by Deanna Parkton
If you’ve used ChatGPT to polish a bullet point or prep for an interview, you’re in good company. A July 2026 Clutch survey of 590 job seekers found that 80% now use AI somehow in their search, most often to edit their resumes. With large numbers of candidates also using AI, that shift creates a new challenge.
Recruiters are sorting through stacks of applications that sound alike, and in Resume Genius’s 2026 Hiring Insights Report, 77% of hiring managers said many resumes look partly or fully AI-generated. The candidates who stand out treat AI as a support tool, not a ghostwriter.
Here’s how to use it well in the three areas where it helps most: resume targeting, interview prep and skills gap analysis.
Resume Targeting: Let AI Find the Words & Edit Accordingly
Tailoring your resume to each posting still pays off. Novoresume’s Resume Report 2026 found that people who send the same resume to every job are three times as likely to end a search with zero interview invitations.
AI makes targeting faster. A simple process:
- Paste the job posting into your AI tool and ask it to pull out the 5–10 most important keywords and skills.
- Compare that list to your resume. Where you have the experience but describe it differently, adopt the posting’s wording. “Oversaw staff” might become “managed a team of six” if that’s the language the role uses.
- Ask AI where each keyword fits naturally: your summary, a specific bullet or your skills section.
Then edit like a human. Cut stock phrases like “results-driven” and “leveraged cross-functional synergies,” which recruiters now read as AI red flags. Replace vague claims with the numbers, names and outcomes that only you can provide. And never let AI add a skill or accomplishment you don’t have.
Interview Prep: A Practice Partner That’s Always Available
AI shines as a practice partner. A few ways to use it:
- Predict the questions. Share the job description and ask for the ten questions a hiring manager would most likely ask, including behavioral ones.
- Shape your stories. Describe a real project in your own words, then ask AI to help organize it into situation, action and result. The story stays yours; AI just tightens it.
- Translate your experience. Talking to a recruiter outside your field? Ask AI to restate a technical accomplishment in plain business terms: what problem it solved and for whom.
- Run a mock interview. Have AI ask one question at a time and give feedback on clarity and length.
One caution: prep with AI, but don’t perform with it. Reading generated answers during a live interview is easy to spot, and it undermines the trust you’re there to build.
Skills Gap Analysis: Know What to Highlight & Build Next
Employers are leaning into skills-based hiring. In a 2026 Robert Half survey, 57% of hiring managers reported skills gaps in their departments, so showing you can fill one is an advantage.
To find yours, gather three or four postings for roles you want and ask AI which skills appear across all of them. Then share your resume and ask it to sort those skills into three groups: ones you clearly demonstrate, ones you have but haven’t highlighted, and ones you’d need to build. The middle group is often the quickest win, because it’s experience you already have but haven’t put on paper.
For true gaps, ask AI for a short, practical learning plan, such as a course, a small project, or a certification. Keep it realistic. One skill developed well beats five listed and half-learned.
Keep Yourself at the Center
AI can save you hours, but it can’t replace your judgment, your relationships or your story. You can use it to bring structure to your search too. Set weekly goals for applications and outreach, and put a check-in on your calendar every two weeks to see what’s working. Let AI draft it, you decide what’s true and what sounds like you.
Most of all, remember what you bring. AI can organize your experience, but the experience is yours. You have a lot to offer, and every tailored application and well-prepared conversation is a chance to show it.
For more ideas on how you can strategize your work, consider working with a career coach. A coach can help you identify strategies to face challenges head on. Check out our executive coaching services and sign up for a free consultation here.
Deanna Parkton is a writer, career coach and educator with a passion for professional development and work wellness and happiness. With a focus on self-reflection, she works with individuals in their quest to reach their career goals as well as satisfaction in work-life balance. You can find more of her writing at workinglivingwell.com and she can be reached at workinglivingwell@gmail.com.