Just say NO to AI Resumés
We get it. The process of crafting a resumé can be intimidating. It is so intimidating that you may look to AI (artificial intelligence) to write yours. So many people do this, a lot of folks act like AI resumés are the only way to do it and that they are the world’s default. AI companies would have you believe the same thing. But this is absolutely NOT TRUE!
Sure, AI can expedite the process of churning out a resumé. But folks using AI resumé services are all missing the bigger picture. If you are tempted to use AI to create your resumé, we strongly urge you to rethink that notion.
Yep, at the risk of sounding old school, we advise you to NOT use AI to create your resumé. Or, if you do, use it as tool to help you, as in YOU personally, to write your own resumé. At best, a rough first draft is the only thing AI should EVER be used for.
There are several reasons why we say do not use AI to create your resumé, but all the reasons point back to presenting you in the best possible light to a prospective employer.
You might think you are gaining efficiency when using AI to create your resumé, but all you are really gaining is anonymity. What we mean is that, unless you have the skills to rewrite the first draft of an AI resumé credibly, all you are doing is asking the machine to help you blend in with your competition.
You will be up against competition for most jobs that you apply for. Your resumé is a chance to make yourself stand out from the crowd. Why in the world would you trust that opportunity to a tool that makes you look and sound like everyone else applying for the job?
Using AI Could Disqualify You
Using AI for your resumé could have more severe consequences than just helping you get lost in the shuffle. We know of more than one employer that runs all resumés and correspondence from potential employees through an AI or plagiarism identifier program. Anyone who submits AI-generated resumés and/or content gets eliminated from consideration right off the bat. Disqualified. End of story.
Unless you were specifically tasked with creating the best possible AI resumé, you would not be doing yourself any favors by using AI to create your resumé.
Why are these employers so adamant about AI resumés?
They want to see potential employees' skills, NOT AI’s. They might also view reliance on AI as a lazy person’s shortcut.
And know that if you are applying for any creative position, AI resumés will be especially frowned upon.
What’s wrong with AI?
The biggest problem is that AI cannot adequately reflect what you uniquely bring to the position. Personalization is not an AI strength, and AI resumés can come across as formulaic.
While an AI resumé generator might be able to list your job qualifications, experience, and education, it won’t know about all the transferrable skills you also bring to a potential position, nor can it successfully tie all the elements of your resume together in a compelling way that reflects your true potential.
Interviews, if they happen at all through an AI resumé, can be especially tricky when the AI generated resumé bears little resemblance to the in-person you.
Furthermore, AI often generates inaccurate information. Sometimes comically so. But the place for the absurd humor of AI-generated inaccuracies is NOT your resumé.
How to use AI for resumés
Yes, AI can be a good tool, but you should NEVER just cut and paste what AI gives you.
The issue is not so much whether or not you used AI but rather HOW you used AI.
As we said, AI can give you a good first draft of a resumé that you should then heavily edit to reflect your unique skills, experience, and personality.
AI can also help with practical things like spelling and grammar. A resumé free of spelling and grammatical errors will undoubtedly impress more people than one with these issues.
If you must use AI to craft your resumé, please see it as but one tool that you can use to help accomplish this task.
As difficult and daunting as it can be to craft a resumé word by word, in our experience the effort may bring your resumé to the top of a pile of generic cookie cutter resumés your competition created using AI. This will put you a step ahead of the pack when you start your job hunt!