ChatGPT and LLMs for Recruiting: How to Use Them (and Their Limits) in 2025

"I asked ChatGPT to analyze this resume, and it said the candidate was excellent." This phrase is heard more and more in HR offices. LLMs (Large Language Models) like ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini have transformed how we work. But are they really suited for recruiting?

The short answer: yes and no. LLMs are powerful tools for certain tasks but have critical limitations for others. This guide helps you distinguish good from bad uses, and know when to prefer a specialized tool.

What is an LLM and How Does it Work?

An LLM (Large Language Model) is an AI model trained on vast amounts of text. It predicts the most likely next word, creating fluid and contextual responses.

What LLMs do well:

• Understand and generate natural text
• Summarize long documents
• Rephrase and adapt tone
• Answer general questions

What LLMs do NOT do well:

• Access real-time data (LinkedIn, internal databases)
• Provide standardized, comparable results
• Guarantee data confidentiality
• Give objective, reproducible scores

5 Good Uses of LLMs in Recruiting

Here's where ChatGPT and others truly excel:

1. Writing and Optimizing Job Postings

LLMs are excellent for generating variations of your job postings, adapting tone by target audience (startup vs enterprise), and suggesting inclusive language.

Example of effective prompt:

"Rewrite this backend developer job posting to make it more attractive to senior candidates. Emphasize flexibility and technical impact."

2. Generating Interview Questions

From a resume or job description, an LLM can suggest relevant technical or behavioral interview questions.

Example:

"Generate 5 behavioral interview questions to evaluate conflict management skills in a manager."

3. Summarizing Long Resumes

For a 4-5 page resume (common with senior US profiles or consultants), an LLM can produce an executive summary in seconds.

Warning: The summary will be qualitative, not a score comparable to other candidates.

4. Candidate Sourcing

LLMs can generate complex boolean queries for LinkedIn Recruiter or other platforms.

Example:

"Generate a boolean query to find Product Managers with B2B SaaS experience and technical background, based in Europe."

5. Candidate Communication

Writing kind rejection emails, personalized outreach messages, or responses to frequently asked candidate questions.

5 Bad Uses of LLMs in Recruiting

Here's where LLMs hit their limits—and where you risk costly mistakes:

1. ❌ Resume Analysis and Scoring

The problem: LLMs provide qualitative opinions, not standardized scores. Asking ChatGPT to evaluate two resumes will give inconsistent results if you run the same query again.

The consequence: Impossible to objectively rank 50 candidates. You fall back on subjective judgment.

The solution: Use a specialized resume scoring tool that applies the same criteria to all resumes.

2. ❌ Verifying Candidate Information

The problem: LLMs don't have real-time LinkedIn access. If you paste a resume and ask to verify information, the LLM can only comment on what you give it—not cross-reference with external sources.

The consequence: Embellished resumes slip through.

The solution: ResumeRank's automatic LinkedIn enrichment verifies and cross-references data in real time.

3. ❌ Processing Sensitive Personal Data

The problem: Copy-pasting a resume into ChatGPT (public version) raises serious privacy questions. Where does this data go? Is it used to train the model?

The consequence: Legal and ethical risk for your company.

The solution: Use a privacy-compliant tool with secure hosting and sovereign AI options for maximum data protection.

4. ❌ Multi-Candidate Comparison

The problem: LLMs process one query at a time. To compare 5 finalists, you need to make 5 separate queries then manually consolidate.

The consequence: Time-consuming process prone to errors.

The solution: A tool with built-in multi-candidate comparison and visual charts.

5. ❌ Automated Decisions

The problem: Letting an LLM "decide" if a candidate is good or bad is dangerous. LLMs have biases (trained on historical data) and often seek to confirm your expectations.

The consequence: Risk of discrimination and legally unjustifiable decisions.

The solution: AI should assist decisions, not make them. The recruiter always keeps final control.

ChatGPT vs Specialized Tool: The Honest Comparison

See our detailed ChatGPT vs ResumeRank comparison.

The Right Workflow: LLM + Specialized Tool

The best approach isn't "LLM or specialized tool" but "LLM AND specialized tool", each on their strengths:

1. Sourcing → LLM for boolean queries
2. Job postings → LLM for writing and optimization
3. Screening and scoring → Specialized tool (ResumeRank)
4. Verification → Tool with LinkedIn enrichment
5. Interview prep → Specialized tool for personalized questions
6. Communication → LLM for emails and messages

Privacy Questions Every Recruiter Should Ask

Before using any AI to process resumes:

1. Where is data stored? (US/EU hosting for compliance with CCPA, GDPR)
2. Is data used to train the model? (Ideally no—your candidates' data shouldn't improve someone else's AI)
3. How long is it retained? (Zero data retention = ideal for liability)
4. Can I audit processing? (Critical for EEOC compliance and decision justification)
5. Is the candidate informed? (Required under most state laws, including NYC Local Law 144)

The Future: Specialized LLMs for Recruiting

The 2025-2026 trend will be fine-tuned LLMs for recruiting: general models specifically adapted to HR challenges. These tools will combine:

• The linguistic power of large models
• Recruiting-specific guardrails
• Native integrations (LinkedIn, ATS)
• GDPR compliance by design

ResumeRank already uses this approach with optimized prompts and the ability to choose models (OpenAI or sovereign Mistral).

Conclusion: AI Serving the Recruiter, Not the Other Way Around

LLMs are wonderful tools. But a generalist tool will never replace a specialized tool where precision, comparability, and compliance are critical.

Use ChatGPT to write, rephrase, brainstorm. But to screen, score, and compare candidates reliably, trust a tool designed for it.

Try free AI resume analysis and compare for yourself with what ChatGPT can offer. 3 free analyses, no credit card required.

Discover how ResumeRank combines the best of LLMs with the reliability of a specialized recruiting tool →