Many employers and recruiters value candidates who can use AI effectively. At the same time, they want application materials that reflect your authentic experiences, skills, and voice.
If you opt to use AI, think of it as a coach. Use it to generate ideas, enhance your writing, and identify areas for improvement, but be sure to verify all of the content. Your resume, cover letter, Handshake and LinkedIn profiles and interview responses should be based on your own experiences. The strongest job applications are specific, unique and authentic, while those that are mostly AI generated are too general and getting rejected.
AI is a Tool, Not a Substitute for Career Advising
AI can provide ideas and feedback, but it cannot replace personalized career advising. Career advisors can help you interpret feedback, identify strategies that fit your goals, provide industry-specific guidance, and support you throughout the job and internship search process.
AI is one of many resources and if you use it in your career exploration and job search, complement it with Career Center appointments, drop-in advising, workshops, and employer networking opportunities.
Effective Ways to Use AI
AI can be a valuable career development tool when used thoughtfully. Consider using AI to:
- Brainstorm accomplishment statements based on your experiences
- Identify skills, qualifications, or keywords that may be missing from your resume
- Improve grammar, clarity, and readability
- Generate ideas for tailoring application materials to a specific role
- Generate practice interview questions and receive feedback on responses
- Create networking questions for informational interviews or career fairs
- Suggest alternative wording while preserving your original meaning
- Review application materials and identify areas that need stronger examples
Ineffective Ways to Use AI
Avoid using AI to:
- Write your entire resume, cover letter, or LinkedIn profile from scratch
- Generate application materials that you submit without careful review and revision
- Invent experiences, skills, accomplishments, or qualifications
- Copy and paste AI-generated content directly into an application
- Create interview answers that do not reflect your actual experiences
- Replace reflection, research, and critical thinking with AI-generated responses
Write Specific Prompts
The quality of AI output often depends on the quality of the prompt you provide. Clear, detailed prompts will generate more useful responses than broad or vague requests.
For example, instead of asking, "Can you help me write a cover letter?, try prompting, "Review my cover letter for a data analyst internship and suggest ways I can better demonstrate my experience using Excel, data visualization, and quantitative research."
The more context, details, and examples you provide, the more relevant and useful the feedback is likely to be.
Protect Your Privacy
Before uploading resumes, cover letters, or other documents to AI platforms, remove personal information whenever possible, including:
- Name
- Phone number
- Email address
- Home address
- Student ID number
- Other sensitive personal information
Remember that AI tools may store, process, or use submitted information differently. Review privacy policies and use caution when sharing personal, academic, or confidential information.
Before You Submit Applications When Using AI
Ask yourself:
- Does this sound like me?
- Are the examples and accomplishments accurate?
- Could I confidently discuss everything included in my application during an interview?
- Does this highlight my unique experiences and perspective?
- Have I ensured the examples and accomplishments in the final product are accurate, and an authentic reflection of my skills and experiences?
- Am I using AI to improve my work rather than do the work for me?