When it comes to artificial intelligence or AI, the future is here. While the jury is still out as to whether or not this is a good thing (the strikes in Hollywood are one of the biggest examples to come to mind), you might as well take advantage of it in your job search. And the reality is that you likely already have.
Here are the top 5 ways that AI can help in your job search:
But first…what actually is AI?
AI, which is short for artificial intelligence, refers to a machine’s ability to think like a human being. However, AI technically can take this a step further by being able to process extremely large amounts of data at once.
To put this into perspective, let’s turn to a Daily Mail article from 2020 that reported on a phenomenon known as inattentional blindness. Though our brains can process lots of new information, there is often a limit regarding how much we can process at once. The article uses the example of zoning out when someone is talking to you while you’re playing a video game, but this could extend to lots of things, including listening to music, watching a movie, reading a book, or even texting.
Artificial intelligence, on the other hand, doesn’t run into this problem because, well, it’s simply not built to. AI can handle many things at once. That’s why, if you’ve ever used Grammarly, it offers corrections for spelling mistakes, as well as suggestions for adjusting your tone so your sentence reads more clearly. It’s because of how fast AI works and how much it can process that leads experts to estimate that AI specialists will be one of the most highly sought-after roles by 2025!
All of that brings us here: to find out the ways in which artificial intelligence can aid in your job search. Here are just a few examples.
Show of (metaphorical) hands, who here dreads making and updating their resume? If you’re like one of the many people surveyed by Resume Guardian, then you’re in good company because having to show off years of relevant experience on your resume is often one of the most detested parts of the job search process.
There’s one big reason for this: writing a resume is actually pretty intimidating. Many people can eloquently describe what they do face-to-face, but on paper, it sometimes seems like the words get lost in translation. After all, you don’t want to sound too braggy, but you also don’t want to add so much oomph to your daily responsibilities that they don’t sound believable.
This is where AI comes in!
In most cases, an employer only scans a resume for a few seconds – around six to seven on average. This doesn’t leave you a lot of time to make an impression, so you need the right look and buzzwords to stand out. AI-generated resume builders like Rezi and Skillroads can help you achieve these goals, as they not only help generate a resume based on the information you provide, but they will be available for download immediately. Skillroads is even free!
While you will have to make some tweaks to the final product, AI generators can at least get you on the off-ramp toward employment instead of keeping you trapped on a dead-end road.
Though it may be surprising to learn, a lot of companies still ask potential hires for a cover letter. Yes, in 2023, cover letters are shockingly still a thing, so good thing you can use AI to generate one.
Sites like Kickresume and even Grammarly can help you create a unique cover letter. Regardless of which platform you use, both make the process of crafting a cover letter incredibly easy. For example, on Grammarly, all you have to do is enter a prompt and the platform will do the rest for you. For Kickresume, just input what you want to get across and it’ll spit out a good first draft for you to improve upon.
This is really what’s at the heart of AI generation anyway. Sometimes getting started is the hardest part of the job search. By having a platform develop your first draft, you’re better equipped to write your final draft in a way that shows off your personality. Truthfully, this is why so many employers in 2023 value cover letters. It can help them decide between two candidates. Go ahead – let AI give you the edge over the competition!
If you’re currently on the hunt for a new job, it’s unlikely that you’re only applying for one role at a time. In fact, the average U.S. job seeker sends out about 100 resumes during their employment search and up until the point they get hired.
While it’s unlikely that you’ll be going on hundreds of interviews, you may be going on several over the course of a month. If you simply don’t have time to draft up a follow-up email after every email or correspondence, then AI systems like Rytr can help.
With a platform like Rytr, all it takes to generate a unique and beautiful thank you email is inputting your key points. Once you’re done, you can edit it to make it sounds more like you or tweak specific details such as the employer and recruiter’s names, as well as the position you’re applying for.
The fact that 80% of HR managers reported in the Harvard Business Review found follow-up notes useful in determining which candidate to go with justifies the $9/month Saver Plan available right now on Rytr.
You’ve landed the interview, so now’s the time to prepare. While there are always going to be standard interview questions that are asked, don’t be surprised to have a wildcard (or two) thrown your way. And, when they are, you’ll want to be prepared.
Thankfully, there’s Prepper to help you knock your interview out of the park. Prepper is an AI platform that will analyze the job description of the role you’re applying for and spit out related questions you can answer and play around with.
While these won’t be the exact questions you’ll be asked in your interview, they offer enough variety so you can develop answers you may not have considered otherwise.
Alright, so maybe this entry was better suited for the one above (is there an AI tool to help us switch the order of our entries?) Regardless, this entry is a big one because it takes a look at one of the most impressive AI features currently on the market: job boards!
Ask anyone on the job hunt and they’ll tell you that looking for a job actually is a job. It eats up so much time and because most online applications require the same information, you’ll spend a lot of time doing the same thing over and over (and over and over and over, etc). One AI tool, Sonara, omits this.
When you sign up for and use Sonara, all you have to do is upload your resume and fill out a quick survey about what kind of role you’re looking for. From there, the AI platform will find relevant jobs and fill out the application for you, so you have more time for what’s been tossed to the back burner due to your employment search.
But Sonara isn’t all that’s out there. Other platforms like SeekOut and Massive are changing the game for those looking to find a new job. While some industries may yield better results due to being in demand (in 2023, this includes but isn’t limited to IT, web developers, and nurse practitioners), anyone can find success on these platforms. Like every job, it often comes down to being in the right place at the right time. Luckily with AI, it’s always the right time.
AI Can Help You Land a New Job…and Fast!
While these are just five ways in which AI can help in your job search, the industry is growing so fast that there is still so much left to discover. The bottom line is that, while AI may still be controversial, there’s no controversy around how helpful it can be in finding a job and preparing for your interview.
The job market is competitive. If there’s a tool out there that can give you an advantage, use it.
