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AI in job and internship search

Generative AI can be a helping hand for many things - including job search and competence clarification. How can you go about it and what are the pitfalls? Here, you will find both good advice and concrete examples - from ideas for prompts and tools to the importance of a human in the loop.

Photo: Shughinth Manogarathaas

AI in job and internship search

Generative AI can be a helping hand for many things - including job search and competence clarification. How can you go about it and what are the pitfalls? Here, you will find both good advice and concrete examples - from ideas for prompts and tools to the importance of a human in the loop.

Photo: Shughinth Manogarathaas

You have to help the machine

Stand out. It is one of the most important pieces of advice when you make your CV and cover letter, and when you contact a potential business partner in Denmark. Your material and your approach should be personal and adapted to the particular company. And that is why generative AI cannot stand alone.

Use generative AI constructively in the process - just be mindful of using it with critical reflection and evaluate how you use it and the answers it provides. The AI's output is general, so you have to get yourself as a human 'into the loop' and tell the company something about you and your profile when you e.g. are applying for a job.

Source: Ballisager's recruitment analysis 2023

What do Danish companies think about AI?

25%

of danish companies with more than 10 employees use artificial intelligence in their daily operations.

97 %

do not use AI when they screen candidates

78 %

recommends no or moderate use of AI in job search

Guide

The good prompt

When you're working with generative AI, it is crucial to consider how you interact with the tool (also known as prompting). The system is only as intelligent as the context you provide. The better input you give, the better output you can expect.

Strategies for prompting

Avoid ‘zero-shot prompting’. With a simple and very brief question or command, you will not get a useful answer. Often, it requires a 'dialogue' in an iterative process to steer the system toward an answer that aligns with your intended use.

AI as a digital guide

Imagine you’re asking your project supervisor for input. The email you send them is not just a short question; it would include information about why you’re asking, what you intend to use it for, and perhaps what you’ve already tried, etc. You need to “prepare” your supervisor to provide effective assistance - and the same goes for an AI.

5 steps to crafting an effective prompt

Which AI should I choose?

There are many different tools that use generative AI for various purposes. Some of the most popular general tools include: ChatGPT (OpenAI), Copilot (Microsoft), Gemini (Google), Llama (Meta), and Claude (Anthropic).

Differences between tools

Some can only be used in specific countries, some have both paid and free versions (with significant differences), some rely on knowledge from their databases, while others can also find information online, etc. So be aware of which tool you are using, what it is built for, and the terms of use for the tool.

Copilot at AAU

As a student at AAU, with your AAU login, you have access to Copilot Enterprise from Microsoft, where your data is protected and your history (neither questions nor answers) is not saved or risks being used for other purposes. One of the benefits of Copilot is that it often gives you a number of internet sources as to why it suggests the way it does. This makes it easier to check the quality and relevance of the answer.

Read more about the use of Copilot on AAU.

6 tangible examples

How to use AI for your career

Below, you will find 6 examples of how to use AI for e.g. competence clarification, job search, and finding possible career paths. The examples are made based on Copilot. They are elaborated with prompts, answers, and last but not least the 'human in the loop': the work that the machine cannot do for you.

Analysis of job ad

Gain inspiration on how to decode a specific job ad with a focus on the ad’s competency profile. It will help you to develop a more relevant CV and cover letter for the position.

Ideas for competency profile and opportunities

Learn how you can use generative AI to get inspiration for articulating your competencies, and with these, find relevant opportunities for collaboration and employment.

Feedback on cover letter

See an example of how, with the right prompt, you can get generative AI to provide you with useful feedback on your cover letter.

The relevance of a project or thesis

Sometimes it can be difficult to see a connection between the projects you have done at AAU and how the project can be used for something outside the university’s academic arena. See how AI can help with just that.

Interview training

It can be challenging to imagine how a job interview might unfold and what questions the company might come up with. AI cannot answer everything, but with the right prompt, you can use generative AI to practice the situation and thus be better prepared. 

AI as a sparring partner

Generative AI can not only be used to generate answers to your questions; it can also be used to qualify and challenge your thinking with questions that make you reflect. Learn how you can use AI in this way.

Authors of this page

This page is developed by AAU Career in collaboration with Copilot Enterprise.