[Editor’s Note: This article was first published May 11, 2023 and EDRM is grateful to David Netzer and our Trusted Partner, Legal Tech Talent Network, for permission to republish.]
Recently, much content has been published on testing AI for various applications by legal professionals using ChatGPT. I have been using it to refine blog posts and help me write or edit job descriptions. The responses have been beneficial and given me some great ideas to incorporate into my content. But, of course, there is always a need for proofing and editing, and some of the things that come out of the generator are not usable.
Overall, AI is a handy tool for Employers to help with job descriptions, so I decided to investigate the results that a jobseeker might see using this tech to help with a resume.
I used the ChatGPT generator to assist with refining a candidate’s resume, and the results were better than expected. Initially, the generator provided recommendations and insight that were quite good. For example, the bot suggested gearing a resume toward a specific job or type of job, which is good advice. In addition, there were suggestions to add numbers, quotas, accomplishments, awards, and the like to enhance the resume, which was also a great idea – especially since this was a sales resume. The actual suggestions from the Chatbot are included at the bottom of this post; scroll down to check them out.
I used the ChatGPT generator to assist with refining a candidate’s resume, and the results were better than expected.
David Netzer, Chief Recruiting Officer, Legal Tech Talent Network
Then, I asked the bot to go one step further and actually revise the resume instead of providing suggestions. The results were decent, but I noticed much of the original content remained unchanged, suggesting the AI may have trouble processing the phrases and bullet points (incomplete sentences) that are standard format in resumes. So in terms of assisting with a resume, the general suggestions and guidelines from the AI are more helpful than the actual rewrite. But there might be some good ideas on the rewrite, so I encourage users to check it out for themselves and take advantage of any good ideas.
Finally, I asked the bot to translate the resume into Spanish. While I speak decent conversational Spanish, my skills certainly don’t rise to the level of Spanish for business. However, I can say that the AI translation results did look better than those from standard translation sites. The sentences made more sense and aligned with the sentiment of the original text, suggesting the AI was more “aware” of the context. There were, of course, some flaws; one funny flaw was the translation of the physical mailing address into Spanish – the bot did not realize that it needed to be in English for the mail carrier to find the candidate!
In summary, using AI for resume and job description writing can be a helpful tool, but it should only be used in conjunction with human expertise and judgment to ensure the best possible results.
Here are the actual resume suggestions provided by the ChatGPT “Chatbot”
Using ChatGPT to assist with resumes – results courtesy of OpenAI-CHatGPT
1. Use bullet points and action verbs: Your experience section is currently in paragraph form, which can make it difficult for a hiring manager to quickly scan and understand your accomplishments. Consider using bullet points and action verbs to make your achievements stand out. For example, instead of saying “Collaborated with third party agents on building travel itineraries,” you could say “Collaborated with third party agents to increase travel bookings by 20% through the development of optimized travel itineraries.”
2. Quantify your achievements: Whenever possible, try to quantify your achievements with numbers. This can help to demonstrate your impact and provide context for your accomplishments. For example, instead of saying “Consistent closer averaging 10-15 new clients a month and averaging 135-150K a quarter,” you could say “Consistently exceeded sales quotas by an average of 20%, generating $150K in quarterly revenue and adding 15 new clients per month.”
3. Tailor your resume to the job you’re applying for: Depending on the job you’re applying for, you may want to emphasize different aspects of your experience. Make sure to carefully read the job description and highlight relevant skills and achievements in your resume. For example, if you’re applying for a sales role, you may want to emphasize your sales achievements and skills, such as your ability to close deals and your experience with lead generation.
David A. Netzer
President, Chief Recruiting Officer
Legal Tech Talent Network
