Typical job search advice isn't working in today's market. Experts' new rules for landing a role right now

It's hard to find work in today's job market: Employers aren't hiring because of economic pressures and because they'd rather invest in artificial intelligence. AI, once billed as a promising solution to get people hired faster, is causing headaches for candidates and recruiters alike.

Job seekers aren't feeling optimistic. More than half, 55%, of job seekers say employers have the upper hand in the hiring landscape, and 67% feel pressured to accept the first job offer that they get, according to ZipRecruiter's recent survey of more than 1,500 job seekers between July 25 and Aug. 12.

"The success of job search strategies is lower right now across the board," Daniel Zhao, chief economist at the company review site Glassdoor, tells CNBC Make It.

Some well-meaning career advice that worked in the past may not apply in today's market, or may not work as well as it used to. Here's what hiring experts say are the new rules to finding a job right now.

Roughly half, 47%, of workers say they've used AI to apply to jobs, with resume writing help among the most common use cases, according to a CNBC and SurveyMonkey Quarterly AI and Jobs Survey of 1,686 workers in July.

Turns out, a lot of AI-generated resumes are now ending up in a recruiter wasteland.

Using AI to do the same thing everyone else is doing won't help you stand out, Zhao says: "You get these resumes and application materials that are very, very similar to each other because people have used the same types of prompts to to customize their application."

At this point, "never use AI to write your entire resume," says Sam DeMase, career expert at the jobs site ZipRecruiter.

Write your resume without the help of AI using good old-fashioned tips, she says: Prioritize your relevant experience up top, make sure your bullet points match well with the job description you're applying to, show the impact of your work, and so on.

A smarter way to use AI for your resume is to identify gaps: Drop the job description and your resume into your AI tool of choice, then ask it to identify any experiences or skills that are missing. Fill those gaps with examples you forgot about, DeMase says.

A "high effort application" makes a big difference in a sea of generic files, says Bonnie Dilber, a recruiting leader at the software company Zapier, who adds that a "copy-paste" resume from AI tools can raise fraud alerts that a recruiter then has to investigate.

"Someone who has genuinely written a response here that sounds like a human — that stands out," she says.

AI is having the same flattening effect on cover letters.

Businesses "care a lot less" about them and may no longer ask for one, especially if they're an earlier stage company or startup, says Julia Stiglitz, chief education and workforce officer at Handshake, the new-grad career platform.

Zhao offers one caveat: Write a concise cover letter bridging your experience if you come from an unexpected background.

For example, a pre-med college grad who decides they're not going to medical school might want to explain why they're applying to a job.

"If you don't say, 'Hey, I've decided I'm not going to medical school, but I have developed all of these skills through my pre-med training that would be applicable to you,' an employer might make the wrong assumption" that you're only looking for a one-year job or are unsure of your next career move, Zhao says.

Avoid relying on AI, otherwise you could sound generic, Zhao says. Be specific, direct and clear about why you're the best for the job.

"Your goal is to show the hiring manager why they should really consider you as one of the top 10 candidates that they have seen out of potentially 100," Zhao says.

Hiring professionals agree now is not the time to mass apply to jobs. Think: Quality over quantity. Focus on what specific roles you want, set alerts for them, apply within the first 48 hours with a tailored resume, and reach out to contacts who can move your application to the top of a recruiter's consideration list, DeMase says.

"You need to be a specialist and not a generalist," she says, "so just sending out a ton of generic resumes is not a strategy that works right now."

"In a job market where it's easier and easier to apply, showing intent becomes more important," says Stiglitz.

Not to mention, mass applying is an easier path to burnout in what could be a prolonged job search. Roughly 1 in 4 job seekers has been out of work for six months or more, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

Most people search for jobs by title via online platforms, DeMase says. She suggests searching by skillset instead, including competencies like data analysis, relationship building, team leadership and copywriting, or technical skills like being experienced in Figma, Jira and Salesforce.

Doing so can "unlock opportunities you may have previously overlooked and say, 'I'm actually qualified for more than I thought,'" she says.

For example, a ZipRecruiter search for jobs that require "negotiation" skills pulls up titles including media sales representative, procurement specialist and account executive, DeMase says.

Focus on skillsets you enjoy most, are especially proud of, or that friends and colleagues have say you're best at, she says.

Getting recruited is the second most common way people get a new job, so make sure your LinkedIn profile is polished and professional, Dilber says — and not a place to vent.

Given the rise of AI-generated applications, she says recruiters now check candidates' LinkedIn pages more often to combat fraud issues.

"If I go to someone's LinkedIn and their last three posts are [bashing] these companies using AI, these recruiters are ghosting me — all this negativity — I am now more hesitant," Dilber says. "[Say] you have a bad day at work. Are you going to come and vent about that on LinkedIn?"

That's not to say you can't share personal takes online, says Dilber, who admits she gets very real in her LinkedIn updates. Just remember that what you post becomes core to your online brand, and make sure they "align with things that are going to be appealing and catch the attention of the people you want to work for," Dilber says.

Another rule of thumb: "If it's not something you would share with your manager at work, you probably shouldn't put it on LinkedIn," she says.

LinkedIn, alumni groups and other professional networking resources are obvious places to look for jobs. Dilber recommends adding your existing social networks to your search, too, like asking your neighborhood Facebook group, gym buddies or other friends online or IRL about opportunities in their worlds that might match what you're looking for.

"People should get out of the traditionally professional spaces and go get in spaces where they have some connection with people," she says.

Given the low-hire job market, experts say now's not the best time to change careers or go for a stretch job.

Companies have their pick of candidates with highly relevant experience in many fields, so "employers aren't going to be considering people who are sort of stretching into the role," Dilber says.

"I would say that for the vast majority of people, it's just kind of wasting your time spinning your wheels towards something that's not going to pan out right now," she says. It's deflating advice, she says, but she'd rather candidates reserve their job-search energy for things they're "95% to 100%" qualified for to make the effort worthwhile.

"Applying for jobs that you are objectively extremely qualified for is really the best thing people can do," she says.

When people ask whether it's a good time to look for a job, Zhao thinks about a classic piece of financial advice: Time in the market is better than timing the market.

"The lesson is that there's no time like the present" to practice your interviewing skills, figure out what roles you want to apply for versus what's out there on the market, or refresh your network, he says.

But if you are looking for some kind of timing signal, DeMase says it may be an especially good time to consider contract or temp jobs. Hiring managers are trying to fill these urgent openings before the end of the year, she says.

CNBC Select is editorially independent and may earn a commission from affiliate partners on links.