Should You Use AI to Update Your Resume? Read This First.

A recruiter friend recently told me about an applicant who had obviously used AI to update her resume. It looked polished and included ample accomplishments. But when my friend asked the applicant to elaborate on a key project mentioned in the resume, she couldn’t. The interview quickly fell apart.

I share this to illustrate a high-stakes risk that too many job seekers underestimate. Your resume is a foundational piece of your job search campaign. It would be disastrous to use AI to update your resume without being intentional and then have something catch you off guard during an important networking conversation or interview!

Given that AI is ubiquitous, how can it benefit your job search, rather than be a liability? I’ve recently delivered talks on this topic at tech shows and conferences, and I want to share some insights, especially if you plan to use AI to update your resume. In short, AI can play a supporting role, but it should not be the star (after all, the star should be YOU!).

AI Skepticism Is Real—and Justified

A recent survey by Insight Global shows that roughly half of hiring managers are skeptical of candidates they believe used AI to write their application materials. Ironically, nearly every company uses AI in its hiring process, such as ATS screening of applications and scheduling (and even conducting) interviews. So, AI is embedded in the hiring process but not necessarily welcomed in your application documents. I refer to this double standard as the AI Conundrum, and you need to account for it.

How You Can Use AI to Update Your Resume

Used strategically, AI can support your resume revisions in three key ways:

1. Tighten and strengthen individual bullet points. If a bullet point feels clunky, copy and paste the text into an AI tool like ChatGPT or Claude and ask for feedback. Use your judgment about whether the suggestions improve your original and adopt, adapt, or ignore them accordingly. You must be deliberate during this editing process to ensure your revised content is authentic and accurate. I’ve asked clients questions like “Tell me more about this point. It seems like you did a lot on this project!” and have received the response “Oh, I don’t know. ChatGPT must have written that.”
2. Identify keywords for tailoring. Paste a job posting into the AI tool and ask it to identify the most important skills to include on your resume. This helps you tailor strategically—without handing off the writing itself.
3. Check for grammar and consistency. AI is an efficient proofreader, catching grammatical errors, inconsistent tense, or punctuation issues. You can also request a list of changes it made, so you can double check you if you agree with them.

Beware of the “Make It Punchier” Trap

AI tools are designed to keep you engaged. After offering a revision, they often prompt you with questions like “Would you like this to sound more executive? More dynamic? Punchier?”

If you keep saying yes, your document will sound increasingly impressive and decreasingly like how you talk or write. That can lead to problems because your resume not only helps you get an interview but also ideally sets you up for the interview you want to have. Do not become overzealous with “punchiness” and set yourself up for anxiety during an interview. As obvious as this sounds it warrants stating clearly: You should be able to discuss and stand behind everything in your resume.

AI-generated language has a cadence and “feel” that can often be recognized quickly. While readers are less likely to notice these patterns across different genres of writing, imagine how quickly recruiters will spot them when reviewing the same types of application materials for the same job. When your resume sounds like everyone else’s, it stops working for you.

Recruiters Can Spot Patterns in Resumes

AI-generated language has a cadence and “feel” that readers can often recognize quickly, especially those who read the same types of documents repeatedly, like recruiters and hiring managers. Readers are less likely to notice patterns across different genres of writing (e.g., newsletters, articles, marketing materials, reports), but imagine how quickly recruiters will spot them when reviewing the same types of application materials (resumes and cover letters) for the same job. When your resume sounds like everyone else’s, it stops working for you.

When a Resume-Writing Pro Is Still Essential

Can AI replace professional resume writers? Certainly, it can generate content in a flash, but there are valid reasons job seekers reach out to professional resume writers like me. For example, they are seeking help in identifying how to stand out in the marketplace, or they are simply stuck. Or perhaps they already have a resume draft, but it doesn’t excite them; it is grammatically correct and “fine”—which actually means it is not fine. In today’s market, “fine” does not get you an interview.

As I’ve said for many years, my goal is to crush “fine.” I help applicants with these issues during a comprehensive process we work through together. What separates a standout resume from a forgettable one is not grammar or formatting; it is the quality and depth of the content. The compelling details about a person’s background and achievements do not surface unless someone asks the right questions and listens carefully to the answers; I call these details “hidden gems.”

Numbers-driven accomplishments matter, of course, but the most powerful resumes also capture context and narrative in a way that makes a hiring manager want to know more. That is how a skilled resume writer helps you craft your resume: by gathering extensive information, asking the right questions, listening deeply, and building a strategy around the most compelling version of who you are professionally. We call ourselves resume writers, but the best among us are actually co-creating your document with your very active input. Once that foundation is solid, then is it OK to use AI to trim a 30-word sentence to 25? Sure. But no AI tool can emphasize what it was never given in the first place (which is a more polite way of saying “garbage in, garbage out”).

If you use AI to update your resume, view it as a tool you should use with clear guardrails. It is not a replacement for thinking carefully about your experience, your value, and your story. Consider working with a professional resume writer to help you leverage and highlight these elements.

Takeaway

Merriam-Webster named “slop” as its 2025 Word of the Year for good reason. The term is defined as “digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence.”  In terms of resumes, this means your resume might look polished but lacks meaningful information.

In today’s job search, applicants cannot afford to risk having their resume viewed as AI slop.

If you use AI to update your resume, view it as a tool you should use with clear guardrails. It is not a replacement for thinking carefully about your experience, your value, and your story. Consider working with a professional resume writer to help you leverage and highlight these elements.

If you choose to use AI to create your resume, write everything yourself first as a rough draft. Then ask AI for feedback on what you wrote. This sequence matters because it keeps you in the driver’s seat, which is exactly where you need to be when a hiring manager asks you to tell them more.

If you need expert help to create a standout resume that excites you and makes you beam with pride, contact me today.