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Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered tools are currently a major trend among top tech companies, with many engaging in an “arms race” of sorts to develop the most advanced AI technology. Despite some tech leaders calling for a slowdown in this race, it seems unlikely to slow down anytime soon, unlike NFT apes, which have crashed both in value and as a trend.
While I’m not typically an early adopter of new technology, I’ve come to realize that AI is not a new concept, but rather something that has become more accessible to the average person in recent years. AI is already integrated into many aspects of daily life, from providing streaming suggestions to giving driving directions and even helping to write emails. However, it has also created a disadvantage for job seekers in the form of Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), which often serve as inefficient gatekeepers to top talent.
I’ve never met anyone that enjoys job searching. Fortunately, AI-powered tools can make the job search process more efficient and effective by helping job seekers find relevant job openings, optimize their resumes, prepare for interviews, and research companies.
My current favorite tool for this is ChatGPT, an AI-powered chatbot that can help make language more concise, suggest phrasing, and generate ideas. However, it’s important to note that ChatGPT is not always accurate and will make up information, so it’s crucial to fact-check and verify any information it provides.
If you’re feeling a little intimidated or confused about how AI can help, don’t worry, I’ll show you how to get started. And since I’m not an AI expert, you know this must be easy… or at least easier than your typical job search.
If you want more help with how to integrate AI into your work, check out these top prompts and don’t forget to use caution by never giving any AI tool your personal contact or confidential information.
Writing – Resume, About Summary, and more
Writing and updating resumes is drudgery. It’s not easy to find the words to talk about yourself. You are the best person to write your resume, because only you know what you’ve done. This doesn’t mean you still can’t get help. Instead of hiring a resume-writing expert, use AI.
In the same way a resume writer doesn’t know how you are to work with or what you’ve accomplished at a job unless you share this information, the same goes for ChatGPT. However, it can help you reword your resume to align better with a job description or generate content to help you develop your own authentic voice. Be mindful to filter this for accuracy to ensure it aligns with your personality and brand.
Optimization for ATS
As I mentioned, most companies use ATS to screen resumes and identify the most qualified candidates. These systems scan resumes for keywords and phrases that match the job description. So, you must have a resume that speaks clearly to an ATS.
AI-powered resume optimization tools can analyze job descriptions and identify the most important keywords to include in the resume. This can increase the chances of the resume getting past ATS and being seen by hiring managers. Obviously, AI has no way of knowing your skills and experience), so you’ll need to edit and modify for accuracy.
Getting Started with AI Tools
Below is a list of AI resume writing tools and optimizers to play with to get ideas for how to accurately but creatively present yourself.
- Resume Builders: Kickresume.com, Resume.com, and MyPerfectResume.com use AI to create resumes optimized for ATS and tailored to a particular job posting. Then you can customize and edit as needed.
- Resume optimizers: Jobscan.co and Resumeworded.com use AI to give feedback on how well a resume is optimized for ATS. You can get actionable feedback on how to improve your resume’s success rate.
If you need help with your resume summary, which is the one section my clients struggle with the most, you can start by using the prompts “act as a recruiting expert with resume-building experience and improve my resume summary.” Then copy and paste that section of your resume.
By saving the chat history, it will build on itself and you can go deeper, similar to how an interviewer might ask you questions to go deeper in an interview. Just remember, the output is only as good as the questions you ask.
To optimize your resume for ATS, you can ask ChatGPT to “tailor this resume to this job description” to identify the keywords that you should include in your resume.
Job Posting Alerts
Creating a Google alert is one of the best ways to get an alert of a job posting from anywhere on the web and removes the need to consistently check job boards or company websites. Here are the basic steps:
- From your Google account, go to Google Alerts.
- Enter the job title with the word “jobs” at the end. You can set up alerts for each variation of job title in which you may be interested.
- To filter for relevance, under “Show Options” be sure the source is from web pages and you select your preferred language and region. To filter further, under “How many” select “Only the best results.”
If you decide you’re getting too many alerts, you can edit the alert by industry or be more specific in your job title. If you know you want to work for a specific company, include that company’s name with the job title and “jobs.”
Preparing for Interviews
AI chatbots can also help you prepare for your interview by asking interview questions, providing feedback on your answers, and suggesting ways to improve your responses. It won’t be perfect. AI isn’t that good (yet), but it can give you some ideas and help you to improve (or if it’s super lousy, it’ll show you what not to say, which can still help you craft your authentic response).
Use AI to research a company for interview prep. Remember all the hours you used to spend in the past acting like an investigative reporter as you prepared for an interview with a company you didn’t know much about? Instead, use ChatGPT to fast-track your research on a company or role. Here is a quick demonstration of how.
AI Biases
While AI can provide significant benefits in the job search process, keep in mind there are also some limitations, especially on the ATS (company) side. The potential for bias in AI algorithms is prolific. This can lead to unfair hiring practices. If you’re not getting calls for interviews and feel like your resume is going into a black hole, this is not uncommon. Don’t be over-reliant on applying online for a new job; networking and building relationships is still your best tool for finding your dream job.
If you need a real-life person to help you get clear on what you want, optimize your job search, and intentionally network, I’m here for you.