5 Ways AI Can Help Job Seekers
Artificial intelligence is one of the hottest topics at the moment, and it should not come as a surprise that it is making its mark in multiple fields.
One such field is the job market. Many industries are extremely competitive when it comes to getting a job, and if there is a way to gain an edge over other candidates, you can bet that one will use everything available.
From a recruiter’s point of view, AI automates the process of screening candidates and trimming the list. Since we are talking about a computer rather than a person, there is no conscious or unconscious bias that affects the screening process.
But what about those who are seeking a new job? Unsurprisingly, AI also offers a fair few benefits that increase your chances of landing the desired position. Let’s take a look at how you can do that.
Get a Professional Headshot
The old adage of “never judge a book by its cover” is one of those things that are still prominent in the job market today.
Recruiters will never tell a candidate that an unprofessional headshot or the lack of one is the rejection reason, but it happens more often than expected.
Artificial intelligence eliminates the need to hire a professional photographer and a studio to get a headshot.
Instead, you can use an AI professional headshot generator that can turn simple selfies into images that you can use not just on a resume but also on LinkedIn or another platform that requires a professional-looking headshot.
Look at an example below:
A background in the first picture has been replaced with a neutral background in the second picture, and that immediately changes the purpose of the shot.
The color and lighting have been adjusted as well, focusing on the person in the photo and making them stand out.
One thing to note about creating your headshot with AI is that you still need to find an appropriate picture that the generator can process.
Avoid wearing unnecessary accessories and clothes that are too casual (a simple T-shirt, for instance). There is only so much that artificial intelligence can do to make your headshot professional, so you should try to help rather than complicate the process.
Generate a Resume and Cover Letter
ChatGPT and other text-generation apps help you create compelling resumes and cover letters. Not all jobs require a cover letter, but adding it to your submission when job hunting is a benefit.
According to Human Resources Online, more than 80% of recruiters say that cover letters are important.
It is one thing to have a headshot on a resume, but you also need detailed information covering your background, skills, and accomplishments.
For someone who has no experience in writing one or lacks confidence in their skills, creating a cover letter from scratch is a significant challenge. And the same can be said about resumes.
You can look through various examples online, but if the goal is to create something that stands out, copying from what is already there will not do you anything good.
In this case, AI does more than just content generation from the prompts and keywords you provide. Writing applications also offer suggestions on format and structure, as well as which skills and experiences to highlight.
Finally, check for spelling and grammar. If you do that manually, the odds are that you might miss something and leave a typo in the resume or cover letter. Do not risk it, and use a tool to do the job for you.
Predict Potential Interview Questions
Hardly anyone can create a scenario where they sit down in front of an interviewer and answer questions in person. Such practice would be the most ideal, but if it is not available, getting potential questions fed to you directly by a computer is arguably the next best thing.
Similar to how AI can generate content for your resume and content letter, it can also predict the interview or, rather, what questions to expect.
Not only that. You can also ask the tool to answer the questions for you. It is up to you whether you will memorize the answers by heart or treat them as guidelines that you can build up from.
Coming to an interview unprepared and just winging it is certainly not for everyone, so it is only fair that one would want to come in prepared.
Assess Individual Skills
One of the less utilized AI capabilities is skill assessment. If a job requires knowledge of specific software or language proficiency, it can be difficult to assess how good or bad you are at it.
Leaving personal biases aside, you will get an opportunity to test how efficient you are. If the personal skills match what is realistically expected, you can add the skill to your resume and not worry about lying.
On the other hand, if the tool shows areas of weakness, you will have an opportunity to work on improving certain skills, making you better at what you do while also eliminating a potential obstacle that stands in the way of getting the job.
Analyze Market Trends
If you are not satisfied with your current position and plan to switch careers in the near future, AI can assist you in analyzing current labor market trends and suggest what training programs you should pursue.
At the same time, if you wish to rely on your current skill set instead of learning something new, make the most out of job search algorithms.
Submit individual skills, interests, experiences, career goals, and other relevant information and let the tool suggest relevant job opportunities.
Conclusion
To sum it all up, artificial intelligence greatly reduces certain aspects of job hunting. It gives you automation and makes certain aspects of personal presentation more professional.
However, be wary of leaving absolutely everything to AI. Recruiters are smart enough to detect automation if it is too obvious. Also, more and more of them are using screening services to detect AI-generated resumes.
The bottom line is that you should rely on artificial intelligence to help you improve lackluster aspects rather than creating every little thing from scratch since that could jeopardize your job search.
