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Various artificial intelligence (AI) tools are available to support your career and professional development, ranging from tools that can help in job and internship searches to interview preparation. While these tools claim to be helpful, it's important to note that AI is not perfect and is rapidly evolving.

On this page, you'll discover our advice on how to effectively leverage AI for your career development. Keep in mind that our recommendations may change over time, and your usage may vary.

What is AI?

AI uses probability to produce possibility, not certainty. ChatGPT and other Large Language Models (LLMs) are a great resource for your career development process and employment searches as they gather online information in one place. AI has the potential to democratize access to quality career support services. But remember that AI isn’t always correct! 

Humans created AI to compile what they find on the internet. Don’t just use AI to use AI – make sure it is actually helpful and working for you! AI can help you get started and understand your destination, and the Career Center can help you achieve it.

AI and Your Career Development

Below are some practical tips and specific examples for how to use AI in different aspects of your career development. As you navigate through our suggestions, keep in mind: 

  • Don't just use AI to use AI - make sure that it is actually working for you. 
  • Don't use AI to generate an entirely new document. AI, chat tools in particular, are best used when you provide them with an input and ask for feedback. 
  • Check for plagiarism on any AI output. 
  • Be specific with your AI input (prompt). 
  • You can use AI to get started, then schedule an appointment with your career advisor to get additional feedback whether on your application materials, or a practice interview.
Selected
Career Exploration
Application Materials
Interview Preparation
Networking

CareerExploration

You can ask AI: 

  • What career should I pursue as a [major] major who likes [interests or skills]?
  • How can I learn whether [role] would be a good career?

  • What technical skills do I need to apply for [role] jobs?

  • What are the 10 words I need to know in the [industry] space? What are some [free] resources to learn more about these terms?

  • What is a reasonable salary for a [role] in [location]?

  • What companies sponsored H1B visas previously?

  • What are the best ways to find jobs that support CPT?

  • What are the best job boards for roles in [industry]?

ApplicationMaterials

You can use AI to:

  • Read a job description to pull out key words/skills.
    • "What are the top 10 skills/competencies/key words in this job description?"
  • Tailor your resume to a specific job. 
    • "I am applying to a job [job title]. Here is the position description from the posting. What 10 key words should I be sure to highlight in my resume for this job?" 
  • Check your resume/cover letters for grammatical errors. 
    • "Here is a copy of my resume/cover letter. Check it for grammatical errors and formatting consistency."
  • Ask: How do I write a thank you email after an interview?

InterviewPreparation

You can ask AI: 

  • What questions are asked in [industry or function] interview?

  • Pretend you are a [hiring role] in the [industry or space], and you are interviewing a candidate for a [position] position. Give me some questions you would ask at the [senior/entry] level; please limit it to five responses and provide any links for additional information.

  • Type in your verbal response to an interview question and ask AI for feedback on your response. 

  • Use the Big Interview tool to record a practice interview answer and get feedback on your Answer Relevancy and on the technical aspects of your practice recordings.

Networking24

You can use AI to explore:

  • How can I ask a stranger on LinkedIn for an informational interview?
  • What are five questions I should ask someone in [industry] if I want to learn more about what they do? 
  • What are the best tools to use to network with people in the [industry] industry?

 

Benefits and limitations of AI

AI should enhance, not replace something you are doing. You should not rely on an AI output without verification.

Selected
Benefits
Limitations
  • Explore options and opportunities. 
  • Review answers and check for accuracy. 
  • Help you personalize answers and results.
  • Get industry-specific insights
  • Publishing date of materials AI is pulling from
  • Be careful! Some employers explicitly mention you CANNOT use AI to create application materials
  • Bias encoded into AI systems
  • Plagiarism
  • AI Hallucinations


Tools to Use:

ChatGPT, Claude.AI, Google Bard, and Perplexity are all large language model (LLM) AI tools. The main differences between the tools comes down to how (on what data) the tool is trained, and its capability to provide accurate information.

ChatGPT

Provides conversational and very human-sounding responses which can lead to it giving plausible but incorrect responses. ChatGPT has limited knowledge beyond 2021. 

Claude.AI

Claude.AI is trained to not give responses when it can't answer accurately (i.e., it's less prone to hallucinating), and will provide citations for responses.

Google Bard

Google Bard was launched in February 2023. Google plans to integrate Google Bard into Google Search to provide summarized answers to Google Search questions. Since it is so new, its capabilities are still limited.

Perplexity

Perplexity is very focused on safety and avoiding false information. It will also provide citations for its responses. Perplexity is less conversationally advanced than other chat-based LLMs and has more limited public access.

JobScan

An AI tool that helps you optimize and customize your resume to a specific job. 

Big Interview

Big Interview is an online interview preparation and practice tool. There is an integrated VideoAI in the platform that will review your recorded practice interviews and provide feedback on technical aspects of your recordings and answer relevancy.

The Career Center has numerous tools available to help you throughout your career journey. In addition to these tools, our expert career advisors are here to help. If you have any questions be sure to ask! Here's a snapshot of the tools you can use: 

  • Handshake
  • Big Interview
  • GoinGlobal
  • LinkedIn Learning

and more!

Some common terms: 

  • AI = Artificial Intelligence
  • LLM = Large Language Model
  • Hallucination = a response generated by an AI which contains false or misleading information presented as fact.
  • Prompt = a specific set of instructions you input into an AI tool.