You might get the sense that more and more job seekers are using AI — and they are. But using AI the wrong way can actually destroy your chances of getting a job.
As a former hiring manager at Khan Academy, I’ve experienced it firsthand. Because we were early partners with OpenAI on the launch of GPT-4, I’d seen AI-generated text that felt miraculous at first glance.
But when I started noticing the same patterns popping up in cover letters and resumes over and over (and over!) again after the launch of ChatGPT, it was a turnoff. All the candidates started blurring together.
Here’s how you can avoid sounding like every other job applicant — and what to do instead.
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So what do you think happens when applicants type in a prompt like: “Write a cover letter for [X job] at [Y company]?” They get essentially the same thing:
Now imagine how this feels for a recruiter or hiring manager who’s reading hundreds or thousands of cover letters back to back.
Even at a purely subconscious level, they might be thinking: “If they used AI in such a cliché way, chances are they’re lazy and behind the curve. Next!!”
AI — which seemed so promising at first glance — has just cost you any chance of standing out and landing this job.