Artificial intelligence is emerging as a very promising new tool, potentially replacing different work functions and increasing automation. That said, at the moment, tools such as ChatGPT are only sufficient for providing an initial draft of a resume. This is not because its knowledge base ended in September 2021, but more because it has other severe limitations.
In one recent survey of over 1,000 AI users, over 11% or of people using ChatGPT on their resume said that employers rejected their resumes due to their use of AI. This percentage is likely to increase as software such as Turnitin is used to screen out applicants who failed to write the documents used in their own application. As with colleges reviewing college essays, it is likely that employers will increasingly prefer to search for candidates who did not author their own work.
Regardless of employer preferences, AI currently has several limitations, including:
1) An absence of human observation and understanding
Although AI can provide highly structured bullet points, it’s unable to thoroughly review your work history and unpack transferable skills and common themes which could be relevant to the type of job you’re seeking. Additionally, AI will not be encouraging you to achieve your career aspirations, or effectively aligning your resume with your desired personal brand image. Shortcomings will also prevent AI from effectively communicating your passion for a role or your cultural fit.
Additionally, though ChatGPT can correctly include specific data points to illustrate workplace accomplishments, a high percentage of the stats returned in ChatGPT results are unrelated to the work history provided. Not removing these inaccuracies would either be extremely careless or tantamount to lying. You’ll need to thoroughly review these for accuracy.
2) Lack of a compelling narrative yielding similar results
AI will be able to form a bulleted list of previous job roles and other items. However, AI will not arrange your work history to convey your career story. In fact, it will be challenged to communicate in a genuinely creative, effective storytelling manner. Thus, it will be difficult to positively differentiate yourself using AI alone. This returning of similar results for everyone who asks for the same type of resume can send one’s resume to float along in a sea of other candidates with seemingly little unique skills or experiences to bring to the table.
3) Lack of understanding of unique trends and contexts
There are some things that only you, or a resume writer working with you, would be able to showcase within your resume. For example, recent industry and market trends, role & industry-specific jargon, and the priorities and values of the company advertising the role will not be factored into your resume. In addition, the context of your career will require a thoughtful approach and may call for slightly different wording. All of this may be painfully evident if your resume is not customized to adapt to this.
Whether or not you ultimately decide to try AI in order to help with your resume, you really must continue to maintain human involvement. Always have a human reader provide input regarding spelling, flow, alignment, etc. when proofreading your work. Among other reasons, just remember that spell-check is a form of AI, and you don’t want to submit a resume that spell-check says is error free, but which uses the word “from” when you meant to say “form.” Regardless of whether you try AI resume writing, we wich you the best of luck with your job search!
