Generative AI tools like ChatGPT are becoming more widely used, but can they help you in your job search? Using AI for your job search can help in a variety of ways, like finding jobs and writing cover letters, but it comes with some compromises.
So how do you leverage this technology when looking for a job, and more importantly, is it really the best option?
How AI Can Help Support Job Hunters
From streamlining the job search to generating required documents, here are some common ways people use AI for job searches.
Find More Jobs Matching Your Skills and Experience
There's no perfect filter on job boards, and searches can return a wide array of options that may or may not be suited to you. When it's just you doing all of the work, you'll be limited to going position-by-position to find the best matches and can easily miss the perfect opportunity. AI can reduce the amount of time it takes to sort through job descriptions by comparing your skills, experience, expectations like pay or benefits, and presenting you with options that meet all your criteria.
Optimize Resumes Compatible with ATS
Hiring teams rely on applicant tracking systems (ATS) to initially scan and sort resumes. These systems tell them which applicants should advance to the next round, and which ones aren't even considered. AI can help you understand the latest ATS standards and ensure your resume contains the right phrases and elements to pass these prescreening systems.
Mass-Apply Across Openings
Since AI streamlines the application process, that frees up more time to actually apply. People find it easier to apply to every available position when using AI-generated resumes and cover letters, hoping at least one advances to the next round. More advanced AI agents can also apply directly on your behalf whenever a new job posting hits the boards.
Prep You for Interviews
Do interviews make you nervous? AI uses multiple different ways to prepare you to meet with potential employers. It can provide basic questions to expect, and even tailor them to a specific job description, allowing you to formulate answers ahead of time. You can also perform mock interviews where an AI agent takes on the role of the interviewer. The more you practice and prep, the more confident you'll be when the interview actually happens.
What You Miss When Using AI for a Job Search
Think AI sounds like the perfect tool for your job hunt? Like most technology, it isn't perfect, and you should be aware of some of the risks that come from relying too heavily on AI.
Job Applications Are Not One-Size-Fits-All
Every job is unique, and every applicant needs to be as well. Hiring teams don't want to see the job description essentially repeated back to them, as AI does. They want to see that you understand the requirements and the company while presenting yourself as a good match for those specifics.
You Won't Make a Unique Impression
AI can copy and paraphrase successfully, but it cannot genuinely create. Because of this, any applications and cover letters created using these tools will end up sounding similar to many others. Additionally, using AI in your job search can signal laziness or a lack of commitment to employers. Identifying AI-generated content has become part of many prescreening processes, automatically disqualifying you from consideration.
AI Can Easily Make Mistakes
AI might not be perfect, but it's still far from reliable. AI is known to get things wrong and "hallucinate" completely made-up information. That means it's likely to make claims about you that aren't true while trying to produce the most hireable version of your application. It can also make false claims about companies, trying to connect your experience to hiring companies.
AI Lacks Insider Knowledge and Networks
It's just not replacing the human aspect of job hunting. AI can scour the web, but it doesn't have networks of people and connections that humans do. It can't tell if there is one specific quality a company is looking for over others because it won't ever bother to reach out and ask. ChatGPT and Claude will never know someone who already works there and can put in a good word for you or understand local hiring trends like someone who lives and works there.
Job Agencies Provide More Benefits than AI Can
What if there was something that could do everything AI does when used in a job search but 100 times better? On top of that, fill in gaps AI misses? There is: a job agency.
Job agencies match you with the right position using online networks, extended networks, and previous employer clients. They can even alert you to jobs that are about to become available, so you can get a jumpstart on the application process. From there, they'll provide you with tips to help polish your resume and cover letter so that they pass screenings but keep your unique voice front and center. Agencies can also offer you tips to help you practice for interviews using experience and knowledge, not scraping the internet.
Liberty Staffing Gives You Results Without AI
At a job agency, you won't get an algorithm with its own programmed priorities; you get a team of highly experienced experts with a proven track record in job placement. For 27 years, Liberty Staffing Services has been partnering with job seekers across Southern Ontario.
Contact us for personalized job search assistance you could never get with AI.
