Whether it's ChatGPT or a generative resume writing platform, AI is commonly used to assist with or entirely generate a resume. AI tools allow a jobseeker to quickly prepare and customize a resume, with proper grammar and a specific writing tone/style, into a well-crafted document. AI tools excel at finding the “industry keywords” and composing experiences tailored to each job applied to. So pervasive is the use of AI that many young professionals with post-secondary educations rely on AI technologies not only to enhance their writing skills but to compose their resumes entirely. From my experience as a veteran recruiter, up to 50% of resumes submitted to lower-level professional roles are significantly AI-enhanced.
As with most things, incorporating AI into your resume can have good and bad outcomes. For novice resume writers, AI can help with formatting, resume structure, and provide ideas of content that can be personalized to reflect their own experience. Even for more experienced resume writers, AI can help as their personal proofreader.
Speaking from my professional experience of having read thousands of resumes, those who rely on AI to compose their resumes often end up with a generic product that is easily detected as “AI-written”. AI-written resumes tend to have similar formatting and writing styles and are loaded with industry keywords/lingo to get through the selection process. Most telling, however, are the generic descriptions of qualifications and job duties, which seldom include specific details. The results are a resume that does not reflect the Job seeker’s professional experiences in detail, and frankly, some are misleading, as AI-generated resumes often include Industry keywords of business practices the job seeker cannot back up with examples.
Job seekers want their resume to maximize their chances of getting an interview. With the help of an AI platform, they often tailor their resume to the job they are applying for, but this can be short-sighted. A good resume should help get the job, not just the interview. This is best achieved when the Job seeker’s best skills and specific experiences are included – AI-developed resumes are too generic. Interviewers often develop their questions directly from the resume. A good resume informs the interviewer of areas where the job seeker has excelled or is uniquely qualified. Specific examples of achievements and experiences allow for lines of questioning that focus on the Job seeker’s expertise. The results are a good interview, with good exchanges that allow the interviewer to assess capabilities and working style, from which they can make a hiring decision. By contrast, job-tailored and generic AI-written resumes may not include these best personal examples. In this case, interview questions will explore areas where the jobseeker is less qualified and less credible.
Industry “Keywords” can be a problem, too. AI tools excel at identifying industry keywords, and job seekers often feel compelled to include them on their resume to “get the interview”. Many industry keywords are sophisticated business practices that are not always fully understood by those who include them in their résumés. The jobseeker may struggle with incomplete or false answers when questioned about the business practice. The interview will not focus on their best achievements and expertise; they will have lost the opportunity to discuss them. They will not have had the chance to build upon their strengths, and often their weaknesses are exposed, and their credibility is diminished.
The content of a resume often guides the discussion in the interview. Personal experiences and achievements help the interviewer to explore the job seeker’s strengths. Including details that lead to the right discussion is good advice seldom seen in a resume overly fabricated by AI. For those who want to use AI technologies, it has a place in helping to create a well-crafted document. Maintaining control of the content with the right personal experiences will help you get the job. Job seekers should remember that a resume is a professional statement of experiences and capabilities by which they are judged. Personal credibility is at stake in the interview. Job seekers need to carefully manage their resumes’ content, not allowing an AI tool unchecked creative control.
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