What to consider when AI is creating your Resume

Spending hours and hours crafting the perfect resume? Seeking the consultation of colleagues and career coaches in writing your resume?  With the introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI) the resume writing process can be completed within minutes, and can also be more cost effective. In addition, AI-powered resume writing tools have proven to have the ability to successfully optimize your resume. These sophisticated algorithms analyze job descriptions, industry trends, and resume patterns to generate an effective resume.

But what precautions, if any, should the job seeker consider when using AI to generate a resume? Let’s explore what steps must be taken to ensure your AI-generated resume captures the attention of the Hiring Manager.  

Resume Content

Creating content for your resume requires reflection. And reflection takes time. Creating a resume requires the job seeker to reflect back to the skills, experiences and accomplishments buried within each job held. It is an exercise that requires the job seeker to recall situations and actions they were involved in throughout their career that led to results. Writing content for the resume requires an ability to connect past work experiences to desired present work opportunities. It also requires the job seeker to write a succinct summary of qualifications and list information related to education and certifications. This is the essence of the resume writing process, and when a Human Being is creating the resume, it takes time and thought!

AI-generated resumes create stories for the resume from the information we provide; however, AI-generated resumes may overlook relevant qualifications or fail to accurately convey the importance of certain achievements. When this occurs, the Hiring Manager may not fully be able to appreciate the value of a specific accomplishment. Yet, the resume will be aligned with the parameters of the job posting.  

Another concern when using an AI-generated resume is the accuracy of your story.  Misrepresentation of information has been a major source of concern with AI-generated resumes, so it is important that you check your original documents to correct any false interpretations of information listed on your resume.      

Tailored Resumes   

Even the best of resumes must be somewhat tailored to ensure they match with the employer’s needs. Resume revisions take time and thought and can often slow down the application process, along with causing the job seeker to feel overwhelmed by the task. 

AI can generate in minutes a tailored resume by analyzing keywords and phrases from job descriptions, saving the job seeker time and frustration. However, the use of AI can often lead to resumes that are overly tailored to match job requirements, causing redundancy in phrases throughout the document.  

AI tools can customize each resume quickly, but you must also review and cross reference each phrase to ensure that the statements made are honest and reflective of your capabilities. The context in which your skills, abilities and accomplishments are reflected within an AI generated resume must be made to be accurate - and it is only through your Human evaluation of the document can this be ensured.

Formatting and Design

A visually appealing resume is always what the job seeker should strive for. The resume must have zero typos, be easy to read with enough white space to allow for easy reading and include simple graphics, if any.  

AI-powered platforms offer a wide range of templates and formatting options that make the resume stand out. Eye-catching designs and colors can grab the attention of a Hiring Manager, when the resume is reviewed in person. However, when applying for a job, resumes are submitted through the Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), and most ATS are programmed to read plain text. So, when visual elements like charts, images or even complex formatting is added to the resume, some ATS systems may misinterpret what is being presented.  This means that your resume may never pass successfully through the ATS system and may never be seen by a Hiring Manager.   

Therefore, keep it simple!  No need to jazz up your document visually through AI. It is recommended that you use standard fonts and formatting, avoid images and graphics, organize your sections with headings and place bullets alongside your accomplishments so that they may stand out. 

Optimization

Many companies use ATS as a way to screen applicant resumes before they are ever seen by a Human Being, i.e. a Recruiter or Hiring Manager. To pass through this initial hurdle, resumes need to be optimized with the right keywords. AI-driven resume builders are built with the knowledge of ATS algorithms and can optimize resumes accordingly. That is the good news!  However, there is one word of caution. AI generated resumes tend to overuse keywords and phrases from the job descriptions, causing redundancy throughout the document. When this happens, you may want to eliminate redundancy when it becomes so obvious. 

IN SUMMARY

While AI-powered tools can save you time, money, and frustration, you must understand that AI is a tool that offers you the ability to get assistance in writing your resume – it should not be expected to write your resume without direction from you. It is advisable to take time to create your success stories by reflecting on each of your past jobs so that a solid draft is created by you, and then feed into the AI powered system. AI is your partner in writing your resume, but you are the owner of the document.

When you receive your AI-generated resume, review the resume for accuracy, credibility, grammatical errors and overall storytelling to ensure that the resume is an honest reflection of your skills, abilities and accomplishments. It is important that when a Hiring Manager reviews the document, and calls you in for an interview, your resume is a true representation of your work background.