A career expert reveals the most common AI mistake job seekers make when using ChatGPT.
I was thrilled when ChatGPT was released in November 2022 as a leader at the education nonprofit Khan Academy, as it allowed us to use generative AI to offer personalized tutoring to a larger number of children.
As a hiring manager and cofounder of a career development business who has trained first-gen students at CUNY and MBAs at Harvard Business School, I was disheartened to see that many job seekers were using these tools incorrectly.
Despite the excitement of new technology, humans remain in control of the hiring process. Therefore, relying on a robot to write your resume could lead to failure.
Although I wrote a literal book on using ChatGPT in job search, you can still use AI to enhance your resume and increase your chances of landing an interview and ultimately the job.
The wrong way to use AI for your resume
Many job seekers begin their search by asking AI platforms like ChatGPT to generate a marketing resume. While this may seem like a good starting point, it's actually a major mistake.
The results are massively generic
Take this summary, for instance:
ChatGPT and other AI tools are going to make stuff up
Under a single job listing in the experience section, there is additional information.
These bullet points are too broad and do not provide specific projects or outcomes. It is hard to believe that a marketer can possess all of these skills in one job.
My human BS detector immediately assumes the worst: This isn't a resume, this is a hallucination!
The right way to use AI for your resume
While using AI to generate a resume from scratch may result in rejection, leveraging AI can help us provide specificity and credibility, which are what human reviewers desire.
Compose a preliminary version of your resume.
Instead of having AI generate your resume, begin with your own first draft, even if it's incomplete. This way, you can be precise and truthful about your accomplishments, even if they require some refinement.
2. Identify and incorporate missing keywords
The hiring team created the job description to specify the required skills, which include the exact keywords you need to match.
Here's where you turn to AI. Enter the following prompt:
- Which keywords from the below job description are missing from my resume?
- Here's the job description: [Paste the job description here]
- Here is your resume: [Paste the text of your resume here]
Rewritten sentence: Can you provide me with a list of missing keywords?
Suggest three ways to incorporate [keyword] into my resume.
3. Quantify achievements and demonstrate results
Real results are what recruiters and hiring managers seek in past performance, not just illusions.
So get a little nudge in the right direction with a prompt like:
Rewritten sentence: "The company's revenue increased by 10% in the third quarter." Alternative version: "In the third quarter, the company's revenue grew by 10%." Three ways to add more quantitative impact to the bullet point: 1. Specify the exact revenue figure: "The company's revenue increased by 10% in the third quarter, reaching $1 million." 2. Provide a percentage increase over the previous quarter: "The company's revenue increased by 10% in the third quarter, up from a 5% increase in the second quarter." 3. Compare the revenue to a benchmark or industry average: "The company's revenue increased by 10% in the third quarter, surpassing the industry average of 7% growth."
It is tempting to directly copy and paste the bullet points suggested by an AI platform onto a resume. However, it is crucial to edit the text to match the individual's actual accomplishments. For example, if the AI platform suggests generating $500,000 in donations but the individual only generated $300,000, or if the organization measures growth quarterly instead of monthly, the text should be adjusted accordingly.
4. Review, review, review!
It is crucial to review every last word and number on your resume, especially if you have used AI, to ensure accuracy.
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