A Complete Guide to Using AI to make a CV

Is it acceptable to use AI tools to make a CV (and cover letter)?

Using AI tools to make your CV and cover letter is not without its pitfalls and ethical considerations. The use of AI has become increasingly accepted in various areas of life, but there are still widely differing views on its use for job application. Here are some of the key things to consider when using AI for your job applications:

Using AI to make yourself look better

There is understandably still some stigma attached to using AI tools to gain an advantage in competitive activities such as job applications and academic studies. These traditionally rely on individual knowledge, skill and experience, so the idea of using AI to make your job applications more appealing to recruiters and employers has traditionally been frowned upon.

Creating a CV with outside assistance

Some employers will refuse any CV or application that’s been created with outside assistance. This could include someone else writing your CV on your behalf, but it could also include the use of AI tools. The reasoning behind this may be a feeling that an AI-generated CV is not your own work, and could therefore not give a fair representation of you as a candidate.

Using AI tools to create a CV from scratch

Using an AI CV maker to write your CV or cover letter from scratch might save you some time and help with your formatting and presentation. However, it’s certainly not advisable to rely on a fully, 100% AI-written CV for your job applications, and any CV or cover letter that’s drafted by AI will require a personal touch before it’s ready to submit.

Using AI tools to enhance a personally written CV

There’s a significant difference between using AI tools to write your CV, and using them as a tool to improve a CV that you’ve created yourself. AI applications run the gamut from spelling and grammar checkers, to personal assistants, such as ChatGPT, to fully fledged CV-writing tools that can generate a complete CV from your job history and qualifications. Using AI tools to edit, tweak and improve CV and cover letter content that you’ve already written is very different to giving the entire CV-writing task over to AI tools.

Shifting perceptions of AI as a job search tool

While some reservations and conditions around AI job applications remain, it’s clear that perceptions are gradually shifting. The use of AI is becoming more acceptable over time. Forbes reports that the majority of HR managers believe it’s ethical for jobseekers to use AI in their job search, while around two-thirds approve of candidates using AI to create documents such as CVs or cover letters (1).

Tips on using AI Tools to make a CV

If you want to use AI to enhance your job applications, there are several approaches you can take. Below you’ll find a comprehensive list of how to use AI to improve your chances of success in your job applications:

Generating a CV draft using AI tools

There are various specialist AI-powered CV writing tools that will now create draft CV examples with minimal input from yourself. They can also create automatically generated cover letter examples. These tools use natural language processing technologies to scan, parse, analyse, extract and generate a complete CV from information provided by you. These could include your LinkedIn profile or information you input into the system.

Improving the writing style of your CV with AI

A more subtle way of adopting AI for your job applications is to use it to improve the writing style of existing CV examples. Any AI assistant or chatbot should be able to provide tips and guidance on improving your language and writing style, including in the following ways:

• Consistent tone and writing style: AI tools can correct a CV with differing styles and make your writing style flow much more naturally through your CV and cover letter.
• More impactful bullet points: it’s normal to write a CV in an abridged, concise style, without full sentences and using bullet points to make each element of your CV more readable. AI tools can enhance your bullet points by removing unnecessary words and increasing the impact of your adjectives and action verbs.
• Simplifying language and removing jargon: it can be easy to slip into jargon and business-speak in your CV, in an attempt to appear more clued-up. However, this type of language can be a major turn-off for employers. AI assistants can remove jargon-heavy text from your CV and replace it with simplified language that’s easier to read.

Reducing your CV length with AI

If your CV is too long, AI tools and assistants can help you edit down the document to make it more readable and easy-to-digest. AI tools will most likely do this by:

• Removing redundant or repetitive content
• Condensing sentences and paragraphs

Using AI to generate an impactful CV summary or headline

If you’re having trouble summarising your best qualities, skills and experience into an impactful CV summary or headline, you could ask an AI assistant to do this for you. Firstly, draft the main sections of your CV, including work experience, education, skills and other optional sections such as certifications, volunteer work or hobbies and interests. Feed these sections into an AI tool such as ChatGPT and ask it to generate a CV summary or headline. If you also add the text of the job advert or job description, this will probably result in a stronger summary or headline.

Using AI for keyword analysis

AI can help you to write your CV draft by identifying the most valuable keywords and phrases to include in your CV. Feed the job description into an AI assistant and ask it to highlight the essential keywords and phrases. You can then make sure you include these essential skills on your CV.

Using AI to assess your CV’s fit for a role

If you’ve already written your CV, you can ask AI tools to assess your likely suitability for a job. Simply paste the text of your CV into an AI assistant, along with the job description, and prompt it to assess your suitability for the role. You will receive a report assessing how well your CV matches the job description, as well as suggestions for areas to improve upon, to increase your chances of success.

Creating an ATS-optimised CV with AI tools

AI tools have the potential to optimise your CV for ATS software. This should make it more likely that your CV will pass the initial screening stage, and proceed to be read by the recruiter or hiring manager themselves. Optimisation might include checking your headings are clear and easy-to-understand, assessing keyword integration, using ATS CV templates and reviewing your CV overall for readability.

Designing efficient AI prompts for CV writing

When you’re using an AI assistant to review and enhance your CV, the prompts you input will play a substantial role in the final quality of the tool’s output. Be clear and specific about what you want the tool to do, including word counts, writing style and CV layout.

Here are some AI prompts that you could use to improve your CV:

Creating a Compelling CV with Smart Tools

AI tools have the potential to transform how we apply for jobs. Many of the tricky, laborious tasks of writing a CV and cover letter can now be completed using AI assistants and bespoke resources. However, it’s still important to be cautious and considerate with your use of AI, as over-use can reduce the effectiveness of your applications.

CV maker tools such as Jobseeker offer the best of both worlds, harnessing the power of AI but providing enough customisation to make your CV personal to you. You can choose between CV and cover letter templates with pre-populated content, written by HR experts, or write your own CV and cover letter content from scratch. Jobseeker’s eye-catching CV and cover letter templates also help your application to stand out from other AI-generated examples.

AI can help you to write your CV draft by identifying the most valuable keywords and phrases to include in your CV. 

Key Takeaways for Creating an AI CV

Using AI to help with creating CV can help you hone and refine your applications for maximum chances of success. However, it’s important to remember AI is still a tool to help you enhance your applications, not to do the work for you. A personalised, professional CV should be more effective than an AI-generated CV, so make sure you strike the balance between technology and the personal touch. Find out more about perfecting your CV with Jobseeker’s CV articles. Sign up today and access a wealth of job application tools and resources, including cover letter articles and tips

Sources:

(1) Forbes, Should You Use AI To Write Your Resume In 2024?