Use Your Brain First and AI Second
AI is a helper, not a "do it for you" tool. It's meant to make you think. Use it much like you would a Google search, much like you use a thesaurus when you're searching for a better word, much like you use information from books you've read, classes you've taken. It's a brainstorming partner, research assistant, proofreader, and copy editor.
AI is excellent at developing roadmaps, transition plans, and workflows. But it doesn't know what it doesn't know. AI may skip a critical step in the process. What might look good on paper may not work at all in the real world. You have to challenge the output.
AI can tell you how to do something efficiently, but YOU have to decide if the task you're optimizing needs to be done at all and what the short and long-term impact will be of your efforts.
As for content creation, AI's perfect and polished style follows standard writing and grammar conventions. Does that mean what you're reading has value? Don't be fooled. Good AI writing often masks content that doesn't actually tell you anything helpful or essential.
This brings me to the subject of giving over the entire task of resume development and interview preparation to AI. While this is quick and easy, it sets you up for failure. For example, a polished and succinct objective statement at the top of your resume looks and sounds great. What AI won't tell you is that objective statements are OUT and should not be on your resume at all.
When AI generates a resume format and wording, it draws on ALL information, both relevant AND outdated. It doesn't know the difference. It pulls from good and bad sources because again, it doesn't know the difference.
AI can help you formulate clear questions for your interview, but it won't tell you that negotiating a hybrid work schedule for a job that clearly states "On Site" might eliminate you from the process. Some questions should not be asked in early interviews, and some should not be asked at all. Your chatbot won't tell you this.
Your chatbot doesn't know you. It won't ask you the right questions. It won't dig deeper for more thorough information or ask for clarification. It won't steer you in a different direction if you're not on track for the job you're targeting. It likely won't tell you if something on your resume doesn't belong there. And you may not notice when it adds things from the job posting that are currently not in your wheelhouse or on your skills list. This happens a lot!
Recruiters and hiring managers are on to you. They are growing increasingly weary of candidates' resumes all sounding the same, and they are tired of hearing answers in interviews that mimic "AI speak".
By taking shortcuts, you're already telling the hiring team that you can't think for yourself. Ultimately, you are selling yourself short.
The power of critical thinking will reign supreme in the coming years. The ability to communicate verbally and in writing without the help of AI has always been, and will continue to be, a foundational part of business.
Ask yourself, how long did it take people to stop making change without a cash register telling them how much to give back, or doing mental math after calculators came out? It's a warning.
Your brain is a muscle, and if you don't work it out regularly, you will lose skills essential to success in business and in life. Don’t let AI take away your competitive edge.