In a competitive job market, where a single role can receive high numbers of applications, it is important to make your CV standout. While this can feel overwhelming and stressful, the rise and accessibility of generative AI tools can help make this process easier and more efficient for you.
In this article, Unitemps provides tips on how to use AI tools to improve your CV.
Before we get into the details, we want to say that we recommend using generative AI tools to help you make improvements or get started with writing your CV. We do not recommend using AI to write the entire CV or application for you. We will come back to this later in the article under ‘what to avoid’.
- Which AI tools should I use?
- Using AI for structuring your CV
- Using AI to identify keywords
- Using AI to check grammar and spelling
- Using AI to reword your CV
- What to avoid
Which AI tool should I use?
Many generative AI tools are free and will take your prompt (this is your question, request, or direction) and provide you with new content as a response. Some of the most common generative AI tools are ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. There are also AI tools with a specific focus, for example, Grammarly – a grammar and writing checker. As all these AI tools can help to improve your CV, we will let you do your research into the one you’d prefer to use.
Using AI for structuring your CV
Your CV is critical in landing an interview, which means the structure and format become very important. When using AI to improve your CV you can ask for tips on the structure of the CV you already have or advice on how to create one from scratch. Be clear and specific in this question by including the industry you want to work in and even the role. However, do not include personal information about yourself; if you’re inputting your existing CV, remove details such as your name and contact details.
Example prompt: ‘I am applying for a role as a [insert role] at [insert company] in the [insert sector]. Provide me with a structure for writing my CV.’
While many CVs will follow a similar structure across industries, the more information you provide, the more specific and helpful response you will receive. Being specific to the industry and role-level can even provide you with more insight into that sector.
Using AI to identify keywords
Whether a hiring manager is reviewing CVs themselves or using an applicant tracking system (ATS), keywords act as a way to help you standout, especially when some roles receive hundreds of applications.
Keywords on your CV show experience, skills, and how well you meet the job description. AI can help you to improve your CV by identifying potential keywords you might need. To get the most out of AI, provide the tool with the job description and some information about the company.
Example prompt: [insert job description into the AI tool] ‘I am applying to this job as a [insert job title] at [insert company name], identify the keywords required for the job role that I can include on my CV.’
To make the prompt more detailed, you can ask the AI tool to spot missing keywords/duplicated information in your current CV. Warning! Be sure to check that the keywords provided are relevant to the role you are applying to!
Using AI to check grammar and spelling
The most common CV mistakes: grammar and spelling. We hear this complaint numerous times from recruiters and hiring managers. You can quickly elevate your CV by using AI to double check your CV for grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. We’ve all been there! Staring at a screen too long can easily lead to oversights.
You can either insert the text you have into an AI tool and ask something like: [insert text] ‘check for grammar and spelling mistakes against British English’ (to avoid any Americanisms that the tools use).
Or you could use an AI tool, like Grammarly, where the only purpose is grammar and spelling. You can try this online by signing up and entering the text you want checking. Bear in mind, using the most common tool to check grammar and spelling (Grammarly) grants you limited support for its unpaid versions.
Don’t forget, this is an easy way to make improve your CV!
Using AI to reword your CV
So, you’ve written your personal profile, detailed your career history, and noted down your role responsibilities. You may have even identified keywords to use as mentioned above.
At this point, using AI can be a helpful tool to improve the wording on your CV. Simply, you can insert sections of text and ask AI to ‘make it sound better’. Please note, you are asking the tool to produce a stronger and more concise CV. This could be by improving the sentence structure or adding in some missing action verbs. Again, be mindful of ensuring that anything reworded still sounds like you, is relevant to your application, and is not used to write everything for you.
An example prompt could be as simple as: [insert the text you want to reword] ‘make this sound better’.
Or even more detailed: [insert the text you want to reword] ‘rewrite the following (or above) for clarity, directness, and simplicity’.
What to avoid
AI tools can do more harm than good. As we mentioned at the start of this article, do not use AI to write your entire CV. Lots of established companies have software in place that checks for AI and could instantly remove your CV from consideration. Remember, AI should be used as a tool!
On a similar note, AI sounds like AI, therefore, recruiters and hiring managers will know when your application is AI written. How? They review hundreds, if not thousands of CVs. To avoid your CV from sounding like it’s written by AI, personalise any information you get. Give it your tone of voice, your personality, and your own style. You want AI to showcase what makes you the perfect candidate.
Be careful when using AI as it has ‘hallucinations’ (and yes, they are really called that), where completely inaccurate information is presented as the truth. You can ask AI tools to provide the references for any information it gives you. That way you can fact-check that the information is accurate.
Take ethical considerations when using AI and do research into the tool of your choice. Do not input any personal information (names, addresses, etc) and take caution when submitting content. You do not know how that information will be used going forward, after all, AI tools do learn from the information you provide them.
Good luck improving your CV!
This article was written by Mikayla Marriott-Smith.
Last updated on 24 March 2025
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