AI Is Standing Between You and Your Next Job — Here's How to Get Your Application Into Human Hands. It's becoming harder to become a standout, but there is one way that will always help show off your individualism in a sea of resumes.
By Gabrielle Judge Edited by Mark Klekas
Key Takeaways
- Even with a 100% matching score with the help of AI, your resume may still not be good enough.
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
The job application process is broken. AI has taken over both the job seeker and the employer's side, making it virtually impossible to stand out.
With the help of AI, it is easy to create a 100% matching score resume for a job application. Recruiters are now faced with a barrage of perfect candidates to sift through. Even AI-powered job boards automate the job curation process, leaving traditional networking obsolete. Both job seekers and employers are still looking for the best fit in our new automated world.
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So, what's the solution? Creating content.
Creating content and being active on social media is the new resume. This is the best way to stand out in a hiring world dominated by AI. We used to have a strict separation between our work lives on LinkedIn and our personal lives on Instagram and Facebook, but that line is becoming blurry. It's not uncommon for applications to have a spot open for you to insert your social handles.
Even if you have no followers and no content posted, here are some ways to enhance your social media presence and stand out in any field.
Find something educational to talk about
Create a personal brand highlighting your respective field's questions, struggles and solutions. You can still create a community even if you're not an expert. If you are worried about lacking the experience to deem yourself an expert, the good news is that people love watching the process.
If you are ever worried your knowledge level is not providing your community enough value, you can always collaborate with other thought leaders in your field. That's the power of content; it doesn't have to revolve around you to create a resource worth following.
Related: Content Creation Checklist: 7 Steps to Get You Started
Many people don't understand that you can show how good you are at solving problems with your expertise through free organic content. A good example of this I've seen is #WorkTok on TikTok.
This new category of content started in the days of 2020 when everyone was working from home with newly gained time from no longer having to commute. This content niche, also called "influencers with jobs," ranges from skits about corporate jobs, educating others on the BTS of a job you already have and much more. There is a lot of potential still to create in this movement.
Here's an example: You are a software developer looking to develop your career beyond the options available at your current job. You start demonstrating your expertise through educational content and recording behind-the-scenes content, and you may even start getting more prominent employers involved. An example is a UI/UX developer who designs new features to make products we already love better, like the Spotify algorithm, iOS features, etc.
This type of content will perform well, but more importantly, it showcases your problem-solving abilities. As a content educator myself, my favorite part of making educational videos is the excitement of discovering who watched my content — it's helped me make many connections. You never know who is watching, and sometimes, this can lead to significant opportunities. I live in a suburb of Colorado, and I do not live in an BIZ Experiencesial area. But I am able to showcase my skills and network through my content.
What stops most people from starting
What stops most people is either their lack of confidence in themselves or their lack of knowledge about where to start in their content creation process. The biggest tip I have for you is that you need to make content to solve these problems. Most people are too afraid to start posting.
Most of your doubts about posting content are pretty logical; you don't have any data yet that this decision would work. The only way to get data is to start posting. And if you feel stuck not understanding what type of content to make, you will only know what does well if you post content. Only so much mentorship and picking others' brains will help you. Ultimately, it goes down to what content you are best at, not your mentors and people will follow.
I never knew I could be a TEDx speaker, but I did one recently. And this was all from posting content around my expertise. Using my social media as my resume lets me showcase myself in a way that makes my introverted self feel safe. I get to connect with new people and ideas, which improves my content every day.
So, if your goal is truly to stand out as a candidate, you need to start showing off your individualism through content creation. Obviously, it depends on the industry and what type of job you are looking for, but the quickest way to show off your skills, personality and problem-solving skills is by creating content based on your expertise. It doesn't all have to be video content, either; consider starting a Substack or creating a portfolio that people across the internet can easily find.
There is no real way to "beat the system" when it comes to getting hired, but there are tangible steps you can take to make yourself stand out from the sea of candidates you'll run into for good-paying jobs. AI is playing a bigger role in HR and hiring departments across the board, so my tip to you is to create content to stay ahead of the curve.
