As more AI tools hit the market, it can be tempting to test Job Search AI tools to accelerate the job search process. While an ever-expanding list of tools have launched, there are still several risks involved with leaning too heavily on AI.
So what are currently the best use cases for AI tools in a job search?
Getting Past Writer's Block
AI can be helpful to generate early drafts of your resume, LinkedIn profile, bios, and letters. Many users of generative AI appreciate that they can bypass the blank screen stage by entering relevant data and using prompts.
Gather these documents to help develop your career collateral:
Opening Announcements or Job Descriptions for your target role(s)
Personality Assessment(s)
Prior versions of your resume
Measurable impact, change initiatives, and wins
Some find it helpful to submit separate content for each section of the resume. For example, the opening announcement and personality assessment might be used to craft the executive profile or summary section on the resume and the About section on the LinkedIn profile.
Ethical Use of AI
Do not run confidential data through AI. Most AI tools do not maintain user confidentiality. Many AI platforms store and use data that has been entered into the system. Even if a platform will only hold the data for a short period of time, it does not take long for these tools to use private data. Keep in mind, the information you input could resurface on the web or be used to train the AI.
Anonymize personal and private information entered into AI tools. Remove identifying details like company name, recruitment firm name, proprietary products / tools, and contact information. Replace names of people, dates, metrics, budgets, and other potentially sensitive information with names and numbers that are easy to find and replace at revision stages. Err on the side of caution, especially when it comes to information about a company.
Watch for AI hallucinations, when the AI incorporates details it determines as impressive, but that do not align with your experience. You need to be able to speak to content in your resume, LinkedIn profile, bios, and letters. For the best results, revise the content carefully to rephrase for word variety, edit to reflect your voice, and add accurate details and context.
DO NOT submit the raw AI output as your own writing. AI creates broad, general phrasing, which is essentially boiler plate and will not distinguish you from the competition in a favorable way. What’s more, many Head Hunters can quickly discern raw AI content and, chances are, they’ve seen the same phrasing time and again.
After you remove the AI-generated content from the platform, use your usual word processing program to revise and finalize the document. Ideally, the word processing program you use at the revision and final stages would not use AI.
Targeted Language
Generative AI can help identify target titles and keywords to incorporate into your career collateral and conversations. This can be particularly helpful if you haven’t hit the market in a while or if you know your field has undergone significant change.
We’re not looking to match expectations exactly for a role; we’re hoping to entice the hiring authorities with possibilities. Most hiring authorities are NOT looking for a reworded opening announcement in the resume. More often, they are looking for someone who has core experience in the required areas along with supplemental insights earned throughout their career, not to mention some personality, context around wins, and intangibles that simply must come from you.
AI Meeting Notes
Most Executive, C-Suite, and Board searches are deeply rooted in networking and career conversations. We can also expect higher-level job searches to take a bit longer and go through multiple touchpoints or discussions prior to receiving an offer. As such, it becomes important to track outreach, follow-up, and topics of conversation to ensure warm leads don’t become cold.
While tools exist to track meetings, an Excel spreadsheet will work just fine to track your progress and relevant details on your networking activities. Using an Excel spreadsheet offers more flexibility than most AI tools. Excel spreadsheets allow you to customize what you track, such as adding a column to note the anticipated hiring window or noting various channels of outreach.
AI meeting notes can be very helpful — particularly if you don’t typically take written notes on meetings or if you don’t have the time to sort and file hard copies of notes. AI doesn’t always hear the words accurately, so review the AI-generated notes immediately after the meeting for the best results.
Networking continues to yield the most favorable job search outcomes. Increase the odds of your application being taken seriously by having someone on the inside recommend or advocate for you. For this reason, avoid using AI to apply for positions. Landing high-level roles is not a high-volume game. It’s about building relationships and confidence among key decision makers.
AI Interview Prep
AI Interview Prep platforms provide broad feedback for video interviews. Many include common interview questions and some allow you to submit custom questions. Some of the stronger Interview AI offerings assess tone of voice, length of response time, rate of speech, word choice, and body language. The AI will not flag nuanced issues, but it can help with practice for video interviews.
To make the most of your interview prep, work with a friend, trusted colleague, or coach to interpret the AI’s feedback and to assess how effectively you are introducing yourself, self-advocating, showcasing your impact, and tying it all back to the benefit to the potential employer. Look for opportunities to include storytelling to make your answers more compelling and periodically ask follow-up questions to uncover hiring priorities.
Conclusion
AI can help in the early stages of building your career collateral and practicing storytelling for networking and interviewing conversations. When using AI to streamline and accelerate your job search, plan time to refine AI drafts and outputs. Currently, AI is not strong enough to handle the final, public-facing stages of the search.
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