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Smart Use of AI in the Job Hunt · Talking FACS

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  Welcome to Talking FACS what you need to know about family,
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  food, finance, and fitness.
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  This nationally recognized, award-winning podcast is hosted by the University
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  of Kentucky Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Program.
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  Our educators share research knowledge with individuals, families,
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  and communities to improve quality of life.
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  If you are in the job market or maybe thinking about just making some transitions,
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  you might not have considered what artificial intelligence or AI could do for you.
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  Welcome to Talking FACS, where we share research-based information that can
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  help you improve your quality of life.
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  I am your host, Mindy McCulley, Extension Specialist with Family and Consumer
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  Science Extension here at the University of Kentucky.
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  My guest today is Amy Gamblin. Amy is the Associate Director of Alumni Career
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  Services here at the University of Kentucky. Welcome, Amy.
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  Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to be here. Well,
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  I'm excited that you're here because I know we've talked about AI in the job
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  search before, and things change almost daily when it comes to artificial intelligence.
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  They sure do, a lot.
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  Let me just start by asking, what is something really new and exciting about
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  AI when you are searching for a job?
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  Well, AI has changed both sides of the hiring process now. Job seekers are using
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  these tools more and more.
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  Employers have more tools that they're ready to be able to use.
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  So what's happening is applying has become much easier.
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  You know, job seekers are using AI to apply to many, many jobs,
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  and they're creating this enormous volume of applications that employers are
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  having to sort through and deal with.
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  So employers are now using AI to manage that.
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  To recruit candidates, to screen out candidates.
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  And so that's something to be aware of if you are a job seeker,
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  is how are employers using this new technology and AI to be able to screen you out?
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  So when I work with my clients, I say just because you can apply to under 200
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  jobs doesn't mean you should apply to that many number of jobs.
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  I'd rather see people be more strategic using AI and making a strong match of
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  where is the best opportunities for me based on my background,
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  my resume, my experience.
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  What are the targets that I should be aiming toward?
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  So there's this common phrase used in our community called spray and pray.
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  I've not been heard of that. But you know, it's where you're applying to all
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  these jobs and everywhere, you know because it's really easy now that AI is
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  here to be able to apply to all of these jobs so don't spray and pray and.
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  Because what you want to do is you want to be very strategic in the jobs that
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  you are applying for. That's going to help your case.
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  It makes me think of a water sprinkler on your lawn.
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  Like if you don't move it around, then you're going to have this very targeted piece of green.
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  Right. Which is kind of what you want in the AI.
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  You don't want your whole yard to be green. You really want that avenue that
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  leads directly to the job that you want.
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  And we also have heard this new term recently called the application arms race.
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  Oh, I can imagine what that is.
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  The application's arms race. And it is true because, again, because that the
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  hiring process has changed in the recent two years since we've been talking
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  about how to use AI in the job search.
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  And what you really do want to be able to do is strengthen your case for your resume.
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  So it is a tremendous tool to use.
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  But what your resume should do now is to make the case of who you are.
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  Almost anyone now can create a polished resume.
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  And so for every claim that you make on your resume, you want to be able to
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  ask yourself, can I prove that I can do this? Can I defend this in an interview?
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  Because sometimes AI makes things up. Yeah.
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  And so you want to be able to use that ethically. Yeah, and I think that's a
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  perfect way to date it. They just, it's sometimes just made up.
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  And maybe it is something that they find, you know, from work that you've done
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  that might be on the website, but it might not be something you really want
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  to highlight. So be careful about that as well, right?
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  Right. Of course, we do want to be very strategic in how we use AI,
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  but what are some ways that AI can really enhance the work that we do as job seekers?
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  I like to consider AI as more of a thinking partner now. Okay.
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  And it is a great tool, but you want to be able to use it ethically,
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  and you also want to still remain human in the process. Sure.
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  And what I think about is, you know, when I first started using, I use ChatGpT.
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  That's my AI tool, of choice.
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  A couple of years ago, I thought, what an awesome tool this is.
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  This is going to be so great to help, you know, with all these different tasks that I have.
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  And what I've started to do recently is just take a step back and say,
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  okay, Amy, use your brain first. Think first for yourself.
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  So that's the human component, too. before you put any, give any cadence to
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  what AI is going to give you, think first for yourself.
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  Right. So that being said, once I've done that, and that's what I tell my clients,
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  don't think for yourself first.
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  But then use it for, you know, researching companies, you know,
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  that you're interested in.
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  Look at your resume. Where can you make a stronger case in your resume for a
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  particular job that you're interested in?
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  It's really good for things like that. Now, rewriting your resume, I do caution.
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  You know, so you don't want to use AI to rewrite your resume.
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  You want to use it to help you brainstorm for how you can write your resume.
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  So all of those things are the same. But, again, I caution people now to really
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  use their own voice, their authentic voice.
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  Because what happens is AI will want to please you.
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  Right. So no matter what you put in there, it's going to want to please you.
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  So you have to push back and say, challenge me in this area.
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  You know, I want to be challenged on where my skill gaps are, for example. Right.
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  Or my resume in this job that I'm really interested in. Challenge me on these things so I can learn.
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  And then use your voice to be able to translate that.
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  And that, I think, is important, you know, no matter how you're using AI,
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  that you use your own voice because that hand, AI voice, always comes through.
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  And now we know things to look for when we're seeing resumes or CVs or whatever.
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  Yeah, people, recruiters and employers can spot AI a mile away,
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  you know, because there are certain words that AI loves to use,
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  especially in resumes, things like strategic thinker or results-driven professional.
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  So be cautious of the AI language and, again, use your own voice.
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  Is this how I would say it?
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  And if not, you know, rewrite that for yourself. And it's unfortunate for those
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  people who might be using results-driven, you know, professional normally.
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  And now it's like, oh, well, I can't use that anymore.
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  Yeah, that's been a conversation, too, in our community as well.
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  Well, I would write that way. Now I'm being flagged for it.
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  And so that's something that you want to be aware of,
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  you know, if that's, you know, especially if you're being strategic in your
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  job search, if it does sound like AI and it may be a red flag for the recruiter,
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  employer, then rewrite it a different way.
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  Well, and that's, I guess, another place where you can take what you've already
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  written and feed it in and say, does this sound authentic almost, right?
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  Yes, you actually can. You can actually input that in a prompt.
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  Get rid of the AI language.
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  And it will. It knows exactly what that means, you know, for ChatGBT at least.
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  You know, I don't want AI language in here.
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  And what also is helpful, before you even use any prompts in an AI tool,
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  is to submit to whatever tool that you use your own written communication.
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  This is something that I've written. This is how I normally write.
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  Use my communication style for the prompts that I'm going to be asking you.
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  Use my communication style for those answers.
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  So that helps a little bit.
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  But then after you have it all, you can actually say, get rid of the AI language
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  in this resume that you've given me or these props.
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  Yeah, perfect. Yeah.
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  And I do love that. You know, I will look at your resume and say,
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  here, let me rewrite this paragraph.
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  No, I like that paragraph. Leave it alone.
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  And it's always good to ask for different options. So, for example,
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  if you're working with a, if you want to do a profile statement in your resume,
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  prompt it to give you five options. That way you can pick and choose the language
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  that you like that's more comfortable for you instead of using,
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  you know, the first one it gives you. Right.
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  I think it's pretty much a given that people are using AI in the job search,
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  but how important is it to report that?
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  Yeah, and that's a great question. Employers know that job seekers are using
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  AI. That's not a problem, you know, because they're using AI as well.
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  So it's not a problem to use AI.
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  And I don't even think that they would even ask because they pretty much assume that most people are.
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  Where the ethical, you know, challenge comes into play is again,
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  if you have something on your resume or your cover letter that you can't back
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  up or defend, then that's the challenge.
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  You don't want to be that next big news story, right?
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  The current trend now is what employers are doing is,
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  more of skills-based you know verification because they don't sometimes believe
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  what is in their resume is accurate or true or,
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  so they are looking more for like portfolios or projects that you've done or,
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  so you want to have more of that in your resume, that skills-based,
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  verification. Okay.
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  So, you know, have an infographic or a spreadsheet of things that you have done
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  and measure. Or have it available like in an interview to say,
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  this is a verification of my skills that were in my resume. I love that.
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  So, Amy, what other tips do you have when it comes to using AI in the job search?
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  Well, this is a big And it's really shifted within the past few months.
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  It used to be that you would want in your skill list, you know,
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  if you were talking about your core competencies or your key skills,
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  to have something about AI listed in that skill list.
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  We're getting beyond the point of simply putting in ChatGPT as a skill or,
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  you know, a next little skill, because that's not particularly impressive anymore.
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  What I think employers are increasingly interested in is what can you do better
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  because you know how to use AI?
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  Okay. Can you research something faster? Can you analyze information more effectively?
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  So you want to have that in your responsibilities of how you've used AI to do these things.
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  So it's no longer, you know, helpful as much to just list it as a skill.
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  You want to show it within your job responsibilities. I've used ChatGPT to do market information.
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  Okay. So that's what employers are now looking for.
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  So what I encourage my clients to think about is what I call an AI competency story.
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  You know, so don't just tell me I know how to use ChatGPT. Tell me about a problem
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  that you had, how you used AI as part of solving that problem,
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  what you contributed to that, and what happened as a result.
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  So that's a big area now that employers are looking for. So that's something new.
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  So we hear on the news and in various places about the propensity of AI to take over.
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  How do we safeguard against that?
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  So in terms of how we can safeguard against AI in the job search,
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  which is the lane that I'm in, is you think about, again, using it as a thinking partner,
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  as a brainstorming partner for yourself when you're doing your job search,
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  whether it's resume or interview,
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  researching.
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  And I like to think about AI in the job search as a traffic light.
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  So you have green, yellow, red. So green is a go.
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  Use it freely for researching companies, again, comparing opportunities,
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  maybe organizing your job search, generating some interview questions, things like that.
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  So these are wonderful uses of AI in the job search Yellow means proceed carefully,
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  So when you're asking it to help you with your resume or your cover letter or LinkedIn.
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  Absolutely let it help you with that But don't copy and paste what it gives you,
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  Read it, challenge it, rewrite it You know, make sure it's accurate and most
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  importantly, make sure it sounds like you in your own authentic voice.
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  And then there's red, which is no-go.
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  So never use AI to fabricate like an accomplishment or experience that you may have had.
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  So don't use it to, you know, say something about your experiences that you didn't have.
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  So that's a rad no-go. And so easy to remember because it's around,
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  it's here, we're using it, everybody's using it, and we need to have some parameters
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  for how we actually use it.
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  Before we wrap up, Amy, any last thoughts?
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  I would say that an important lesson to remember as well is as more people are using AI.
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  The importance of networking is very strong because employers are skeptical,
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  of what they're seeing on their resume.
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  So if you have that networking opportunity where you can meet with people and
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  explain your experiences in a conversation with them, they get to know you.
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  Networking, networking, networking is going to become even more relevant in
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  the job search because of AI.
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  So I would keep that in the front of your mind of connecting with people that
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  you know, seeking out opportunities for networking.
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  And it's oftentimes that it's not the person that you know, but it's the second
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  or third person of the people that you know that can bring opportunities.
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  So I think that's going to be, you're going to see that more and more being
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  important in the job search because of the skepticism, you know,
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  of AI now in the job search.
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  So that's what I would recommend to keep that link or the networking opportunities close and forefront.
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  I think that's great advice. Amy, thanks so much for your time.
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  Yeah, it was great to be here. Thank you, Mindy. We always learn new things
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  when you join us here on Talking FACS.
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