Second Sunday Series – Editor’s Note: This is the sixth of 12 columns on AI and work, which will appear the second Sunday of each month, from September through August. Last month’s column provided best practices for companies when using AI, while previous columns looked at tips for using ChatGPT; work opportunities with artificial intelligence; AI use in the hiring process; and an overview of artificial intelligence in general.
If you need a résumé fast or cheap or both, you might find a good-enough (or even a good) result by using artificial intelligence tools. As they improve, so will your chances of achieving a consistently good (or even great) result.
For now, here’s one of my many mantras: “A résumé that works is a great résumé, even if it’s written on a cocktail napkin.” In other words, if your résumé helps you get an interview, it’s an excellent résumé.
The only way to find out if AI is going to contribute to your résumé success is to dive in. These tips might give you a hand.
Quick review of AI résumé tools
As you might guess, you have a lot of choices when it comes to AI résumé tools. Because there are so many options, ranking them is not likely to produce an accurate guide.
Instead, I’ve gathered some that are more commonly known, organizing them according to their primary use. Some offer enough free features that you may not need to open your wallet. But if not, most have paid upgrades as well.
Since links and urls can be awkward for a short column, I’ll let you go the old-fashioned route: To access any or all of these tools, just type the name as given into your browser search bar.
Resume Genius or Rezi AI — These products help you build a résumé from scratch, generally offering templates and design options while using AI-driven recommendations to create the content.
ChatGPT or Perplexity — These are general AI tools that can be prompted to write specific parts of your résumé. For example, the prompt to create a bullet point describing public speaking produced multiple options, structured to fit different bullet-phrasing styles.
Wordtune — This tool is designed to correct or reword sentences. For example, the prompt “I managed six people” produced multiple options with various phrasing.
Jobscan — This optimization tool analyzes résumés in relation to specific job postings. For example, uploading your résumé and a job description suggests revisions to better match the resume to the posting.
A word about cover letters
As a starting point, do plan to send cover letters. That question is often debated, but since some recruiters like letters, you should send one. If you want AI assistance in this task, you’ll do fine with the free level of ChatGPT or a similarly general tool. I wrote about this process in my December 2024 Second Sunday column, but you can also find online tutorials for crafting productive AI cover letter prompts.
A word about LinkedIn
My usual advice is to post a profile, even if you don’t plan on using LinkedIn’s interactive options. Simply being more findable by recruiters is reason enough to be on this board. It’s not common to change up the profile to match specific postings — how would you even do that? — so you’ll want something that mostly matches the kinds of jobs you’re going for. I haven’t tried these tools yet, but Jasper AI has strong reviews for generating LinkedIn content, while HeadshotPro can create a professional photo from your family barbecue pics.
What to worry about — and not worry about in using AI
Worry about — Your own inattention. Already I’ve received documents from multiple people who didn’t realize they had left commands such as (insert name) in their materials. Using good writing practices, such as having someone else read your work, will ensure the best product.
Don’t worry about — Being “discovered” as an AI user by something dopey, such as using words that might appear on AI lists currently circulating online. For example, “delve” and “streamline” are two words that AI tools apparently use often — but so do real people! Rather than obeying random internet memes on AI use, focus instead on adding your distinct voice and personality to AI-generated documents.
Of course, there’s much more to be said about this AI and résumés – but we have to push forward, as always. Next month’s topic: Ways that AI can help you prepare for interviews, including practice sessions.
Amy Lindgren owns a career consulting firm in St. Paul. She can be reached at [email protected].
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