How to Use AI to Boost Your Job Search

By Brandi Fowler

When artificial intelligence started flowing into workplaces in new ways this year, some workers feared it. People wanted to know what jobs it would replace and how it would change the workflow .?

A flipside to AI also emerged: how workers could use it to their advantage.?

“Companies [that jobseekers] are applying to are using automations and AI to some extent, even if it's minimal right now,” Zapier recruiting manager Bonnie Dilber told LinkedIn News. “And job seekers should be doing that too from an efficiency perspective. It’s also important to be informed and to demonstrate comfort with AI, because this is the new technology. Companies will look for people who can use AI to their advantage.”

Being able to prompt AI to produce the output you want is a skill, and if you can build that skill it can give you a competitive edge, Dilber said. LinkedIn Learning has several AI courses available by clicking here .

Let AI Punch up Your Resume and More

Job seekers can also utilize the technology to enhance their job search materials and interviewing prowess.?

“AI can give the average person superpowers,” said LinkedIn Learning instructor Oliver Yarbrough , who teaches a course about how project managers can leverage AI.

“If you are already a great writer, AI can make you an even better writer,” Yarbrough said. “It can be used [for] brainstorming, as a research assistant to help you identify opportunities, as a co-pilot, almost like a second brain, and it can act as an editor.”

AI can also take pressure off of job seekers and help quicken the job search process. But, Dilber cautioned that it’s essential to use AI to improve job search materials without copying and pasting what it produces into your resume, cover letter, etc. Doing that could cause your resume to mirror other job seekers’ materials and you won’t stand out as a candidate.?

“The voice that you as a job seeker bring [will] be more powerful and more effective,” Dilber said. “So, use it as a foundation. Use it to take care of the busy work that anyone could do and then put your time and energy into that last 20% that takes it from OK to awesome that only a human can do.”

You can use AI to boost your headline or summary in resumes and cover letters too. Start by taking the job description and pasting it into a generative AI tool such as ChatGPT, Yarbrough said. That will allow it to pull out skills the company is looking for.?

“Once AI has analyzed the job description, it knows what the company is looking for,” Yarbrough said. “Now, when you paste in your resume, it's analyzing and pulling out key skills. Then you can ask it through prompting to match up and see how you compare versus what they are asking for. It can see where you are weak and see where you are strong.”

Also, be specific with your AI prompts when using AI tools to make them more effective.

What Else Do You Need to Know About AI and Job Seeking?

“I think it's best to first give ChatGPT some information to go off of,” Dilber said. “Give it a job or a role. Tell it you are an expert career coach and resume writer and you are now writing the best resume that anyone's ever seen for a customer success role or whatever kind of job.

"Then say, ‘I'm going to give you information from my resume, my current LinkedIn profile, and the last cover letter I wrote.’ You can copy and paste whatever random information that you want into it and say, ‘Take all of this information and then package it into the right bullet points for a resume. Package it into a headline on LinkedIn.’ You then need to iterate and give feedback on whatever it spits out.”

The first version AI produces may not be stellar, but you can improve it by providing feedback. For example, you can ask it to add goal areas to your resume that you want to speak to, Dilber said.?

You can also give prompts like, “I want to be a copy editor for [XYZ company]. I want you to craft my cover letter in the style of a [XYZ company] copy editor,” Yarbrough said. He added that you shouldn’t use it word for word, but it will help you avoid starting from scratch.?

From there, you can fine-tune your resume and cover letter with AI’s version. After you do, Yarbrough suggests running your resume through the AI-powered app Grammarly, which checks spelling, grammar, and word usage errors.?

AI can also help find recruiters by creating Boolean searches.?

Send the prompt, "I'm looking for the person recruiting for sales roles at [XYZ company]. Create a Boolean string that I can put into Google or LinkedIn to find those recruiters,” Dilber said.?

“Keep in mind it's always going to rely upon the information out there. So if the company doesn't have a sales recruiter, nothing ChatGPT gives you is going to be able to produce that.”?

For more information about how to unlock opportunities and elevate your career with the power of AI, click here .?

LinkedIn's Chief Economist Karin Kimbrough recently joined me for a discussion about the State of the Labor Market , which — coincidentally —?is the name of her team's monthly newsletter .

In addition to a deep dive into hiring trends, we discussed why people are facing increased competition for remote jobs and spikes in job search intensity. You can watch our conversation below or listen to it on a bonus episode of my #GetHired podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you like to listen. You can also read a transcript of our conversation by clicking here .

Resumes and LinkedIn profiles often serve as the foundations of people's job searches. Without them, you likely won't be able to apply to most places. Also, they're among the first items recruiters and managers see during the hiring process. Ana Lokotkova , who is the founder of CV Labs, joined me for the most recent episode of my #GetHired podcast to discuss how to craft a stand-out resume. You can find a transcript of the conversation and listen to the episode by clicking here .

Ana also joined my colleague Brandi Fowler on the latest episode of #GetHired Live to answer resume and LinkedIn profile questions from job seekers. You can catch a replay of that show by clicking here .

COMING UP:?

Ageism is a sad reality in most parts of society, including the world of work. Fortunately, there are small steps you can take to reduce the obstacles that ageism may throw in your way —?from your mindset to your resume. Kerry Hannon , who is a well-known author and senior columnist at Yahoo Finance, will join me on Wednesday's episode of my #GetHired podcast to talk about it all. Follow my podcast wherever you like to listen, including Apple Podcasts , so you don't miss the episode!

• Is job hopping's value eroding? (By Cate Chapman ) Workers who stick with jobs are seeing their pay rise at a faster clip, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta . Job stayers got a wage bump of 5.9% in March, based on a three-month moving average, up from 5.6% in August. Those who switch jobs continue to secure bigger raises , with their wages growing 7.3% in March. Still, that’s down from 8.4% last summer. With fewer workers exiting — the quits rate fell to 2.6% in February from 3% in 2021 — employers feel less pressed to pay a premium for new hires. Click here to see what people are saying about the data .
• Are these red flags for startups? (By Todd Dybas ) Joining a startup brings a mix of excitement and uncertainty. So how do you know one is on the right track before you join? PR executive Katerina Antonova writes in Fast Company to be aware of these five red flags: No clear business strategy, undefined roles and responsibilities, poor financial management, inability to adapt and ineffective communication. Antonova says startups running into financial challenges or needing to adapt is common. The business' reaction to these situations often defines future success — and whether job seekers should want to get on board. Click here to learn more .
• Can you escape office drama by working from home? (By Ruiqi Chen ) Working from home might not save you from office politics. Roughly half of U.S. workers say negative aspects of office culture, such as bullying and gossip, have survived the transition to remote and hybrid work, according to a new survey. In fact, one expert told Bloomberg that remote work may lead to even more brown-nosing and sucking-up to managers as employees seek to build relationships with their leaders from afar. To change these patterns, experts say managers need to address toxic behavior directly. Click here to find out more .

The way we communicate can make or break the chances we have in our professional lives. One area where communication can easily go wrong is email. Unfortunately, sometimes we don't even know when our message delivery goes awry. This LinkedIn Learning course teaches you how to clearly communicate via email. You can watch it below or by clicking here .