The career center at the University of Texas at San Antonio is using artificial intelligence to help students apply for jobs.
“There's a lot more coming with AI that people don't realize,” UTSA senior career consultant Josue Olivas said.
“Some people describe AI's impact in society as the new industrial revolution, maybe even bigger than the Industrial Revolution,” Olivas said. “So, we want students to be really prepared. We're starting to introduce it. We're trying to get ahead of the curve.”
In workshops and consultations, Olivas and his coworker Jeff Patten teach students to use two types of AI during the job search: a static AI called VMock that students can access through the university’s website, and a generative AI like ChatGPT that students can prompt.
Students can upload their resumes to VMock to get feedback on its format and content. They can also record a two-minute interview snippet for evaluation.
“It will analyze your speech rate; are you speaking monotone? Do you have good posture? Do you have good eye contact? Do you smile?” Olivas said. “A lot of students look really nervous when they're interviewing, so the AI will catch that.”
The UTSA career center purchased a subscription to VMock for students. But a lot of generative AI apps are currently free.
Olivas said generative AI that can respond to voice prompts, like Chat GPT, is especially useful for students trying to decide between careers.
“You can prompt an AI to say, ‘Hey, I'm interested in psychology, and I'm interested in business, I'm trying to look into jobs that might be similar to this, I want to narrow that down.’ And you can have that full script, you can be honest with AI now,” Olivas said.
In addition to help narrowing down a career, Olivas said AI that responds to voice prompts can be used to practice interview skills.
“You can prompt an AI to act as a talent acquisition person for a specific company. Or you can ask it to be a mock interviewer as a hiring manager for a marketing position,” Olivas said. “And then you can prompt it to say, ‘Hey, give me some feedback after this interview.’ ”
Olivas said students can also upload their resume and a job description to AI and get suggestions on how to tailor their resume it fit it.
“This specific job in marketing might require more Adobe skills. Another job in marketing might require a little bit more sales skills. So, you have to learn how do I adjust my resume to fit with this marketing position that's just slightly different than the other one,” Olivas said.
“You can plug in your resume into an AI, we teach students to do that. We teach students to put a job description that you're trying to get, and then get some feedback from the AI,” Olivas said. “And that requires a little bit of coaching, because some of that can be complicated. And then some of that can be ethically questionable, depending on how a student actually implements the feedback.”
Because AI tools rely on online tools and prior use for training, entire employment fields and new industry trends can be overlooked, so students should exercise caution when using these tools to generate resumes and cover letters. https://t.co/olQR4WuhBl pic.twitter.com/8N5nIJ4MXV
— National Association of Colleges and Employers (@NACEOrg) June 24, 2024
Patten and Olivas said an important part of the training they teach students is how to use AI ethically.
“AI, like any other tool, is only as effective as the person who's using it. So, it's important for students to understand how to use the tool, the limitations of the tool, biases that may be built into the tool,” Patten said, adding that the ethical use of AI in the job search is similar to the standards used for academic integrity.
“Is the information that I'm providing genuinely my information? Is it something where I'm talking about skill sets and knowledge base I actually possess? And not just do I possess this, but what's my level of expertise?” Patten said.
They presented on the topic at the National Association of Colleges and Employers Conference in June.
Patten said an important component of using AI ethically is to be selective in the jobs you apply for.
“If you can't do that adequately, then you're doing both yourself and the employer a disservice if you're, again, merely broadcasting your information in hopes of getting some kind of opportunity,” Patten said. “We were just in a conversation where employers are having longer times to respond to internship applications, because they're getting students who are doing multiple mass applications through the use of an AI.”
Olivas said AI should be used as a coaching tool that helps you be more selective and efficient, not as a way to apply for jobs indiscriminately.
“Use the AI to coach you to be a better interview or better applicant, but you can't have the AI do the work for you,” Olivas said. “Great, you got the interview, but if you actually don't know what you're getting yourself into — you didn't do the research, you don't have that actual passion for this, then you've just wasted a whole hour or so of the recruiter's time, of your time.”
Patten said that in addition to evidence that you have the knowledge, skills, and experience for the job, employers want to know what makes you special.
“In other words, I'm looking for someone who is a unique fit for this,” Patten said. “And so, the AI can assist the student with that, but the student still has to know that, yes, this is something that is substantive that I possess, that is going to convince an employer I'm someone they want to talk to.”
