Readers told us how they use AI in their job search — or why they avoid it

Business Insider

3 days ago

Business Insider recently asked readers about their experiences with the job search process. You told us what you find off-putting in a job posting, and what sticks out to you as red flags in a job interview.
We also wanted to know: How do you use AI in your job search, if at all?
The readers who answered our poll and reported using AI in the process said they do so primarily for résumés and cover letters.
Many readers said they'd ask AI to check their résumés against a job post and tell them what changes they should make to best align with the description, such as organizing bullets in the order in which items appear in the job post or emphasizing the keywords from the listing.
Grant Maxfield said he asks AI to review a job listing and summarize the most important qualifications and duties that he should focus on in his application materials. He'll also feed AI a job description alongside his prior résumés and cover letters, and ask it to draft new ones tailored to the specific position.
Many respondents stressed that they double-check what AI gives them, and some mentioned having experiences where AI hallucinated a fictitious job experience on their résumé or mixed up their responsibilities between different roles.
"I never used the wording ChatGPT spit out, but I definitely used it to figure out where I was lacking in useful information and where I had too much," said Sarah Oglesby.
Nicole McCormick said she uses AI to write thank-you emails that draw on the company's culture, values, and mission statement as taken from its website.
Clare Apps also uses AI to personalize follow-up messages and to do mock interviews to prepare.
"The AI conundrum is painful on both sides," she said. "A part of me is annoyed that recruiters are annoyed by job seekers using AI to assist with cover letters, résumés, and profiles. It's a cake-and-eat-it scenario."
Not everyone finds it useful for résumés and cover letters, though. One reader said she only asks it to suggest possible jobs she should apply for because "it hasn't been very useful yet; I write a better résumé and cover letter than AI does at this point."
And other readers avoid using AI in their job search.
Kelley Murray has heard it can disqualify you if you're caught having used AI on an application.
Liz Stout said she's never tried it before but that a coworker mentioned using ChatGPT to write a cover letter, and "that sounded like cheating."
"I don't use AI," said Brian Bissonnette. "I put the effort in myself."