Generative AI and Your Job Search

Output quality depends on the quality of your input. A strong prompt can generate responses that are relevant, accurate, and useful.

A strong prompt should include:

• Your goal
  Clearly state what you want the AI to do (improve a resume bullet, draft an email, practice interview questions)
  
  
• Your context (avoid giving sensitive or personal information)
  Share your field of interest, experiences, skills, or career goals
  
  
• Your audience
  Specify who the content is for (recruiter, hiring manager, alum, professor)
  
  
• Relevant materials
  Provide supporting content (job description, resume content, summary of experiences)

• Preferred tone or style
  Indicate how it should sound (professional, concise, friendly, technical)
  
  
• Specific instructions and constraints
  Clarify expectations (word count, format, "consider x", limitations, key points to include)

Create, refine, and tailor your resume, but it should not write it for you.

How to use it:

• Optimize and customize the bullet points of your resume to highlight your skills, accomplishments, and results.
• Identify key qualifications and language from job descriptions
• Strengthen phrasing and clarity in your existing content by reviewing grammar, spelling, or provide assistance in making your content more concise
• Incorporate specific examples and measurable outcomes

Considerations and limitations:

• AI may produce generic or repetitive content. Be sure to personalize and add specific experience details because employers can often recognize overly AI-generated wording 
• Modern hiring systems evaluate context and impact, not just keywords, so be descriptive
• Look for inaccurate or exaggerated information by proofreading and verifying everything
• You must be able to explain and speak to every line on your resume which can be difficult if AI wrote the whole thing 

Build your prompt:

• Job description or key requirements
• Your current resume bullet points or experience description
• The specific type of help you want (rewrite, improve, clarify, add metrics)
• Any constraints or things to consider (length, tone, format, things to include/exclude)

Sample prompt:
"Help me rewrite this bullet on my resume to align with this job, highlighting relevant skills and measurable impact. [paste bullet and job description]"

Organize your ideas and create a starting point, but be careful of sounding vague.

How to use it:

• Generate an initial structure or outline
• Consider ways to connect your experience to the job description/requirements
• Refine tone, clarity, and organization

Considerations and Limitations

• AI cannot fully reflect your specific experiences and often sounds generic and impersonal
• Letter may lack a clear understanding of your specific interests in the company and can misrepresent your experiences

Build your prompt:

• Job description and company name
• Your current resume or a summary of your relevant skills and interests
• What you want to emphasize (skills, projects)
• Instructions to point out how to include experiences that connect to the job requirements

Sample prompt:
"Based on this job description and my resume, help me outline a cover letter that clearly connects my skills to this role. Keep it professional and concise. [paste job description]"

Present your experiences effectively online, but ensure your profile feels distinct and personal. 

How to use it:

• Improve your summary, headline, or experience descriptions
• Ensure clarity and alignment across materials

Considerations and Limitations

• AI-generated summaries by lack originality and sound overly polished or generic
• May not capture your authentic voice or career direction
• Risk of creating profiles that look similar to others using AI

Build your prompt:

• What part of your profile you would like to improve
• Ask to review what is currently there (or include your resume) and suggest how to better highlight skills, experiences, and career interests
• Explain your desired audience and tone

Sample prompt:
"Help me create a LinkedIn 'About' section that highlights my skills, experiences, and career interests in a clear and engaging way. [paste resume]"

Take a more strategic approach to your search, while also validating through research, networking, and coaching.

How to use it:

• Explore career paths aligned with your skills and interests and generate ideas for gaining relevant experience
• Analyze job descriptions to identify required qualifications and important key words/themes to include in your application materials
• Identify gaps in your skills and discover ways to develop those further 

Considerations and Limitations

• AI suggestions may be broad or not fully aligned with your goals and cannot fully account for personal values, preferences, or constraints
• Information produced by AI may be outdated, generalized, or even completely made up

Build your prompt:

• Your background, skills, and interests
• Any constraints or preferences (industry, location, role type)
• The desired outcome (career idea, skill gaps, next steps)
• Specific actionable suggestions

Sample prompt:
"Based on my background and career interests, suggest 3 potential job roles and the key skills I would need for each. [include a summary of career interests]"

Prepare and practice, with added support.

How to use it:

• Generate role-specific interview questions to practice structuring responses
• Receive feedback on responses for clarity and organization
• As for overall interviewing tips; not just feedback on answers

Considerations and Limitations

• Feedback may be overly general or not tailored to interviewer expectations
• AI often will take the job description at face value and not be able to develop questions about the more detailed parts of the job
• Cannot replace a live conversation, and may not fully assess tone, delivery, or body language
• Risk of over-rehearsed or scripted responses

Build your prompt:

• The job description and information on the industry
• Your resume or a summary of your related experiences
• The type of questions you want (behavioral, technical)
• Instructions for how you want to practice (mock interview, feedback, follow-up questions)

Sample prompt:
"Generate behavioral interview questions for this job description, and help me structure my answers. Ask follow-up questions. [paste job description]"

Draft your message, but relationships still require authenticity.

How to use it:

• Draft outreach emails or LinkedIn messages and consider tone (professional, polite, concise)
• Develop questions for informational interviews and other interactions

Considerations and Limitations

• Messages may feel impersonal or like you used a template
• AI won't know the context of your relationship or shared connection(s)
• Should be used as a supplementary tool rather than a replacement for personal connections; generic outreach is less likely to receive a response.

Build your prompt:

• Who you are reaching out to and your goal/purpose for reaching out
• Specific details you would like to reference that may be notable
• Key points you want to include and the desired tone

Sample prompt:
"Help me draft a short, professional LinkedIn message to an alum in [industry/company] asking for an informational interview. Keep it friendly and concise."

AI tools can help draft clear, professional emails, but effective communication requires a personal touch. 

How to use it:

• Draft emails for:
  - Following up after interviews or career fairs
  - Requesting informational interviews and/or coffee chats
  - Reaching out to recruiters or hiring managers
• Ask AI to adjust tone, and improve clarity and grammar

Considerations and Limitations

• AI generated emails can feel generic, overly formal, unnatural, or impersonal if not edited and can result in fewer responses
• May not accurately reflect the context of your interaction

Build your prompt:

• Purpose of your email (follow-up, thank you, request) and who is the recipient
• Context from your interaction (where/when you connected)
• Key points you want to include and the desired tone

Sample prompt:
"Help me draft a professional follow-up email after a meeting a recruiter at a career fair. I want to thank them, express interest in their company, and mention one specific thing we discussed."