16.07.2024

CV expert reveals how to humanise your AI-generated CV

AI tools are able to build a CV for you in seconds. The AI careers tool Kickresume has put together a report on how you can take that CV to the next level with their essential tips on what to add and what to avoid, in order to secure your next role.

Julia Gergelova, a Certified Professional CV Writer at Kickresume, comments: “It’s amazing how much AI can do, but the next steps after generating your AI CV are just as important. You need to review it to ensure all the information included is accurate and add details unique to your specific experience. Consider what you have achieved in previous roles and quantify those achievements.

“This is the kind of thing that AI can’t fill in for you — yet! I have reviewed over 400 CVs and can safely say that many of the details that make a CV stand out can only be added by you, the individual, based on your experience and knowledge.”

The first step is to create your CV using an AI CV writing tool. Many of these clever tools only need you to provide your current job title in order to build a CV for you, as they use this to predict your skills and the type of tasks you deal with on a daily basis.

Now, let’s move on to what AI tools can’t do for you. Start by adding your contact details, such as your phone number and email address. Depending on the role, it might also be appropriate to include a link to your LinkedIn profile or an online portfolio of previous work.

Julia says it’s imperative that candidates update the professional summary to make sure it is accurate. The AI CV tool will have suggested a paragraph for this section, and as this is your pitch for yourself as a candidate, it’s important that it reflects you. Include how many years of experience you have and any key achievements. This is also the place to describe what drives you in your career or what type of role you are looking for - while the tool will have drafted this for you, it’s a good idea to check whether this is how you would describe yourself.

A CV written by AI will then go on to provide a job description of your current role, based on your title. Add the name of the company and how long you have been working there. Julia recommends that candidates should make some additions to the job description, such as examples of specific achievements that you can quantify. This will be the basis of your work experience section - follow it up with as many other previous roles as you feel are relevant.

Next, add an education section. If you have been in employment for several years after gaining your qualifications, this can be short, and simply show what you studied and where. If you are a recent graduate or looking for one of your first jobs, you can go into more detail, describing the courses you have taken, or your GPA.

A skills section will have been generated, with a selection of appropriate skills based on your job title. These should be highly relevant, but Julia recommends that you further strengthen this section by adding some more specific skills, such as software you are experienced in using. You can also personalise this section by including some of your soft skills - can you demonstrate that you are a good leader or that you work well under pressure?

Add any additional sections to show off awards or certificates you have earned, or describe any of your hobbies or volunteering work that give a sense of your personality, your priorities and your skills. Julia also advises that candidates could also add a new section that is very industry-specific. Depending on the sector you work in, you may want to use this section to describe recent projects, campaigns or collaborations.

Finally, proofread your CV and check the formatting. After you have added in your additional information, your CV will be a little longer. Julia’s top tip is that you can change the font size, formatting and margins in order to save space, in order to bring your CV down to a neat one or two page document. Make sure any links included in your CV work, and double check your spelling and grammar. The recruiter’s first impression of you will be through your CV, so make sure you show them that you have paid attention to detail.

By working together with AI tools, tasks like putting together a CV can be so much faster. The magic is in the collaboration between AI and the individual - you need to add a personal touch to make it come alive.

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