Can I use Resume AI to Write my Resume?

AI is powerful, but does it really work for resume building? Here is everything you need to know about ChatGPT and AI resume builders and whether they are right for you.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the way employers hire talent. From scouring resumes to identifying jobseekers with potential, AI and tools like ChatGPT are alleviating much of the manual labor associated with hiring processes - but how does this technology benefit candidates? Companies have been leveraging their own tech for some time now; could it be your turn to use AI-powered resume building? Here is everything you need to know about whether utilizing artificial intelligence can help create a resume that gets past the employer's AI tools and land the interview.

What is AI Resume Building?

AI-powered resume building is a way for job seekers to optimize their resumes for the algorithms used by employers and recruiters. AI technologies are able to scan through vast amounts of data quickly, identify patterns, and make predictions based on the information collected. This technology can be used to build resumes that are tailored specifically to the Resume Builders algorithm.

Keep in mind that AI resume Readers continue human bias. Fundamentally, this means that the AI resume builders were built by people and that people have to feed the AI data. So, whatever biases you may have or that the person has that built the AI will translate into the resulting content produced by the AI.

So, what are the pros and cons of using ChatGPT or other AI resumes? Here is what you need to know about whether AI resume makers are right for you.

Pros of Using AI Resume Builder

There are several pros to using AI to make your resume. Here are the top reasons to use AI to make your resume:

1) Saves Time

Writing a resume is a time-consuming part of the job search. Not everyone has the time to do it or they should be better spending their time in their job search. Using an AI-powered program to write your resume can save you time and energy. With the right inputs, you can use an AI-powered tool to write a resume quickly.

2) Increased Efficiency

One of the biggest benefits of using AI resume builders is the increased efficiency they provide. These automated systems use algorithms to create a resume based on your responses to prompts, often cutting the time it takes to build the resume substantially. This efficiency can be huge when there are so many steps to a job search in the current market.

3) Tailoring Your Message

Some AI tools can be used to tailor your resume to the job postings. The AI resume builders use natural language processing (NLP) technology to parse the job description and identify relevant keywords and phrases to incorporate them into the content they produce. As most employers use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to scan resumes for keywords customizing your resume can be key to getting your resume in front of a person that does the hiring.

4) Saves Money

Chatgpt is free and there are many free AI tools out there that can be used to write your resume. If resume writing isn't your thing, then using a free AI tool may save you the cost of hiring a professional resume writing service to create your resume.

Cons of Using AI Builders

There are also many cons to using AI to build your resume. Here are the downsides of AI resume-making:

1) You have to Know How to Use It

AI is a powerful tool if you know how to use it. If you don’t know how to use the AI tools properly, then it could produce a bad resume. The AI tools all require you to feed it information to create the content. If you don't know what to tell the AI, then you won't get a good resume when you run the prompts.

Moreover, the AI resumes are created from pre-built templates and algorithms that sort through the data. So, they will often miss the important differences in your inputs from the content they already have in the system. Thus, the resumes built by AI are often generic and not reflective of anyone's actual professional experience.

2) AI Doesn't Know Your Audience

Employers use ATS and other AI-powered screening tools to manage the applications to their open jobs. But, there are people behind those systems that will make decisions based on your resume as candidates make it through the hiring process. These people include the recruiter, the hiring manager, and colleagues that will review your resume as you work through the interviewing and hiring process.

Unfortunately, AI doesn't know what those people want to see on your resume. It can only follow the rules set before it by the employer. So, if you use AI to build a resume, you will need to edit that resume to account for the things that the people will want to see on your resume to ensure that it is effective through the hiring process and not just optimized for the ATS.

3) AI Can't Format Your Resume

The ATS and other AI-based tools used to screen resumes are limited in how they interpret data when scanning your resume. That means, if you don't format your resume correctly, the content won’t be seen by a person because it will be stuck in the ATS.

Unfortunately, many of the AI resume builders with templates aren't created with the ATS in mind. Instead, the templates themselves were created by graphic designers during the development of the AI software. These AI resume templates look great, but they aren't built for applicant tracking systems used by employers to sort their candidates. In fact, in many cases, the AI resume templates haven't been tested against the ATS. So, the AI resume builder platform doesn't even know if those pretty templates will get through the ATS.

4) It doesn't Know You

AI is a software tool that does a lot, but it doesn't know you or what you want in your next job. It's not human, so it can't understand your personality and the nuances of what you are looking for. AI is just a program that finds patterns in data. So, while an AI resume builder might be able to pull data or content to summarize jobs like those that you have done in the past, it does not know what you actually did or how that is different.

A resume is really a marketing tool for the job that you want. The AI will pull data to create content based on what you have done historically, but it won't be able to reframe that information in a way that is relevant to the jobs that you want next. And, it won't be able to translate your experiences into achievements because it can't ask and collaborate with you in creating those statements. So, if you need help drawing out those achievements or translating your experience to position successfully for the next step in your career, then an AI resume maker won't help you.

5) AI Resumes Can Be Wrong

Keep in mind that AI-powered tools create content based on computer programs. This means they don't know if the content is correct. Instead, they are simply generating text based on the provided inputs. Chatgpt and others are doing this based on the information that is input into the systems. It doesn't mean that the content they produce is correct for you or for what employers actually want.

As noted above, this means that you need to edit the resume produced by AI to reflect your actual experience, results, and message. If you don't then your resume will be generic and not perform well when a person skims it in the hiring process.

Also, to use AI properly, you need to know what many of those HR buzzwords actually mean. Not just generally, but in the context of the specific jobs that you are pursuing and how they are used by the company that posted the job. Why?

Because your resume is a document that will be used by the hiring manager and others in the interviewing process to ask you questions. So, you will need to be able to speak to every word on your resume in a way that is honest and relevant. If you cannot, then it will not only be an embarrassing interview but ultimately a waste of time by yourself and others.

5) AI Does Not Produce a Final Resume

Finally, and most importantly, remember that you cannot rely on AI resume builders to create a final resume for you. A resume is simply a document that you create to apply to jobs with the hope to land an interview and eventually the job offer. Thus, you need to remember these pieces to effectively build a resume that works for its intended purpose - to get a new job and not simply to get past the ATS used by employers.

AI tools like ChatGPT are good starting places to generate content. These tools can only produce text based on the inputs you provide and the information in their system. These systems do not always check for spelling or grammar mistakes. So, if you decide to use AI to create a resume, make sure you are ready to do the editing and add in the details that the people will be looking for in the hiring process. Otherwise, the resume that was produced quickly will only be slow to produce any results in your job search.

Artificial intelligence continues to play an increasingly significant role in the job market. However, when it comes to using AI to write your resume, it's crucial to consider the pros and cons carefully. To use AI resume builders, you need to understand the tool to make sure that you use it properly. And if you do know what to input, make sure that you carefully review the content that the ai resume builder creates to ensure that it properly reflects your accomplishments and experiences before you use it to apply for jobs.

Resume writing companies like The Contingent Plan provide a collaborative service to ensure that the resume reflects you. Our team at The Contingent Plan will apply our knowledge and tools to create drafts, but we also ask you questions and collaborate with you to ensure that the resume best captures your experiences and messages.

Want to see how your resume stacks up? Complete the information below to have a real person analyze your resume (whether you created the resume or AI did) and provide input about how it will perform through the hiring process.