The Job Search Survival Series: 5 Mindset Shifts to Make AI Work for You
I know, I know—AI is a hot topic everywhere. From books to keynotes to conferences to guides, the boom is happening and the conversation ranges from the fear of being irrelevant without a chatbot to the danger of AI taking over our ability to think for ourselves. It’s a lot to take in, and even I find myself wanting to filter out the hype and noise of the AI revolution. But regardless of how you feel about it, AI is here—and it’s here to stay—as businesses and society muddle through how to use it in ways that create net good.
That said, for tech-leveraging old souls like myself who remember the good ole days of Facebook—while now building custom GPTs to process and track my small business expenses—it can feel like so much information is being thrown at us that it’s overwhelming to add another come-and-go tech fad to the list. But like it or not, AI is neither going anywhere, nor is it as new as so many people perceive it to be.
AI has been around for years—helping you with spellcheck, keeping junk out of your inbox, queuing up Netflix recommendations, or answering through Alexa and Siri. Those “smart” features were just early, everyday AI by another name. But the difference now is that manifestations of AI are becoming accessible to the everyday human—and openly talked about. So naturally, it’s permeating businesses, impacting your job search, and many people aren’t even conceptualizing the diverse ways to use (and not use) AI in their job search.
As I tell my clients, regardless of what you do with AI in your personal life—businesses and companies are already using it. From a knowledge and skills perspective alone, having a baseline understanding of what it is and how it works can benefit you in your job search.
That said, for those of us (like me) who were a little slower to get on the AI train—but have been learning, using, and loving the ways it can support both work and personal life—one of the best places to begin is by changing how we think about it. So here are five mindset shifts to help you take a new look at AI, see how it can support you, and know when you may need to troubleshoot or hack it to benefit you most.
AI learns from us.
Artificial intelligence didn’t just appear; it’s built on information fed by humans. So in addition to being consumers of AI outputs, we’re also teachers of it. Define your own parameters for using it and how it can best serve you. Then refine the information you share so it frames your experience in ways that reflect you. The more perspectives, opinions, and data it learns from, the more AI can become a tool that is not only usable but relevant to the wide-ranging differences within humans.
AI is a draft partner, not a final product.
Just like any piece of advice or best practice—you get to decide what you take and what you leave. AI can surface more perspectives and ideas than you might think of on your own, but it’s up to you to choose what’s useful. The more you frame and teach it what you want, the better the outputs. And if it gives you something that doesn’t fit, nothing is wasted. Simply try another tool, another prompt, or another resource. Use AI to amplify your story and voice in the ways you choose—no human or robot has the power to lock you into feedback prison.
AI supports the entire job search cycle.
I can’t tell you how many times, as a career coach, I hear someone say they don’t want a robot writing their resume. If that’s your first thought about AI, you probably haven’t explored how widely it’s used. On the employer side, AI shows up in Applicant Tracking Systems, automated replies, and even interview question design. On the applicant side, you can use ChatGPT or Gemini for personal statements and job tracking, Google Warmup for interview practice, Teal for job matching, or Canva templates for a more visually interesting resume. There’s so much more to AI than just resume writing.
Bias exists in AI.
Just like in the real world, bias is built into artificial intelligence systems. That doesn’t mean we stop using it—it means we make sure our voice is included and that we view outputs through the diverse lenses of our lived experience. Just as we fact-check media or stay aware of prejudice in everyday systems, we need to do the same with AI, especially generative tools. The goal isn’t to avoid it altogether but to learn ways to hold both the tools and ourselves accountable for ethical and effective use.
You control what information AI has about you.
If you’re like my sweet, conspiratorial mother who refuses to put her credit card into an online platform—AI can feel scary. But just like with anything else, you control what you share. The more you provide, the more it can “know” you—but you can do this in ways that maintain privacy and confidentiality. Most of us still have those OG email accounts (remember when “punkgirl1997” felt like a solid identifier?). Use one for testing out a platform that might spam you for the next 97 years. Don’t want ChatGPT to have your entire work history? Create a dummy document without your name, location, or other identifiers. You get—and need—to safeguard your privacy with AI just as you would with any other tool in the real world.
So whether you feel like a first-time user or someone already weaving AI into daily life, these tools can ease some of the misery a job search can bring. Just like anything else, you won’t master it overnight—but understanding a few fundamentals can empower you to choose how AI supports you, while setting the guardrails that make you feel safe.
Until next time, y’all be roboting out there.
