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#JobSearch : Your Résumé Might Be Getting Tossed by AI. How to Push Back. A MUst REad!

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Jennifer Maravegias has been applying for dozens of jobs, so she is ready for questions about work experience and salary expectations. A recent question on an online application stumped her, though.

“Check this box if you want to make sure this isn’t scanned by a machine,” the laid-off project manager says she was prompted before submitting her application.

More job seekers in New York City can now request to opt out of letting artificial intelligence vet their résumés and job applications, thanks to a new law governing AI and hiring in the city. Some companies are extending the choice to non-New York applicants, too. But is skipping AI scrutiny a good idea?

Most major employers use some sort of automation to vet job applications, since companies often receive too many résumés coming in to manually review every one. Though efficient, algorithms can exclude qualified candidates or embed unintentional bias in hiring decisions.

New York’s law—the first of its kind in the nation—aims to bring transparency to the role of software in the job-application process. For any job based in New York, employers must disclose when AI is used to “substantially assist” in hiring and offer job applicants the chance to pass on such vettings in those cases.

But letting prospective workers forgo AI résumé reviews doesn’t ensure a human will review those applications instead, employment lawyers and researchers say.

Like Maravegias, many job seekers are unclear what the trade-offs of opting out are, and some are surprised that machines are reading their résumés at all. Months into her job search, Maravegias hadn’t gotten many bites and wondered whether opaque algorithms were hurting her chances. So she opted out, only to get zero response once again.

“I was still unemployed,” she says.

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Did you know?  First Sun Consulting, Llc (FSC) is celebrating over 32 years in delivering corporate & individual outplacement services & programs to over 1200 corporate clients in the U.S., Canada, the UK, & Mexico!   Visit us @ www.firstsun.com  OR Ask for a Quote for Services at  info@firstsun.com

We here at FSC want to thank each of our corporate partners for the opportunity to serve & moving each of their transitioning employee(s) rapidly toward employment!

Continue of article ……

 

Anxiety over AI

Job seekers remain skeptical of AI’s role in the recruitment process. Two-thirds of U.S. adults said they wouldn’t want to apply for a job with an employer that used AI to help make hiring decisions, according to a 2023 Pew survey on AI in the workplace. The view was even more pronounced among women.

Jeff Sepeta, an IT manager in Chicago, works as a contractor who’s often moved from job to job in quick succession. Companies call him in to troubleshoot problems and move on, he says. But he fears that machines reviewing his résumé will judge him negatively if they misinterpret his short tenures, particularly when applying for noncontractor roles.

“At least when I’m dealing with a human I can explain,” he says.

Among Americans surveyed by Pew a year ago, more than 70% opposed allowing AI to make a final hiring decision, while another 41% opposed using AI to review job applications.

New York’s new rule, Local Law 144, requires employers using software to assist with hiring and promotion decisions—from chatbots that conduct interviews to résumé scanners that look for certain keywords—to regularly audit the tools for potential race and gender bias. Employers will also have to publish the results of those audits online.

The risk of not getting seen

Some employers argue that the New York law doesn’t apply to them because AI isn’t replacing the final human decision makers, said Emily Lamm, an attorney at Gibson Dunn. A Cornell University study of nearly 400 employers earlier this year was only able to identify 18 employers that had posted their audit results online, and even fewer that had posted notices informing job seekers about which automated hiring tools were being used and how to opt out.

For years, hiring software has helped employers winnow down what can be hundreds or thousands of applications to a smaller number of candidates who seem, at least on paper, best-suited to the role. Millions of qualified workers get screened out every year by automated tools that reject people for reasons like résumé gaps or failing to use the right combination of keywords, according to a 2021 Harvard study.

Yet opting out of AI vetting can hurt your chances of getting hired, because companies aren’t obligated to review all the applications they get, employment lawyers and researchers say.

“I’d say you’re more or less guaranteed not to be looked at,” said Joseph Fuller, a professor at Harvard Business School who was the lead author on the study.

AI-assisted screening could ultimately help many job seekers, Fuller said, noting that human-led hiring is also subject to concerns about discrimination.

Unless job seekers have a disability that qualifies them for an accommodation under federal or state disability laws, an employer doesn’t have to provide an alternate vetting process, said Niloy Ray, a lawyer who specializes in AI in the workplace at law firm Littler Mendelson.

“This is but a harbinger of things to come,” Ray said. “You may as well start figuring out how to address this.”

On the applicant side, many have already taken steps to navigate AI-driven hiring, paying for services and coaches that aim to help optimize résumés and make them an algorithmic match.

Know the pros and cons

Athena Karp, chief executive of HiredScore, which supplies AI-powered hiring software to employers, said that more than 80% of job seekers agree to the use of AI during the application process when its function is clearly explained.

AI can offer benefits to job seekers, Karp says, such as scanning for other job postings at a company that might match an applicant’s skills even when the person is rejected from the role initially sought.

The majority of HiredScore’s clients are offering applicants outside of New York City the ability to opt out of AI processing of applications, Karp says.

Robert Kerans, an IT manager based in Lake Bluff, Ill., said a recent experience left a sour taste in his mouth. He agreed to AI vetting while applying for a technology-support manager role at

. He was rejected within 45 minutes. The speed of the snub made him question whether the system really worked, Kerans said, because he believed he was well-qualified for the role.

Accenture said that it uses AI to help inform its decision-making but that humans always have the final say on whether a candidate advances in the recruiting process.

Kerans said he’s happy to have a choice, at least, and has since chosen to forgo AI vetting.

“It can fail,” he says. “The reality is that having the human connection is more important.”

WSJ.com Author:  Te-Ping Chen at Te-ping.Chen@wsj.com

WSJ.com | February 20, 2024

#YourCareer : How To Stop AI From Taking Your Job. Question: How Will your Industry Look 10 Years from Now? Welcome your Comments.

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To start the new year, we have seen top organizations announce layoffs at a record pace. The ever-changing landscape of the job market is more challenging than ever. And now with AI in the mix, it’s getting even more complicated.

Losing your job due to a financial crisis or being replaced by someone who is a better fit is one thing, but losing it to AI seems pretty disappointing. But just like the changing times, you must beat your competition or offer something they don’t. So, how do you stop AI from taking your job? Here are four ways to secure your career and prevent AI from taking over.

Understand What The Future Looks Like

As they say, you must be one step ahead of your competitor. AI is built for the future, but it also has its limitations. Take a step back and understand what the future looks like for your chosen career. How will your industry look years from now?

Business Insider has reported the top jobs that AI will probably replace and the report mentions media, finance, education, and legal jobs to be at the top of the list. To help counteract that, do your research by checking how AI can be utilized in your chosen career. Instead of fearing this tool, learn how to work with it and how to leverage it for your current role.

For example, the future of the finance industry may rely on AI for daily tasks such as creating reports or invoices. Education may also use AI to enhance the learning experience. To learn more about jobs that will be created because of AI read this article of AI Jobs to Consider in 2024.

 

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We here at FSC want to thank each of our corporate partners for the opportunity to serve & moving each of their transitioning employee(s) rapidly toward employment!

 

Article continued …

List Out the Technical And People Elements

It’s a good step to understand your role and the different technical and people elements that AI can play in it. List down these elements and focus on how you can integrate AI into these tasks. Technical elements include data collection, analysis, reporting, or routine administrative tasks. You can use AI to help you become more efficient in these tasks.

Here’s a quick sample of what your list can look like:

  • Responding to emails
  • Creating reports
  • Scheduling calls with clients

How AI Can Help

  • Use AI to create prompts and templates for email responses. Make sure to personalize.
  • Use AI for research but make sure to verify the information before proceeding
  • Use AI to automate sending out your calendar so clients can book directly

People elements can be communication or customer service focused. A great example would be using AI to create responses but adding a personal touch that these automated tools cannot do. Of course, some projects are better suited to be 100% human. For example, leadership skills and responding to the emotional needs of your clients and colleagues cannot be replicated by AI, which is a good thing!

Level Up Your Technical Skills

In today’s world, staying ahead means honing your tech skills. Whether you’re a coding whiz, a data guru, or a digital enthusiast, leveling up your technical skills is non-negotiable. Ever thought about enrolling in online courses tailored to your role? It’s a great way to boost your efficiency and increase your value for your team.

Let’s not forget the myriads of YouTube tutorials with tech tips and tricks. There’s something for everyone, whether it’s coding hacks, writing techniques, or gadget guides. After all, learning never stops—it’s the secret sauce to climbing the career ladder or navigating new horizons. AI will never be a one-stop shop for everything so being a specialist will help differentiate you as a leader in your space.

Leverage AI In Your Current Role

Don’t let AI intimidate you – let it empower you instead! Imagine making AI your trusty sidekick; you are not just completing your tasks but also consuming less time. And with this newfound efficiency, you can tackle more projects or explore new ventures. AI has your back, whether you’re eyeing career advancement, craving new opportunities, or simply longing for a well-deserved downtime. It can be more than just a tool. It’s your partner in crime, amplifying your efforts and opening doors to endless possibilities.

The digital world is ever-changing, and new devices will emerge from time to time. Do not let these artificial tools replace your skills. Instead, allow it to enhance your capabilities and emphasize your value. Without humans, there will be no AI. Be the master of these tools and pave your way to a better workflow, securing your job, or career advancement.

 

Forbes.com | February 27, 2024 | Sho Dewan

#JobSearch : Top 5 Résumé Trends For 2024, With AI Prompts To Reshape Your CV. Here Are the Top 10 Trends for Asking your Résumé Stand Out.

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In a competitive job market, where AI and cutbacks can jeopardize numerous career paths, it’s crucial to have a high-quality résumé. According to ResumeGenius, there are some top trends emerging in 2024 as must-haves on your CV (curriculum vitae, another word for résumé). Resume.io, one of the top online tools for AI-generated résumés, says that only 2% of résumés make it past the initial screening. What are you doing, right now, to make sure you get past that threshold? As recruitment evolves, and HR departments become more and more selective, it’s crucial that your résumé rises to the occasion. Talent cloud company iCIMS says that 47% of college seniors are already using AI to write their résumés – and chances are 100% that AI will be used to read them. In 2024, here are the top 10 trends for making your résumé stand out – with some AI prompts to help you create a message that matters.

One. Résumés Are Becoming More Skills Focused

Rapid advancements in tech have created an ever-expanding digital skills gap. However, both hard skills (like computer programming, product management, and electrical engineering) are not the only story that makes a difference in your résumé. AI Prompt: inside of ChatGPT, Bard, Gemini, or your favorite résumé-focused AI tool, enter all or a portion of your résumé and ask for a summary of your demonstrated hard and soft skills. (Some good AI tools include KickResume, Resume.io and Teal). What skills will make you stand out? Are your skills matched to the opportunity, and the job description? Think about skills as keywords: what experience(s) need more amplification?

Two. Hard Skills Matter on Your Résumé

Do you have experience in artificial intelligence (AI), data science, machine learning, digital marketing or cybersecurity? These hard skills are top of mind for recruiters, according to ResumeGenius.com. LinkedIn Learning reports that 64% of L&D (learning and development) pros say that reskilling the workforce is more of a priority than ever before. Showcase your skills, and make things easier for the L&D folks, by showing what you know. As they say in Texas, “It ain’t braggin’ if you can do it.” AI Prompt: after entering a section of your résumé, ask for an evaluation of demonstrated skills. What stands out, and how can you clarify/quantify your hard skills?

 

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What Skill Sets Do You Have to be ‘Sharpened‘?

 

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We here at FSC want to thank each of our corporate partners for the opportunity to serve & moving each of their transitioning employee(s) rapidly toward employment!

 

Article continued …

Three. Soft Skills are Crucial for 93% of Hiring Managers, on Your CV

Forbes contributor Monique Danao says that “Soft skills—also known as “people skills” or “interpersonal skills”—are a set of personal attributes and abilities that allow individuals to effectively interact with others in a professional setting. At their core, these include the ability to collaborate effectively, manage time and communicate with clarity, among others.” Indeed, even getting the most out of AI tools requires effective communication. AI Prompt: after entering a section of your résumé, ask where soft skills can be highlighted. But don’t stop there: ask the AI to see what soft skills emerge, based on your work experience. If the AI doesn’t have good ideas based on what you feed it, consider how you can talk about skills like critical thinking, curiosity and flexibility. Extra credit if you write it in such a way that the recruiter says, “Tell me more about this particular experience.” Because, after all, the objective of the résumé is a simple one: having the conversation that really matters, in the job interview.

Four. Be Social Media Savvy

Resident rockstar recruiter, Jack Kelly, says that you would be wise to post important career milestones on social media – even if you’ve lost your job. But Kelly doesn’t suggest that you “spray and pray”, littering the internet with every ounce of pathos and self-expression you can muster. “Social media offers individuals the opportunity to build and showcase their personal brand and engage with industry-specific content. It can also help individuals stand out to potential employers and recruiters,” Kelly writes. Recruiters are looking at your socials, and the presence you create online (especially LinkedIn, but also on the Gram and TikTok) will be seen. Heard. And scrutinized. Let people know that you are available for work – and share the service that you know you can provide. Don’t waste time trashing your bad boss, or your previous employer – save that for Facetime, or a conversation at the pub. Make sure you send the right message at the right time. AI Prompt: if you were laid off or let go, even if you were fired, ask the Chatbot for ways to discuss your departure. What are best practices for talking about your last experience, even if it wasn’t necessarily a good one? While you don’t want to sound too rehearsed, it’s a good idea to choose your words carefully – so that your résumé and your interview are both focused on service. You can’t fix the past, but you can delete dumb posts. And that can help you to create the future.

Five. Tailor Your Résumé to Each Specific Opportunity

A shotgun approach to the job market may look smart, on the surface. After all, isn’t the job search a numbers game? But how you play it is up to you. Consider the difference between a shotgun blast, and a sniper’s bullet. The sniper is focused on a single target, and zeroes in on exactly what matters. Can you find the time to “adjust your sites” (and tweak your résumé) to fit the opportunities that are really attractive? Ida Petterson, a career expert at ResumeGenius, says, “Adapting your resume for different positions doesn’t have to be difficult or time-consuming, especially if you’re applying for similar types of jobs in the same industry. Simply replace any bullet points that aren’t relevant to the specific company, or adjust them so they focus on showcasing the specific abilities that the employer seeks.” AI Prompt: Remember, you don’t always need to ask AI to fix stuff. Trust your instincts on this one. If you do turn to AI, feed in the job description, and ask the AI to give you a summary of the skills requirement. If you really want the gig, don’t spray and pray. Get specific – it doesn’t take long to tailor your message.

ResumeGenius has some other guidance as well, especially regarding your side hustle. If you’ve done contract work to fill in some gaps on your résumé, make sure you include that experience. But be careful: if you have multiple gigs during the same time frame, you may get questions around your priorities, and your ability to commit. Is that a bad thing? I hope not – my diverse interests and skills are part of what makes my career meaningful. Perhaps you feel the same way? Just remember: like every aspect of your résumé and the entire job interview process, whether something is good or bad depends on what you do with it. Skills are skills; how you communicate your abilities is what separates your résumé from the rest of the herd. Ultimately, if you’re not sure how to talk about your experience, or if you’re still stuck on aspects of your résumé, remember: you don’t have to go it alone. An investment in a career coach – someone who’s there to listen to your goals, and focus on your success – can be a powerful one, at any stage in your career.

 

Forbes.com | January 23, 2024 | Chris Westfall

#JobSearch : How AI Can Supercharge Your Job Search. How to Leverage AI in your Job Search. A MUSt REad!

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When I was working in college career services, I noticed nearly all of the students I advised fell into one of two camps: They were either completely overwhelmed by all the necessary tasks of their job search, or they simplified the process so much they created major gaps in their own process.

Over time, I developed a four-step model to address their gaps and “chunk” the job search process into something more manageable. The four steps are very straightforward: Resume, Research, Network, Search. (Note: I’m not sharing the steps for a successful interview or negotiation; we’re only focused on the search process for now).

 

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Did you know?  First Sun Consulting, Llc (FSC) is celebrating over 32 years in delivering corporate & individual outplacement services & programs to over 1200 corporate clients in the U.S., Canada, the UK, & Mexico!   Visit us @ www.firstsun.com  OR Ask for a Quote for Services at  info@firstsun.com

We here at FSC want to thank each of our corporate partners for the opportunity to serve & moving each of their transitioning employee(s) rapidly toward employment!

 

Article continued …

From my experience having worked at four different institutions and having advised thousands of students, the majority often do Step 1 (prep a resume and cover letter) — but then skip straight to Step 4 (start searching and applying like crazy). Inevitably, they all report that they weren’t hearing back and weren’t having much luck. That’s because they don’t spend enough time on Step 2 (research) and Step 3 (networking). Thorough and adequate prep in Step 2 and 3 will ensure greater success in any internship or job search process.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this approach lately as generative AI has emerged and many have begun utilizing ChatGPT and other similar tools to manage aspects of their job search. Are the four steps still necessary? I would argue, yes. The four steps remain the same, but the tools you’ll use to optimize each step are now more powerful. My advice to early career job seekers is to pair both human and AI guidance to power up their job searches.

 

Here’s how students can incorporate AI into each of the four steps to maximize their results:

Step 1: Develop Your Resume And Online Profile

The first step in any job search is to prepare your resume and online profile (on Handshake or LinkedIn) and pull together the core components of your cover letter. These documents should list relevant education and employment history as well as your skills, abilities, and interests.

It doesn’t matter if you want to start with gen AI or start with a live human in this step. In the end, you’ll want to utilize both. Gen AI is great at providing you a basic template and giving you sample bullets based on your roles or experiences. It can edit bullets or improve sentence structure in your cover letter drafts. It can also review your resume, profile, or cover letter against job descriptions or roles to provide you with greater insight on whether your skills or experiences might match and if you need to emphasize other areas more strongly in your application materials. If you’re having trouble getting started, gen AI tools are good for unblocking.

Now career advisors or mentors can support this process by helping you clarify your interests, target industries or roles, and synthesize which skills you’ve gained through different school experiences. Using a live human to gain this insight will make it easier for you to craft strong AI prompts which can refine the content on your resume, profile, or cover letter and to make those materials your own.

Step 2: Do The Research

This second step is all about understanding the macro (industry trends, emerging issues and jargon) — and the micro (specific news about the company you’re applying to and the responsibilities of the role you’re seeking).

This step is prime for gen AI to serve as an aggregator. On the macro side, it can help with research like figuring out how an industry is typically structured, what roles exist, what they do, industry jargon, and what are the emerging trends in the space. AI can suggest blogs, publications, podcasts, and other resources you should follow within your industry area to ensure you’re well plugged in and up-to-date on the latest issues. At the micro level, AI can help you dig into the roles you’re interested in and further explain what you might be responsible for or what you should emphasize from your own experience to be a strong fit. It can also help you generate a list of employers who exist in your geographic location and a list of competitors to help you broaden your research.

On the human side, you can take advantage of career events, panels, and programs put on by your school’s career center to hear directly from alumni and employers. After all the research you’ve conducted using gen AI, you’ll be ready to ask more in-depth questions using industry jargon and showcasing the new knowledge you’ve acquired.

Step 3: Network, Network, Network

Networking is a critical piece of the career search process. Use gen AI to help you refine the questions you might ask in an informational interview. Upload the information or notes you’ve taken from your research to help develop strong prompts and informed questions for your conversations. You can also use AI to ask for suggestions of platforms to use when trying to identify peers, alumni, and employers in your field.

At the end of the day though, networking is ultimately about making human connections. It’s about building relationships and taking an interest in someone else. Take the time to meet with alumni, peers, and professionals in the industry or roles you’re most interested in. Ask them about industry trends they’re following, about typical hiring timelines and processes, and allow those conversations to add to the research you’ve already done.

Remember that you can network with anyone. Peers from college, your fellow interns or coworkers from an internship or part-time job, your professors or family friends—all these individuals may be helpful or know someone who could be. Asking questions and being ready to share your own interests or goals could result in great connections. Step 2 and 3 really feed each other and as a result, will help you refine your materials in step 1 and make you far more informed on how to approach step 4.

Step 4: Search For Jobs

Once you’ve done the steps above, you’re ready to start searching for jobs. Once again, the human and AI connections that assisted you with profile-building, researching and networking come together in this final step.

Different job platforms, like Handshake, now utilize gen AI to help you identify open positions in the locations or industries you’re most interested in. And in some cases, can auto populate your information and application materials to make the applying part that much faster.

But remember to use your human connections as sounding boards and sources of encouragement and support. The job search can be taxing and having people to talk to as you go through the process is always helpful.

While the human element remains a foundational piece of any successful job search, it’s increasingly clear that new gen AI-driven guidance can supercharge any process.

 

Forbes.com | December 20, 2023 | Christine Y. Cruzvergara

#JobSearch : How To Automate Sending Out Thousands Of Job Applications. However, ‘Be Cautious’. Do you Have an AI Generated Resume?

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Employers make job candidates jump through hoops during the hiring process, having applicants meet with 10 interviewers over six months and requiring them to answer annoying open-ended application questions, undergo behavioral assessments and prepare business proposals, only to get ghosted. This process can be exhausting and lead to burnout for job seekers, as it can begin to feel like a full-time job in and of itself. Now, candidates have found a way to lessen the job search fatigue, offloading application-based tasks to artificial intelligence tools.

AI job search tools use algorithms to automate the job hunt process by sending hundreds or thousands of applications simultaneously. These tools typically use machine learning algorithms to match job seekers with relevant job openings based on their skills, experience and other factors.

 

According to a March 2023 iCIMS survey, 39% of hiring professionals revealed that job applicants using AI to write their résumé or cover letter is a “definite deal-breaker.

How Does It Work?

Some job search automation tools, such as Sonara, Massive, LazyApply and SimplifyJobs, are designed to streamline the job search process and automatically apply for jobs that match the candidate’s résumés and preferences. These tools use AI to comb through millions of job listings daily to uncover the most exciting job opportunities and automatically apply on behalf of job seekers.

Other AI-powered job search tools, such as Talentprise, Pyjama Jobs, Jobscan and SkillSyncer, use AI to match job seekers with job listings likely to be a good fit for both sides based on their skills, experience and what they’re looking for in a company or position. These tools compare job seekers’ résumés, cover letters and even LinkedIn profiles against the keywords they select in the job listings. They rate how well job seekers’ résumés match the role and offer suggestions for how to optimize their résumés for each job better.

Search tools, such as Arytic and Autojob, use real-time analytics and skill-based job matching to match job seekers with job openings that fit their skills and experience well.

Résumé optimization platforms, like JobScan and Careerflow, can optimize job seekers’ résumés and cover letters to improve their chances of getting noticed by employers.

 

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Article continued …

Important: Be Cautious

Job seekers must use these tools cautiously and balance their use with other job search strategies, such as networking, building a solid résumé and cover letter, researching potential employers and finding a mentor, career coach or sponsor.

While job search automation tools can save job seekers time and effort, they have yet to prove their effectiveness. Additionally, there is a risk that using these tools could backfire on job hunters. For example, if a job seeker applies to too many jobs at once, they may appear desperate or unfocused to potential employers

Despite companies deploying AI in their hiring and recruitment efforts, talent acquisition professionals view candidates unfavorably for using the fast-growing technology. According to a March 2023 iCIMS survey, 39% of hiring professionals revealed that job applicants using AI to write their résumé or cover letter is a “definite deal-breaker.

 

Forbes.com | November 8, 2023 | Jack Kelly

 

#JobSearch : Five AI Tools To Help With Your Job Search—Or With Helping You Quit. Job Seekers are Using ChatGPT to Write their Resumes or Cover Letters.

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All the talk about artificial intelligence these days seems to be around the jobs it could replace. But new generative AI tools might help you find one, too.

 

New features or tools from LinkedIn, Adzuna and Rezi claim to not only strengthen what you’re submitting in a job application, but help you make career decisions or even quit.

“AI’s being used pretty much at every step”of the career-planning process, says James Neave, head of data science at job search platform Adzuna. With the rise of technologies such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard creating an AI arms race, more career-related tools are adding AI features to their products. About half (46%) of the 2,153 job seekers surveyed by Resume Builder said they are using ChatGPT to write their resumes or cover letters.

 

Nitzan Pelman, founder and CEO of nonprofit Climb Hire, a platform that helps workers learn new skills and find new careers, says AI tools can be particularly useful for lower-skilled workers. “A clerk at Trader Joe’s doesn’t always know what their skills are,” Pelman says. “If they know how to tell ChatGPT about what they do, it can help them translate those things into skills” that could help them break into white-collar jobs, she says.

But some hiring managers and companies aren’t welcoming the practice. AI users should still assess the results of AI-generated content and tools, Pelman says. “You have to use your own critical thinking to then figure out: is this solid or not?” Here, a rundown of the latest offerings:

LinkedIn: AI-Powered Software To Help Draft Messages To Hiring Managers

Reaching out to hiring managers can be daunting. What should your message say? Starting in May, LinkedIn began using generative AI to help premium subscribers draft personalized messages when messaging on LinkedIn with hiring managers.

According to a post by Ora Levit, senior director of product management and head of core growth, the new feature is in addition to the job platform’s AI-powered writing tools, which help users enhance their profiles.

“Customization is still important,” Levit writes, “so take the time to review and edit the draft to make it your own and convey your voice, then send onwards to the hiring manager, getting one step closer to your next opportunity.”

+

NAV: ‘A Credit Score For Your Career’

Founded by husband-and-wife duo Heather and Howard Matalon in June, NAV uses generative AI and its algorithms to give your career or job offers a score. Users complete NAV’s online evaluation to receive the score and gain feedback on whether it’s time to leave or not.

Think of it as a credit score for how well you’re climbing the ladder, Howard Matalon says. “This is about getting the kind of advice that you would need from a human resources perspective on critical areas about your career trajectory.”

To keep things personalized, he says NAV also offers human career coaches to help users analyze their results and provide advice.

 

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Article continued …

 

Adzuna: Let AI Help You Interview Prep

In June, the job search platform launched Prepper, an interview readiness tool that uses AI to generate questions and feedback to your responses. In its first 10 days, the tool reached more than 2,000 users per day. Adzuna is not new to AI; its resume assessment tool has used a natural language processing model since 2014.

To use Prepper, job seekers provide the large language model with the job description they’re interviewing for, and Prepper will generate company- and job-specific interview questions. Users type their responses, and the tool provides feedback on those answers, suggesting responses. (Adzuna’s Neave says the company is planning to expand its capabilities so users can answer interview questions with just their voice.)

“It acts as a confidence booster,” Neave says, which could help with pre-interview anxieties.

Cover Letter Copilot: A Free Service For A Dreaded Task

No one likes writing cover letters. Getting a service to write one for you might sound better—but that can often come with a fee.

Ben Broch’s Cover Letter Copilot, which uses generative AI and was launched in early June, is a free service. Broch, whose background is in product management, says users also don’t have to prompt the ChatGPT generator with individual answers to questions. Job hunters can upload their resume and the job description, and the tool will generate a customized cover letter.

But Broch says it serves as just a starting point. “I don’t want this to just be ‘hit a button and the AI does everything,’” he says. “It really does need to feel like a copilot where you are in control.”

Rezi: Resignation Letter Generator To Help You Quit

Rezi’s GPT-powered resume builder is a popular choice among job seekers. But its new tool, launched last year, appeals to quitters instead.

The company’s new AI resignation letter builder uses machine learning to create professional, simple memos in a few seconds. All you have to do is enter the basics: company name, job title, last day of work, reason for resigning and your signature.

The tool has already seen more than 315,000 users and offers job-specific templates, such as for product managers, legal secretaries and more.

 

Forbes.com Author: Emmy Lucas

Forbes.com | July 17, 202

#YourCareer : Which Jobs Will AI Replace? These 4 Industries Will Be Heavily Impacted. Traditionally White-Collar Work—May be Heavily Impacted. Thoughts?

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Since the release of powerful AI tools ChatGPT and Google’s Bard, discussions about whether “robots” will replace humans have grown, and studies show some jobs—surprisingly, some traditionally white-collar work—may be heavily impacted.

KEY FACTS

  • Generative AI, a form of artificial intelligence capable of creating text or other content in response to user prompts, has quickly gained popularity following the public launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
  • Since its November 2022 release, people have used AI chatbot ChatGPT for an array of this, including writing college-level essays and generating code.​​
  • The AI race heated up after Google released Bard on March 21, a ChatGPT competitor and a separate entity from the company’s Google search engine.
  • A recent report from Goldman Sachs estimates around 300 million jobs could be affected by generative AI, meaning 18% of work globally could be automated—with more advanced economies heavily impacted than emerging markets.
  • The report also predicts two-thirds of jobs in the U.S. and Europe “are exposed to some degree of AI automation,” and around a quarter of all jobs could be performed by AI entirely.
  • Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and OpenAI found some educated white-collar workers earning up to $80,000 a year are the most likely to be affected by workforce automation.
  • According to the report, jobs in agriculture, mining and manufacturing are the least exposed to generative AI, while jobs in the information processing industries, like IT, are the most exposed because jobs that use “programming and writing skills” are more closely related to GPT’s capabilities.
  • Generative AI isn’t perfect, both OpenAI and Google admit their program sometimes gives incorrect responses and has other flaws, like ChatGPT’s knowledge base that ends in 2021, and Bard’s limited conversation retention.

 

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Article continued …

JOBS MOST IMPACTED

  • Finance and banking: Banks have already begun incorporating AI into their business models. 56% of banks claim they’ve implemented the technology into their business domains like management, and 52% claim they’ve used it for revenue generation, according to Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance and the World Economic Forum. Abhijit Bose, a Capital One senior vice president, told the Washington Post AI will potentially “monitor transactions” to give detailed financial advice on saving and spending. Morgan Stanley has begun using OpenAI-powered chatbots to organize its wealth management database, helping advisers pull up data and research more efficiently. The World Economic Forum also predicts AI will bring three changes to the finance division: job cuts, job creation and increased efficiency.​​ In addition, they estimate by 2027, 23% of jobs in China’s financial sector will be replaced by AI.

 

  • Media and marketing: Kristian Hammond, chief scientist of Natural Sciences told the BBC in 15 years, “90% of news will be written by machines.” Natural Sciences has a software called Quill, an AI paraphrasing tool that writes company reports ahead of earning announcements. German publisher Axel Springer announced in February plans to transition into “digital only,” which includes job cuts in favor of “modern technology” and automation. Reporters for different media outlets like Business Insider, CNET and CNBC have used ChatGPT to write news stories, though they have often been criticized for containing false information. In January, BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti announced the company would rely on ChatGPT to personalize content and enhance quizzes, much to the employees’ dismay, according to the Wall Street Journal. In the marketing world, 84% of marketers reported using AI in 2020, a stark jump from 29% in 2019, according to Salesforce research. High-performing marketing teams averaged around seven different uses of AI and machine learning in 2020, and over half planned on increasing their use in 2021, the report also claims.

 

  • Legal services: An attorney used ChatGPT to publish a 14-page legal paper published in Social Science Research Network on a plethora of prompts, including creating a contract, explaining why the Supreme Court’s decision on same-sex marriage shouldn’t be appealed and developing deposition questions. The AI bot has the potential “to address access to justice questions” and make legal services available to those who can’t afford it, Andrew Perlman, the author of the paper and a Suffolk University Law School Dean told Reuters. Low-income Americans don’t get enough or any legal help for 92% of their civil legal problems, according to a 2022 report by Legal Services Corp. Some have already begun incorporating AI into legal service, like startup Lawgeex, which has a service that reads contracts faster than, and what they claim to be more accurate than humans.

 

JOBS LEAST IMPACTED

 

  • Manufacturing and factory workers: This industry has been undergoing automation for a while, with General Motors credited as the first major manufacturer to implement robotics in their assembly lines after the introduction of UNIMATE in 1961. However, generative AI may speed up the process. For example, Elon Musk unveiled the Tesla Bot, or Optimus, an autonomous android made to replace humans in dangerous, repetitive jobs. Musk plans to place these bots in his Tesla factories and eventually expand to millions around the world. According to an MIT and Boston University report, AI is expected to replace as many as two million manufacturing workers by 2025. “Our evidence shows that robots increase productivity,” the researchers said. A Chinese factory in Dongguan City replaced 90% of its workforce with machines, resulting in a 250% increase in productivity and an 80% decrease in defects. A job that took 650 human workers to complete now takes about 60 robots and 60 humans, the company claims.

 

  • Agriculture: According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 2021 there were 21.1 million full- and part-time jobs in the food and agriculture sectors, making up 10.5% of the labor force. Agriculture is considered one of the world’s oldest professions and has stood the test of time, lasting through four separate industrial revolutions. According to the Washington Post, many small farms don’t produce enough profit to invest in more machinery, though larger farms have already begun the process of automation for strenuous tasks. In the U.S., family farms make up 98% of all farms, with a majority being small family farms that operate about half of the country’s farm land. However, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture does fund AI research, education and extension activities in the areas of natural resources and environments, agricultural systems and engineering and economics and rural communities.

 

  • Healthcare: A study published in the International Journal of Health Services found on average, psychiatrists spend 20.3% of their day on paperwork, followed by internists and general practitioners at 17.3%. Mundane administrative tasks like this can be automated, but other areas probably won’t need AI. David Dranove, a professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management told the Kellogg Insight most adults want to hear about their health from a human, and there’s “a need for compassion…that AI is unable to contribute.” An Oxford University report predicts medical transcriptionists, medical records, medical secretaries and health information technicians are the most likely jobs in the field to be automated, not actual providers. This extends into mental health as well—the Washington Post has tried and failed at creating an AI version of infamous psychologist, Sigmund Freud.

Forbes.com Author: Arianna Johnson

 

                       Forbes.com | March 31, 2023

#ResumeWriting : Artificial Intelligence(AI) and Applicant Tracking Systems: How They Impact Your Job Search. Must Read for All!

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In today’s job search climate, you need every advantage to get your resume into the hands of a recruiter or hiring manager. It can be difficult when they spend on average 8-20 seconds looking at a resume. It’s even more difficult when technology is used to weed out resumes before they are even seen by human eyes. Artificial intelligence (AI) is widely used in many different industries, and it’s only expected to continue to be utilized even more. It has particularly become more useful in making a recruiter’s job more efficient.

Artificial intelligence can handle certain tedious tasks automatically when it comes to sorting through resumes, so a recruiter or hiring manager can focus on the human element of developing relationships. Combine this with Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), which helps recruiters narrow down resumes based on keywords and other criteria, and it’s easy to see what the future may hold for executive job seekers. Here’s what you need to know about these aspects when it comes to writing a professional resume. 

Hiring Professionals Are Using AI and ATS More

The combination of AI and ATS can save hiring managers a significant amount of time during the recruitment process and even onboarding candidates. By the time a resume gets to a hiring manager’s desk for a final review, it has already gone through many virtual checks to ensure the proper criteria was met. The top resume writing services can help you determine which keywords are most appropriate for passing through these initial automated checks. If you don’t have the right number of keywords or phrases, you could just be spinning your wheels during your job search.

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Article continued … 

AI May Even Be Involved in The Interview Room

Once the best executive resume writers help you pass through ATS and lead you to get a job interview, you still may have to go through some AI tests. Some companies even incorporate artificial intelligence during an interview to detect a candidate’s body language, eye movements, facial expressions and more. These are often characteristics that are difficult for humans to detect but are important to do so when determining the honesty and personality of a candidate. 

Don’t Spend Too Much Time Optimizing for AI and ATS

While AI and ATS are critical components to consider in your job search, the top resume writing services will still tell you to not let them consume a lot of your time. The best executive resume writers can help you pass these tests on paper, but you still need to focus on the human element of a job search, including networking and developing relationships. Basically, you should keep AI and ATS in the back of your mind, but don’t let those aspects take up a significant portion of your job search.

It can be easy to become too focused on these technology issues when crafting your executive resume. But don’t let yourself become consumed. Remember that your connections are still the best way to get your foot in the door at your desired company. Keep reaching out and networking as you work your job search plan.

 

FSC Career Blog Author:  Ms. Erin Kennedy, MCD, CMRW, CPRW, CERW, CEMC, is a Certified Professional Resume Writer/Career Consultant, and the President of Professional Resume Services, named one of Forbes “Top 100 Career Websites”. Considered an influencer, she is consistently listed as a “Top Career Expert to Follow” on Twitter and LinkedIn.

 

FSC Career Blog | May 13, 2020

 

Resume Writing: Make Your Job Application Robot-Proof. Great Tips to Get Past Robots.

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Job seekers often spend hours online researching employers and polishing their applications and résumés. Then they hit send.

And they hear nothing. Ever.

Looking for a job is hard enough without being rejected by a robot. But applicant-screening and tracking systems are increasingly powerful job-market gatekeepers. After scanning résumés, they hurl most applicants into a digital black hole.

These machine-learning systems save time and money for employers swamped by online applicants, and they could potentially reduce bias in hiring. But the tools also risk magnifying employers’ existing prejudices and rejecting worthy applicants. Most vulnerable are the most active job seekers, such as recent college grads looking for entry-level positions or older workers idled by layoffs.

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Continue of article:

“It’s a hot-button issue with college students,” prompting eye-rolls and cynicism, says Mary O. Scott, a West Hartford, Conn., campus researcher and consultant who just completed a series of in-depth student interviews at 14 universities. One senior spoke of using her “trigger finger” to respond to hundreds of online postings, but she expects few if any replies, Ms. Scott says.

Savvy job seekers can improve their odds of getting past these gatekeepers by understanding how they work. Among valuable tactics: Spice up your résumé with specific on-the-job results, use meaningful job titles and tailor your choice of words to match companies’ requirements.

These systems scan résumés and applications for keywords showing hard skills, such as financial analysis or cybersecurity, and sometimes for softer skills, like team leadership. They may ask knockout questions for must-have attributes, such as whether you can work at a particular location. Some use text tools or chatbots to administer skills tests. Most disqualify applicants who don’t meet basic requirements, then list others in a ranked order, based on how well they fit the employer’s specs.

Tips To Get Past the Robots…

1- Network to build contacts inside the company who will put in a good word for you.

2- Use a text-based app like Word for your online application, rather than a PDF or other format.

3- Include in your résumé keywords and phrases from the employer’s job posting.

4- Quantify past results, citing dollars earned or other stats.

5- Camouflage brief gaps in work history by listing years only, rather than years and months.

6- List job titles in a way that shows increasing responsibility and status.

Some tools serve as job-market matchmakers. ZipRecruiter matches candidates and employers by scanning applicants’ qualifications and employers’ postings, tracking users’ behavior on the site and employing algorithms similar to those used by Amazon for suggesting products, CEO Ian Siegel says.

Rock Brouwer has hired many candidates ZipRecruiter has brought to his attention. “When I get one of those, it just makes my day,” says Mr. Brouwer, hiring manager for Pacific Service Center, a Portland, Ore., trucking-fleet repair company.

About 60% of employers admit such tools cause them to miss some qualified candidates, however, according to a 2016 survey of 1,200 job seekers and managers by CareerArc, a human-resources technology company, and Future Workplace, a research firm. Critics say the systems give too much weight to small differences between candidates.

They amount to a black box. “Often a job candidate doesn’t even know a system is in use,” and employers aren’t required to disclose it, says Sarah Myers West, a researcher at the AI Now Institute, a New York University research group. A new Illinois law will go into effect next month requiring employers to disclose and get consent for use of AI video-interviewing tools with job applicants.

Most vendors refuse to tell employers how their algorithms work. And most employers lack deep, accurate performance data.

The systems risk magnifying managers’ prejudices if those biases are reflected in the makeup of the employer’s current workforce, according to a 2018 study by Upturn, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit promoting fairness in the use of digital technology.

High performers may share traits that have nothing to do with job performance, skewing outcomes, says Mark Girouard, a Minneapolis attorney who advises employers on pre-employment screening. One vendor built a résumé-screening tool that tagged being named Jared and playing high school lacrosse as factors predicting success. “The system didn’t have a very deep set of learning data,” he says. The employer didn’t put it to use.

Even if employers and vendors aren’t trying to reject female or minority applicants, they still risk doing so if they train algorithms on data gleaned from a current workforce that lacks diversity. An employer with mostly male employees, for example, might inadvertently train a screening tool to downgrade applicants who participated in sports played mostly by women, such as field hockey.

One employer intent on reducing employee turnover found that people who lived closer to its offices tended to stay with the company longer. But screening applicants based on distance from the worksite turned out to be a proxy for race, resulting in a lack of diversity.

The systems can easily stack the deck against older workers, says William A. Rivera, senior vice president of litigation for the AARP Foundation. An employer who wants to hire applicants with three to five years’ experience can award candidates three points for three to five years’ experience, two points for five to seven years and one point for more than seven years, Mr. Rivera says. The result: The most experienced workers, who are also typically older than others, would likely receive a lower score and a lower ranking on a candidate list.

It’s sometimes possible to tell whether an employer is using an AI-driven tool by looking for a vendor’s logo on the employer’s career site. In other cases, hovering your cursor over the “submit” button will reveal the URL where your application is being sent.

Otherwise it’s best to assume a robot will be your first-round judge. To pass the test, use clear, functional job titles that reflect progress in your career, and prove your value by quantifying results in dollars earned or number of customers gained, says Robert Meier, chief executive of Restore Hope Resources, a Tampa, Fla., job-coaching firm.

Some applicants try to game the systems by choosing answers to knockout questions that are obviously desirable rather than accurate, says Jim D’Amico, president of the Association of Talent Acquisition Professionals. Others fudge their ZIP Code to make it look as though they live in the employer’s target area.

These ploys risk annoying hiring managers, Mr. D’Amico says. Candidates weigh the risks against potential rewards. “Some candidates think, ‘To know me is to love me. If I can just get in front of you, you’re going to love me,’ ” he says. “And sometimes that’s true.”

Author:  Sue Shellenbarger at sue.shellenbarger@wsj.com

 

WSJ.com | December 16, 2019

#CareerAdvice : #ResumeWriting – How to Write a #Resume That Will Impress a Bot ( #AI )…Great REad!

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Getting hired used to mean writing a resume that stood out to the HR manager or recruiter assigned to thumb through them. Today, the gatekeeper is a machine as AI revolutionizes the hiring process. That means the way you write your resume has changed, too.

“AI is handling processes that used to take an enormous amount of time away from engaging with the talent pool,” says Jon Christiansen, PhD, chief intelligence officer of the marketing research firm Sparks Research. “HR managers don’t have to sift through hundreds of resumes, and they can get into their real expertise of recruiting and placing the right talent.”

While this is good news for the HR department, it adds a new challenge for candidates, says Arran Stewart chief visionary officer and co-founder of Job.com, a recruiting platform.

“AI has made the resume writing process far more competitive as it now requires emphasis on personalizing the document for the job in question rather than submitting a generic resume for a myriad of vacancies,” he says. “Where recruiters and hiring managers are able to read between the lines and find the relevance of any skill or accomplishment on your resume to the open positions they have, AI is only concerned with how closely your resume matches with the skills it’s been asked to look for in the job you applied to.”

Get past the bot and in front of the HR manager by doing these six things:

1. WRITE A NEW RESUME FOR EVERY JOB

The ability to blast out one version of a resume and get nibbles is over. Now you have to write a resume that speaks to the job description.

“The job description contains several clues about what the machine is looking for,” says Christiansen. “It’s saying, ‘Here are the knowledge skills I’m looking for, and here’s background I’m looking for.’ Look at the tags, keywords, and streams of text; that’s where you should get started.”

Apply the language to the resume you submit to the job in question, says Stewart. “AI is looking for singular relevance to the role they’re searching for, so including job-specific language is a must if you want to make it to the shortlist,” he says. “It might be slightly more work, but no different than say having different cover letters ready for each position.”

 

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2. USE EASY TO UNDERSTAND JOB TITLES

Some companies like to assign creative job titles, like Branding Guru or Planning Expert, but including them on your resume might get you passed over by the machine.

“It’s cool for culture, but that’s not the tags the machine is looking for,” says Christiansen. “If the job description says they’re looking for a marketing manager or product manger, that’s the tag it’s going to look for.”

Christiansen suggests going to the Bureau of Labor Statistics or O-NETand searching standard job titles. “If you can’t find your job title, it’s probably not going to be picked up and tagged during the machine screening,” he says.

Also consider the job progression, adds Stewart. “AI isn’t at the point of a mass scale predictive, so if you’re applying for a job that is senior to your current role as a logical next step in your career, AI won’t make the connection that it is the logical next step,” he says. “If your experience and skills make you seem underqualified, you should write in aspirational terms about your skills and accomplishments. That way the system views you as ready to take on the added challenge.”

3. RESIST THE URGE TO BE CREATIVE

Machines don’t judge you by the font you choose. If you have a font that can’t be read by most word processors, you might get spit out.

“Any font that isn’t within the Microsoft Word platform might not be able to be read,” says Christiansen. “Sometimes using a PDF format might work, but it’s not worth the risk.”

And don’t add graphics. Tables or images might look good, but again, the bot might not be able to recognize it.

“It might look like wasted space to a machine,” says Christiansen.

4. BE PRECISE

Including a long history of experience is no longer necessary, so try to keep your list of experience within the last five years, says Stewart.

“A full 20 years of work history dilutes the experience concentration weighing your resume, which will result in you being removed from shortlists,” he says. “When writing your resume remember the two Rs: keep it relevant and recent.”

5. CHECK YOUR SPELLING

You never want your resume to include spelling or grammatical errors, but a human might have been more forgiving than a machine.

“AI not only sorts through irrelevant applicants, in some cases it highlights the lazy ones as well,” says Stewart. “It’s still important to be sure your information is still meeting the usual standards of excellence expected for professional documents.”

6. INCLUDE A COVER LETTER

While a resume should be written to match the job and advance you past the bot, the cover letter is your chance to shine, says Christiansen.

“It’s an opportunity to speak like a human,” he says. “You can speak directly to the hiring manager, make yourself sound like a human and talk uniquely about the experiences you mentioned that spoke to the job description.”

Christiansen recommends writing three or four paragraphs about how you could fit that team, company and job. “Get into the why,” he says. “A cover letter may be an old practice, but I don’t see them go away. A good hiring manager wants to hear you in that.”

Taking these six steps involve more work on the part of the candidate, but skipping them might be a bigger risk.

“If you send out a generalized resume, it’s a case of garbage in/garbage out,” he says. “You want to get a match because you fit the job. If you’re getting calls from a generalized resume it’s because those companies want warm bodies, whether or not they fit the job. Is that where you want to work?”

 

FastCompany.com |April 1, 2019 | BY STEPHANIE VOZZA  4 MINUTE READ