“At the end of the day, it’s the interview that seals the deal,” says RIC’s director of Career & Life Design Center.
Think about it.
AI is writing thousands of resumes and cover letters every day to help job applicants get their foot in the door.
“If everyone has, relatively, the same experience, then it goes without saying that the deciding factor in getting hired becomes the interview. At the end of the day, it’s the interview that seals the deal,” says Thea Cerio, director of the Career & Life Design Center at Rhode Island College.
Here, Cerio gives 4 tips on how AI can help get you interview ready:
- My favorite way of using AI on the job hunt is to copy and paste the job description onto an AI platform – be it ChatGPT or some other platform – and ask it to generate interview questions for you based on the job description. It’s like having a cheat sheet for the test. It’s about working smarter.
Prepare for the interview. You can practice mock interviews with ChatGPT by having it ask you common or industry-specific questions. It can also help you craft strong answers and refine your responses for confidence and professionalism. It can’t tell you what experiences to use, but it can help you frame the experiences you have in an interview-ready way.
At our Career & Life Design Center, we offer an AI tool called Big Interview that not only helps you create mock interviews, it videotapes you. You’re able to view not only your responses but your body language during the interview and note things that you might not be aware of, such as, are you making eye contact, is your voice clear, are you using a lot of filler words like “uh, um, so, you know.” The employer is picking up on all of those things. You can access the app for free.
- Research employers and career paths. ChatGPT can summarize information about companies, job roles and industries, helping you prepare for interviews or decide where to apply. It can also help you come up with smart questions to ask employers during interviews or suggest networking events. Remember, a good fit is a two-way street!
- As mentioned, AI can help you write and polish your resume, cover letter and LinkedIn profile. Just remember that you MUST go back and make sure it is written in YOUR voice. If you submit a cover letter that is riddled with words you wouldn’t use, and you show up to an interview with a different vocabulary, then the jig is up!
To help you with job interviews, resumes, cover letters and even how to decide on a career path, make an appointment with a career specialist at RIC’s Career & Life Design Center. Current students can schedule an appointment on Starfish while grad students and alumni use Handshake.