Use These Tips to Optimize Your Job Search with AI
Thousands of organizations use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to source, hire, and onboard employees. Don’t get left behind; Make yourself stand out as a candidate by using AI to your advantage.
How to Make Yourself a More Holistic Candidate
Polish Your Profiles
Many employers use AI to consolidate and summarize a candidate’s job history, experience, and skills to quickly screen for potential fit. If your online profiles are outdated, incorrect, or incomplete, recruiters and hiring managers will be left with an inaccurate depiction of you as a candidate.
Ensure your profile includes a professional photo, a short-but-impactful headline, and a keyword-rich summary of your experiences and interests. Fill out all relevant sections, including skills, experience, and certifications.
Give particular focus to responsibilities that translate to the roles you are seeking. Use keywords so your profile goes to the top of an employer’s search.
For more tips and tricks on optimizing your LinkedIn profile, read this success guide for veterans and register for RecruitMilitary’s live LinkedIn Masterclass webinar.
RecruitMilitary
Your RecruitMilitary job board profile sets you apart from civilian candidates by putting you in front of employers who are actively seeking your military background. Your military status (including as a milspouse) can put you at the top of a competitive list.
Ensure each section of your profile is filled in to maximize your connections with potential employers. A complete, accurate, and up-to-date profile will ensure employers can find you and your application matches the roles you are seeking.
Learn more about creating and enhancing your RecruitMilitary job board profile.
Other Job Boards
Many AI programs crawl the internet and provide summary information to recruiters and hiring managers. Ensure your online presence is consistent and up to date in all your job search profiles. Even older or inactive profiles can show up in employer searches. As your skills, interests, experiences, or job needs change, update all profiles accordingly.
Narrow Your Interests
You can (and should) vary the keywords you include in your profile to maximize the chance you are pulled into an employer’s search. Job descriptions for similar roles can differ across organizations, so it is good practice to research common keywords for the industry and roles you seek.
However, even with evolving AI technologies, the “spray and pray” method of job searching is not the best approach. Narrow your interests, relevant skills, and types of roles you seek so you can focus on the best-fit career path.
More isn’t always better – if your online job search profiles are too wide-ranging, you may end up with communications for roles that are not a good fit, creating extra noise to filter through. Narrowing your interests allows you to focus fully on the best-fit opportunities and increases your chance of proceeding past the first outreach with a recruiter.
Identify & Fill Gaps
Who are the perfect candidates for the roles you are seeking? What skills, certifications, and experiences do they have? How do you measure up? Compare job descriptions for similar roles across the industry and identify gaps in your skills and experiences. Some free AI programs (such as ChatGPT) can provide summaries and highlight key findings, but remember to manually confirm the information.
Use platforms like LinkedIn Learning, Coursera, or SkillUp with AI-driven recommendations to identify in-demand skills in your industry.
Use AI to Aid Your Job Search
Finding the right job can be tedious. Work smarter by utilizing AI to ease job search stress and maximize your impact.
Optimize Communications
Use tools like ChatGPT, Grammarly, or Jasper to help tailor your resume and cover letters to specific job descriptions.
Consider using prompts such as:
- “Here’s my current resume and a job description I’m targeting. Please update my resume to include relevant keywords and align it with the job description, while keeping it truthful and professional.”
(Then paste both your resume and the job description.)
- “Analyze the job description below and generate a list of keywords and phrases that should be included in my resume to optimize it for ATS. Then show where and how I can naturally include them.”
(Paste the job description.)
- “Rewrite these resume bullet points using keywords from this job description. Improve clarity and impact, while matching the tone and requirements of the role.”
(Paste the job description and specific bullet points.)
Translate Military Experience
One of the most common struggles for veteran and transitioning job seekers is translating military skills and experiences to the civilian workforce. Tools like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot and others can give you a starting point.
Consider prompts such as:
- “Here’s a civilian job description I’m interested in. Match my military background to the key responsibilities and rewrite a resume summary that aligns with this role.”
(Paste both your background and the job description.)
- “Rewrite this bullet point from my military resume using civilian terms and measurable impact. Keep it accomplishment-focused.”
Example bullet: “Led 12-person infantry squad during overseas deployment, ensuring mission readiness and operational success.”
(You can paste several bullets like this.)
- “Translate my military resume into civilian-friendly language for a job in [industry or role]. Keep it clear, professional, and focused on transferable skills like leadership, logistics, or project management.”
(Then paste your resume or a portion of it.)
Develop Your Personal Brand
Much of your personal, professional brand is tied to your online presence. Engaging thoughtfully with LinkedIn posts and showcasing your professional insights creates a visible and impactful brand that can improve your network.
Tools like Canva and ChatGPT can help you brainstorm and create content, posts, and graphics that will advance your personal brand.
Consider using prompts such as:
- “Create a LinkedIn post where I share a key trend or insight in [your industry/field]. I want to add my perspective, show that I stay current, and invite discussion.”
- “Give me a 4-week LinkedIn post calendar to grow my personal brand as a [your role/industry], including topics, formats, and engagement tips. I want to post twice a week.”
- “Help me write a LinkedIn post about a meaningful lesson I learned during my time as a [job title or role]. I want to highlight [theme: leadership, resilience, transition, etc.], keep it authentic, and tie it back to how I’m growing professionally.”
Stay Vigilant
AI can improve your job search in many ways, but leaning on any technology too heavily can also be detrimental. Tools are constantly evolving and can provide incomplete or inaccurate information. Stay vigilant by always fact-check the information and insights you gain from AI platforms. Proofread diligently and tweak as needed to avoid oversights that could represent you negatively.
When used thoughtfully, AI can be a welcome collaborator in your job search and military-to-civilian transition.