How to Use AI for a CV (Prompts + Samples)

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Table of contents

What Is AI and How Can it Be Used for a CV?
How to Use AI for a CV (With Sample Prompts)
Key Takeaways
Resources to Help With Your Job Search

Generative AI is an exciting development that can make tedious tasks easier, but can you really use it to write a CV? Let's discuss what it can and can't do so that you understand its capabilities and limitations. Armed with a strong understanding of AI's strengths and weaknesses, you can put it to work to make your job search easier.

Our guide will cover:

A summary of what generative AI is good for and where it falls short.
A list of tips with sample prompts to help you use AI to make your CV shine.
Key takeaways to keep in mind as you get to work on your CV.

Want to make a CV without worrying about prompts or models? Our CV Maker does so much more than just generate text. It uses your career history to suggest content that effectively captures your expertise, and it formats your CV sections in your favorite template so that your CV is application-ready in just minutes.

What Is AI and How Can it Be Used for a CV?

Generative AI models are trained on human data, which they use to predict the best answer for the prompts you give them. This means that AI makes an educated guess based on what you're asking it to do and the data that it has seen in the past.

AI models aren't magic and they do have limitations. But with a firm understanding of what they're good at, you can use AI to level up your CV or even speed up your writing process.

Let's examine what AI is good at:

Generating ideas: Tired of writer's block? No problem! AI excels at coming up with ideas to help you phrase your thoughts clearly and professionally.
Providing feedback: Task ChatGPT with acting as an audience and critiquing your work, and you'll receive all kinds of valuable feedback.
Getting organized: Ask your chosen AI model to draft a CV outline or feed it your stream of consciousness and let its organizational skills help you make sense of your concepts.

There are so many things that AI can do, but it's important to know the limits if you want to make the most of an AI helper.

Here are some of AI's weaknesses:

AI can't create new ideas: Since AI is only using the data it's seen before to generate ideas, a lot of AI-generated materials sound generic. You'll need to inject some of your own voice into the materials it generates if you want your CV to feel personable and unique.
AI can't read minds: If you ask AI to do a simple task without adding specific requests or details, it will interpret this literally and provide a simple and generic response. AI can't write a CV that tells your story without a lot of input from you.

How to Use AI for a CV (With Sample Prompts)

Now that you understand what AI is good for, let's talk about some of the ways that people use AI for their CVs.

First, there are models like ChatGPT or Gemini. These are generative AIs with simple interfaces that allow you to input prompts and receive responses on a wide range of topics and tasks. However, there's a learning curve to using them and they must be used in combination with other tools to produce a CV you can actually submit.

To make a complete CV from start to finish quickly and easily, you would need an AI tool made specifically for making job application documents. A CV maker like ours, for example, adds your CV content onto a professional CV template that automatically formats your sections for a complete, polished document you can download and submit when you're done.

CV makers also guide you through providing your information so that you include everything that needs to go into a competitive CV — without the need for prompts! And, you can start by uploading an existing CV or starting a new one.

If you opt for using a basic AI model to write your CV draft instead of a CV maker tool, you'll need to use some clever prompts to ensure that the AI understands what you want.

Here are some options to help you get started:

Option #1

Give the AI a description of your career and ask it to write you a CV.

This is the simplest way to get a usable result. Just describe your career in specific terms and indicate the kind of role you're applying to. Make sure to be detailed. A prompt like "Write a CV for a teacher with three years of experience" is bound to yield a generic result. Try something like this:

Sample prompt:

"Write a CV for a 7th-grade algebra teacher with three years of experience. Mention my track record of improving students' standard assessment scores by 33% and my passion for fostering a nurturing learning environment."

Providing the AI with specific accomplishments and metrics from your career will ensure that the response touches on these key points.

Option #2

Give the AI the job description and ask it to give you CV pointers.

A CV that's completely AI-generated will be unlikely to make a strong impression on employers. Instead, use AI to help inform your writing process. Provide the AI with the job description of the role you're after and it will identify important keywords and skills that your CV should highlight.

Sample prompt:

"Use the following job description to create a list of skills and focus areas that a candidate's CV should emphasize."

A lot of employers use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to screen candidates based on whether their CVs feature keywords representing the skills that the role requires. Fight bots with bots by letting AI identify those keywords for you.

Option #3

Let the AI critique your CV.

Provide the AI with your CV and let it help you hone your materials. You can even provide the job description at this phase to get a sense of how well you align with the role.

Sample prompt:

"Read the following CV and identify areas for improvement. Compare it with the job description below and point out opportunities for the candidate to improve their chances."

AI is perfect for helping us see issues we might not have noticed before to create an improved final result that blows recruiters away. You can leverage this power even further by using a free ATS checker to scan your CV and suggest improvements that will help it pass the ATS and land on the recruiter's to-read list. After all, your application needs to reach the recruiter first for them to consider you for the role.

Pro tip

If at first you don't get the results you want from the AI, try again! AI is bound to make mistakes and not every prompt works the way we want it to the first time. Spend some time tweaking your prompts or break them up into smaller tasks if the AI isn't returning the quality of results that you had hoped for.

Option #4

Take it step by step.

Instead of asking the AI to write you a CV or critique your finished CV, you can always work through each section of your CV with the help of your AI assistant. Provide the AI with your career details and work through your sections one by one, perfecting them as you go.

Sample prompt:

"Write a work history entry for a retail manager with nine years of experience. Emphasize my leadership skills and mention how I improved store revenue by 14% through loss prevention initiatives."

Need help with your resume summary specifically? Our AI Resume Summary Generator can create a tailored summary section highlighting the skills, experience and expertise you bring to the new role, without having to input a prompt. Simply generate your summary as many times as you need and tweak the results to reflect your unique career details.

Key Takeaways

Know the limits of AI.

ChatGPT can't make you a perfect CV on its own. If you approach an AI with sky-high expectations, you'll end up frustrated. Instead, treat it like the tool it is and combine it with your creative thinking skills to produce an excellent AI-assisted CV.
Try an AI CV maker.

If choosing the perfect prompt and tinkering with the response seems tedious or difficult, you might be better off paying for an AI CV maker. These services walk you through the process of inputting your information and format your CV for you.
Get specific.

AI can only use its data set and the information you provide. Use specific details from your career or even the actual job description to give it context and generate a CV that's detailed and specific to your needs.
Take advantage of AI's feedback potential.

Have the AI critique your CV and help you understand the strengths and weaknesses of your writing. This will also help you see if you're making the best use of the keywords that the role is looking for.

Resources to Help With Your Job Search

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Hailey Brophy is an experienced writer with a diverse career in digital publication. She is passionate about using her unique skills and experiences to help job seekers find the information that they need to succeed.