How to Use AI to Boost Your Career Without Letting it Take Over
How do you want to be known as a young professional? As a human being? What do you want others to know about you and your work in the world, especially when you’re not there to speak for yourself?
Since we never get a second chance to make a first impression, I suggest being proactive in developing your personal brand– a unique combination of your values, skills, personality, and experiences that shape who you are and what you have to offer.
Building a strong personal brand gives you more control over how people perceive you, both online and offline, which can be a major advantage, especially early on in your career when you can feel like a “little fish in a big pond.”
So how can you use AI (Artificial Intelligence) to effectively build your personal brand and boost your career without letting it take over?
Whether it’s the more well-known ChatGT or Claude.ai or Gemini or Copilot (there are SO many more and more coming online everyday), AI tools– when used wisely– can help you in these 3 career development areas:
1. Develop your “marketing materials”
When you are looking for work, you and your skills are essentially “for sale” and you need effective “marketing materials” to attract the best “buyers” (employers/clients).
Your LinkedIn profile (and other social media platforms), resume, and cover letters serve as marketing materials to convey the value you bring to your next employer. To this end, you can try LinkedIn profile review tools like Resume Worded to analyze and provide you with recommendations to make your profile more appealing to recruiters, including creating enhanced headshots and videos. Additionally, resume building AI tools like Zety can suggest keywords and formats to align with specific job postings. Utilize data insights to ongoingly refine your branding strategy.
Remember that AI is meant to be a tool, not a crutch or a replacement, so make sure you are inputting prompts that capture your voice and essence and produce authentic outputs that you feel good about. “Copy and paste” doesn’t cut it in the end.
2. Improve your networking and interviewing results
LinkedIn is a particularly smart online space to hang out and experiment with AI-powered apps if you’re wanting a career boost. Tools like Crystal Knows customize communication styles and messages for specific people.
Tools like LinkedIn’s Smart Replies can help you streamline your conversations and save time, but be sure to sprinkle in personalized messages when possible so you don’t come across like a robot.
There are AI tools like Interview School that simulate real-world interview questions and even give you targeted feedback on your responses. What a great use of AI… a mock interview buddy that will surely increase your confidence!
3. Free up your precious time
Set clear goals regarding your use of AI and let it handle those time-consuming repetitive tasks, such as research and content creation, so you can free up precious time and make an even bigger impact.
Time is our greatest asset. The fact is we can always earn more money, but we can never get back more time.
Strike a healthy balance between work and non-work tasks. Schedule your time based on priorities and track how you spend your time. Ask yourself if you are investing time in tasks that will get you where you want to go, or if you are just spending your time which can lead to burnout.
Above all, I hope you will always stay curious, connected, and self-led.
To Your Success!
Amy