Yes, AI Can Help You Land a Job. Here’s How.

Artificial intelligence, or AI, has become an increasingly important tool in the job market. Both job seekers and employers use it to make the hiring process more efficient. Here we’ll explore the pros and cons of using AI for a job search, give you the recipe for a compelling resume and cover letter, and teach you how to find out whether an employer uses AI for recruiting.

AI can help you write resumes and cover letters

Adjusting your resume

While your resume is the best marketing tool, writing one can be a real struggle. Not to mention the need to adjust it to each position. 

Well, AI-powered resume builders are here to save the day! But AI knows nothing about you or your work accomplishments, so how does it help? Here is an overview:

• Parsing: they extract information from your current resume or LinkedIn page and analyze its content, structure, and language. That’s the input they will use for the matchmaking later.
• Analysis: AI identifies keywords, skills, and qualifications relevant to the job description. It may also analyze the formatting and design to ensure it's visually appealing and easy to read.
• Tailoring: AI generates personalized suggestions and improvements for the resume based on the job description. It may include recommendations for adding or removing certain sections, re-wording sentences for clarity, or highlighting specific skills or experiences.
• Iteration: You can review the suggestions and choose which ones to skip or where to make additional changes. 

Check out platforms like Rezi (the most advanced, you can start for free with limited features), Kickresume (lots of templates and options, but subscription is pricey, with access to trial), or Mosaic Agent (absolutely free but more time-consuming).

Writing a cover letter

At least 76% of recruiters prefer applicants with cover letters. Sometimes cover letters are required by default. And, yes, cover letters are scanned by ATS too.

A cover letter is a unique chance to draw attention and, in a short but enthusiastic manner, tell the recruiter why they should invite you for an interview. No AI can write a perfect cover letter, but with the same principles as AI-powered resume platforms, it can give you a great start. 

The AI-powered resume builders also serve as great cover letter platforms (Rezi, Kickresume, Mosaic Agent) with an excellent addition – ChatGPT, which is good at writing cover letters. Remember - the more input you give, the better the outcome.

AI can help you find a job match 

AI-powered platforms match job seekers and employers with fewer interactions and less bias. That is their primary goal. The exact approach differs depending on the platform, but there are several similarities between all of them:

• Data extraction: getting information from resumes in a seamless manner
• Comparison: analyzing the company and the industry it belongs to
• Matching: using the data from above to identify the best job matches for each job seeker
• Feedback loop: as job seekers interact with the platform, the algorithm learns from their preferences and behavior to improve the matching and recommendation process

Almost all successful job-seeking platforms involve at least some AI algorithms. 

LinkedIn uses AI in its main recruiting product, LinkedIn Recruiter. This service shows relevant job offers to qualified candidates in the “Recommended for you” section. Those jobs are based on your profile (Don’t forget to fill it in!) and your search history. 

Platforms like Arya use a database of resumes to create a talent pool for recruiters. Arya also claims it can predict whether a person is willing to change their job based on the data about their previous career moves.

Talentprise compares candidates, considers preferences, and provides a skill assessment.

The situation around AI matching platforms is similar to AI-powered interviews. Even though one of the main goals and selling points is to eliminate bias, sometimes the algorithm can be rigged. Like LinkedIn AI technology, which tended to show more open positions to men since they act more aggressively when applying for jobs. But AI technology is constantly evolving, and bias is removed once it’s discovered.

In order to succeed with an AI-powered platform, you need to keep in mind the main principles of its work and manipulate it by providing more information on what you want to highlight. Being smart about building your profile to pass the first rounds of automated checks will get you closer to a human recruiter. Practicum’s Career Team assists all students in creating a professional portfolio and learning how to incorporate keywords into their resume.

Be ready to face AI while job-hunting

Knowing how employers use AI in recruiting can help you prepare your profile accordingly and reduce the risk of rejection.

How ATS works and how to pass one

Almost all mid-sized and large companies rely on automated tools like Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to do the first scan of resumes. It’s a software employers and hiring managers use to manage and streamline their recruitment and hiring process. In fact, Jobscan says 99% of Fortune 500 companies use ATS. 

Here’s how an ATS typically works:

• Job posting: saves the recruiter a ton of time by managing job description posts on all of the company’s channels and keeping them consistent. 
• Resume parsing: ATS scans resumes and applications and extracts the most crucial information. It also pre-selects key features, ranks them, and picks the best ones for manual control by the recruiter.
• Tracking candidates: ATS helps hiring teams communicate and collaborate on candidate evaluation, schedules interviews, and shares feedback.

Knowing all this, you now understand what to do. Modify your resume for each job - it must match the keywords from the job description and title. Keep the format straightforward, and don’t forget to proofread. Not all ATS systems understand typos, which can become a blocker for you getting noticed.

What to expect on AI interview

An AI interview, or assessment, is a process where artificial intelligence software examines a candidate’s skills, qualifications, and other factors during a job interview. Typically there are two forms of AI interviews: video, analyzed by AI technology, and chatbot interview. For both types, the primary purpose of technology is to save the recruiter’s time without losing too much in quality. 

Both video AI-powered assessments and chatbots have pre-recorded questions. In video interviews, AI analyzes the applicant’s behavior, tone of voice, facial expressions, and language choices. Based on this information, it can estimate whether the candidate is a good fit for the company. 

Typical questions:

• Please, tell us about your strengths and weaknesses.
• Why do you want to work in this position?

Unlike standard interviews, AI-assisted ones give you time to get ready. Typically, the first 30 seconds to two minutes are not recorded, so you can think before answering the question.

Although AI recruitment companies stress that their software removes possible bias in human interviews, there are still concerns about how much we can rely on these instruments. 

That’s why it is even more important to know what AI interview software is evaluating.

• Eye contact. Even though you know your interviewer is software, maintain healthy eye contact.
• Tone of voice. Stick to a confident and friendly tone.
• Non-verbal language. Again, treat it as a regular interview! Don’t forget to act as if you are talking to a human recruiter - smile, nod, keep a confident posture, dress like you would for an interview, and choose a plain background.
• Be strategic. Try to use keywords from the job description.

Some find that going through an automated interview is less stressful than speaking to an actual human. Make a test recording answering typical questions to nail them. You can practice, see yourself on video, and try to correct your posture or tone of voice. 

Key outcomes: understanding how AI works in your job hunt

• Both employers and applicants can use AI-powered technologies during the job-finding process; everyone can benefit from it.
• AI technologies can save your time and help you write a resume and cover letter, adjusting it to the job description.
• Being smart about building your profile to pass the first rounds of automated checks will get you closer to a human recruiter. 
• The initial interview may be done with AI technology. Treat it as a regular interview! 

AI can give you a helping hand when looking for a job, and knowing their principles will support you in passing automated checks.

All Practicum students benefit from the support of the Career Team, as part of the Career Prep Course. Getting familiar with the technology recruiters use to shortlist candidates is also part of the Career Prep Course and will contribute to your hiring success.