Using AI to Tailor Your Resume for Job Searching 

You have the skills, you have the experience, and now it’s time to let the world know that, too, with a well-crafted resume. The only problem is how to sell yourself effectively.

It’s difficult applying for jobs, and it’s now even harder with the resume scanners that many companies now use to screen the hundreds or thousands of applications they receive for just a single open position.

But if they’re using AI to screen, what better tool to refine your resume than AI? By using AI tools to build and tailor your resume, you can ensure that you’ve got the right keywords and skills front and center for the job you’ve got in mind.

This article will be your guide in making it work for you.

What You’re Up Against

Recruiters and companies have a lot of resumes to get through. AI scanners perform a vital function in the hiring process. However, they’ve also changed the game. These machine learning tools analyze a job description and list of requirements to process resumes and eliminate those that don’t include the keywords and qualifications they’re looking for by sending them through an Applicant Tracking System (ATS).

This efficiency comes at the cost of the discerning human eye, which might notice your expertise.

Using an AI Resume Builder

Whether you use a standard chatbot or a specialized resume tool, the AI you use will help you craft a resume to succeed in this new playing field. It can tailor your wording for an employer, check grammar, and tighten things up. However, it needs your help to truly shine. Your level of input and the crafting of your prompts are vital. While every AI tool is different, here are some pointers for all:

• Be clear in your prompts – Tell the AI about what you want done and what position you want it done for. If you can include the company’s job description in your prompt, even better.
• Help with keywords – If there’s any area of focus, particularly keywords that you think an employer will be looking for, be sure to tell your AI assistant.
• Know your industry format – A doctor’s resume will look very different in appearance and content from a graphic designer’s. Include examples and try to input as much formatted information as you can into the AI tool. Offer feedback on completed sections if they need changing.
• Keep it readable – Any good resume shouldn’t be too visually cluttered, but for machine reading, images, graphics, and complex layouts can hinder rather than help. For the resume builder (and scanner), keep your resume in a text-based format. AI can’t process everything just yet.
• Confirm everything – AI tools still run the risk of hallucinating events and fudging details every so often. Be sure to give your tailored resume a once-over before submitting, just in case.

AI Resume Tailoring Platforms

With all those pointers in place, we’d be remiss if we didn’t offer some excellent resume assistant AI tools out there. Here are some of the most popular, in no particular order:

KickResume

This AI tool is regarded as one of the best in the field, thanks to its many templates and reliable writing (based on GPT4). While more advanced features are for paid tiers, the free level still offers users a fast and solid way to produce a resume with all the right (and correctly spelled) words.

Teal

Teal is ideal for users who want to send their resumes to numerous potential employers and keep track of their applications. Not only can it create an optimized resume, but it can also keep tailoring things quickly for any new job description you’re considering. There is a paid version, but the free tier is extensive.

Zety

Sometimes you need to keep things simple. Zety walks you through the application process, collecting all the information you’ll need in stages, while also suggesting some of its own. The free tier allows for basic resume downloads, with more formats available for a price.