If There's A Formula, AI Will Help You Find It

This piece says more than intended about AI:

A study conducted by Anaïs Galdin from Dartmouth and Jesse Silbert from Princeton analyzed cover letters for tens of thousands of job applications on Freelancer.com. The researchers discovered that after the introduction of ChatGPT in 2022, the cover letters became longer and better-written. However, this improvement in quality led companies to place less emphasis on the cover letters, making it more difficult to identify qualified candidates from the applicant pool. Consequently, the hiring rate and average starting wage decreased.

I've been out of the job market for some years, but I don't believe that, at least after I went into tech, I ever submitted a formal cover letter with my resume. I either mailed the resume in to the individual listed on the help wanted ad, or I e-mailed it, with at most a note saying something like, "I'm applying for the ___ job you advertised on Monster.com" or whatever other site. What on earth would a fancy cover letter have to do with it?

So I'm not sure what this Ivy study is trying to prove -- a resume, at least in a field like tech, should give detailed information on skills aimed at specific tech jobs. Why pad things with extra BS in a cover letter that they may just toss aside before they go to your resume?

Once I'd been on the job market, I recognized there are certain interviews that aren't going to work out; for instance, if you're interviewing with several other candidates and you see who they are, if there's a DEI type in the group, write that opportunity off. Life 101.

If you're interviewing with a company that's run by the HR department, the HR rep is going to get all antsy that you were at your last job for less than maybe a dozen years. No matter that in the corporate environment for just about anyuone's lifetime at this point, there are mergers, downsizings, acquisitions, and people who sincerely intended to spend a career at one place are out the door without warning -- it's only prudent to have situational awareness and keep your resume and skill set up to date. HR reps will never listen to that.

So I just don't know what this whole cover letter study is all about. Maybe MBA programs teach you to write cover letters. Life 101 isn't about cover letters. The story goes on,

Moreover, with the increased volume of applications, employers are turning to automated interviews. A survey by recruiting software firm Greenhouse in October revealed that 54 percent of US job seekers have experienced an AI-led interview. While virtual interviews gained popularity during the pandemic in 2020, the use of AI to ask questions has not made the process any less subjective.

I'm not sure what an "AI-led interview" is. Are you talking to a screen with a computer-generated image of an HR rep aking you, "Where do you see yourself in five years?" (My standard answer to that one was, "In the tech field, people work at jobs that didn't even exist five years ago. I'm not sure I can predict what job I'll be working in five years from now." I don't think I ever got an offer for a job where the HR rep asked me that kind of question; I just wrote it off. Life 101.

But I'm beginning to see how people can use AI to their own benefit. If I were on the job market and beginning to think I was getting AI-led interviews, I would ask Chrome AI mode, which I don't have to pay to use, what types of questions are in AI-led interviews and what AI expects. So, just for fun, I did just that. I asked, "What is an AI-led job interview, what kinds of questions can I expect, and how can I answer them to my best advantage?" Some of the answers I got included:

• Asynchronous Video: You record video responses to on-screen or verbal prompts; the AI analyzes your word choice, tone, and sometimes facial expressions.
• Conversational Chatbots: Text-based interviews via messaging platforms where an AI agent asks screening questions.
• Voice/Phone: AI agents conduct real-time phone calls, analyzing verbal responses and delivery.
• Role-Specific Technicals: Questions targeting keywords from the job description, such as "Describe your experience with stakeholder management".
• Mirror Job Keywords: Incorporate industry-standard terms and specific skills found in the job description to help the algorithm match your profile to the role.
• Maintain Technical Professionalism: Look directly at the camera (not the screen) to simulate eye contact, speak clearly at a moderate pace, and ensure a neutral, well-lit background.

So all that's really changed here is that you're being interviewed by a human-like robot instead of a robot-like human. We're getting into basic questions of how you want to live your life, whether you're letting human-like robots or robot-like humans tell you what to do. I asked Chrome AI mode, "In what potential fields or jobs am I least likely to have to submit to an AI-led job interview?" The answers included,

• Construction: Electricians, plumbers, carpenters, and roofing professionals.
• Specialized Operators: Dredge, pile driver, and motorboat operators.
• Maintenance: Rail-track maintenance, highway workers, and floor sanders.
• Frontline Medical: Registered nurses, surgical assistants, and paramedics.
• Government & Public Safety: Firefighters, police crisis negotiators, and 911 dispatchers often follow rigid, human-led civil service protocols.
• High-End Craft: Artisans, restorers of rare instruments, and jewelry designers whose work depends on unique human judgment.
• Performers: Stage actors, live musicians, and professional athletes.

Somehow I sense a benign Mike Rowe-like figure hovering behind this. If you want to live a worthwhile life, stay away from four-year liberal arts colleges. Go to trade school or get other specialized training, unless you have really unusual talent of some other sort. Otherwise, you're at the mercy of human-like robots or robot-like humans -- but it's never taken AI to explain that to you, although you can get good information if you learn to ask AI the right questions.

If you're polishing your cover letter with AI, you're letting human-like robots and robot-like humans run your life. Learn to run AI, and don't let AI run you.