research public information about LYPFT
find out information about trends in healthcare or professions that you can relate to personal experiences
check the spelling, grammar and clarity of what you have written

Unacceptable Use – Do not use AI to:

inflate or invent your skills and experiences
create generic responses and copy these into your application
complete assessments that evaluate personality and abilities such as situational judgement and numerical tests
provide an AI tool with sensitive information such as figures or personal details

Preparing for your interview

If you are invited to an interview or assessment centre for a job at LYPFT, AI can help you prepare and practice beforehand. Some examples of effective use:

you could ask AI to read the job description and create mock interview questions to help you prepare example responses based on your experiences and skills
ask AI to generate sample behaviour questions so you can practice how you deliver your responses
compare your responses to example questions with recommended approaches, and personalise them
ask for tips on body language and communication styles for interviews, and practise these in mock sessions

It’s important to understand that while AI can help you prepare for an interview, AI must not be used to produce responses during an interview.

Acceptable Use – You can use AI in the application process to:

prepare for interviews, including mock questions you might be asked
research public information about LYPFT and service you are applying to
find out information about trends in an industry or profession that you can relate to personal experiences

Unacceptable Use – Do not use AI to:

inflate or invent your skills and experiences
create answers for questions you are asked during a live or pre-recorded interview
create answers for situation-based questions
provide an AI tool with sensitive information about your organisation such as figures or personal details

Why authenticity is important

Your application and interview should give us an accurate and authentic picture of your skills and experiences. It is vital that you do not use AI during any live assessments at any stage of the selection process. This ensures a fair selection process for all candidates where we assess everyone based on merit.

All LYPFT colleagues (employees) follow the Trust’s values and behaviours, and we are looking for talented candidates who resonate with our core values. Authenticity and honesty in your application is vital to determine whether you are a good fit for the role.

Before you apply, we will ask you to confirm the information you provide is true and accurate. More details about this will be provided in the application form and we may reject applications where AI is used inappropriately at any stage of the process.

LYPFT Values and Behaviours

Our values are integrity, simplicity, caring. They are integral to how we go about our business.