Should You Use AI to Write Your Resume? | Full Guide for 2025

Should You Use AI to Write Your Resume?

Yes, you can use AI to write your resume, and you should – as long as you approach it the right way.

It’s a nuanced issue. AI tools are incredibly sophisticated at this point, and they can effectively help you create a better resume faster. They can identify keywords, suggest professional language, and help you structure your content effectively. So, AI can give you a competitive advantage.

However, how you use AI matters more than the tool itself – over-relying on AI is a recipe for disaster.

If you just paste a job description into ChatGPT and ask it to generate a complete resume, you'll end up with generic content that screams "AI-generated." Hiring managers are getting better at spotting these cookie-cutter applications, and about 74% can now identify AI-written content.

But completely avoiding AI isn't automatically better. You'd be missing out on some powerful optimization and putting yourself at a serious disadvantage when nearly half of job applicants are already using AI tools.

You need to find a balance where you can use AI as an assistant, not a ghostwriter. Let it help you brainstorm, polish your language, and optimize for applicant tracking systems (ATS), but make sure the final product really represents your unique experience and voice.

Is It Ethical to Use AI?

Yes, it is fine to use AI to write your resume.

Of course, there are always ethical concerns when AI is brought up in the job market. Some people claim that using AI is somehow cheating or unfair to hiring managers.

AI isn’t actually that different from using a spell-checking tool or hiring a professional resume writer. You’re just using a tool or service to increase your chances of landing a job. You probably wouldn’t mention that you used QuillBot to catch any typos that you missed when proofreading your resume. And you don’t need to disclose using an AI tool either.

Besides, tons of employers are already using AI tools to optimize their hiring procedures. Why would it be unfair if you do the same thing?

The key distinction here is using AI as a tool and as a replacement for any effort on your part. 

Your resume should always accurately represent your real skills, experiences, and achievements, regardless of whether or not you use AI. So, if you're using AI to help articulate your actual qualifications, that's great. But if you're using it to fabricate experiences or skills you don't have, that’s a huge mistake.

At the end of the day, employers care about finding the right candidate for the job. If AI helps you communicate your value proposition more clearly and professionally, you're doing both yourself and potential employers a favor by making the hiring process more efficient.

20 Pros and Cons of Using AI to Write Your Resume

Like any tool, using AI to write your resume comes with clear pros and cons.

AI can speed up your writing process and help you create more polished content, but it can also risk making you sound generic or get flagged by employers as an unserious candidate for lack of effort.

Before we dive into the details, let's look at all the pros and cons at a glance:

10 Pros of Using AI

Let’s start by breaking down the benefits of using AI to write your resume:

1. Saves you time. AI can generate a complete resume draft in minutes instead of the hours it would take you to write one from scratch, so you can apply to more jobs faster.
2. Uses professional language. AI tools can be trained on successful resumes, and they can phrase your experience using industry-standard terminology that sounds polished and competent.
3. Gets past ATS. Most companies use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to filter resumes before humans get to see them, and AI can be great at identifying and incorporating the necessary keywords to pass this automated screening.
4. Easily tailors your resume to each job. Instead of manually rewriting your resume for each application, AI can quickly adapt your content to match specific job descriptions and highlight the most relevant skills for each.
5. Clean, professional formatting. AI resume builders automatically create well-structured layouts with consistent spacing, fonts, and organization that look professional without you needing any design skills to get there.
6. Fixes grammar and spelling errors. AI will usually catch mistakes you might miss on your own, so it ensures your resume uses proper grammar and prevents typos.
7. Helps when you're stuck writing. If you're struggling with writer's block or don't know how to describe a specific accomplishment, AI can provide suggestions and help you articulate your experience more effectively.
8. Finds important keywords. You can use AI to analyze job descriptions and identify the specific terms and phrases that employers are looking for and then strategically incorporate them into your resume.
9. Cheaper than hiring a writer. Professional resume writing services can cost upwards of $200, but most AI tools are free.
10. Gives you content ideas. AI can suggest different accomplishments, skills, and experiences you might have overlooked, so it can help you create a more comprehensive picture of your qualifications.

10 Cons of Using AI

Now, let’s look at some of the downsides that might come with using AI to write your resume:

1. Sounding robotic and impersonal. AI-generated content often lacks the natural flow and personality of human writing, so your resume might feel generic.
2. Employers can detect AI writing. Most hiring managers can confidently identify AI-generated resumes through certain patterns, buzzwords, and unnatural phrasing, which, in turn, may hurt your chances.
3. Might miss industry nuance. AI tools use general training data and might not understand the specific nuances, terminology, or priorities that matter most in your particular field or the company’s culture.
4. Everyone's resume looks similar. When so many candidates use the same AI tools with similar prompts, resumes start looking identical, so it’s harder for you to stand out from other applicants.
5. It can include incorrect information. AI isn’t infallible – it can make up achievements, skills, or experiences you don't have. If you don’t pay attention, this could embarrass you in interviews or seriously damage your credibility.
6. Creates dependence on AI tools. Over-relying on AI can prevent you from developing your own writing skills and may leave you struggling when you need to communicate authentically during the hiring process.
7. It may not match your interview style. If your resume sounds much more polished than how you speak, there will be a noticeable difference that raises red flags for employers.
8. Too many buzzwords. There’s some corporate jargon that AI overuses, including trendy phrases without substance. These can make your resume sound fluffy and unsubstantial.
9. Ethical concerns. Some employers do view AI use as deceptive and even warn candidates not to use it. There are emerging questions about fairness and authenticity with AI-assisted applications, so keep this in mind when you’re working on your resume.
10. Doesn't capture your unique voice. AI can't replicate your communication style, humor, or the specific way you think about and describe your work experiences. You would have to edit the output a lot to get it to sound like yourself.

9 Steps to Use AI to Write Your Resume

Now you know that it’s perfectly OK to use AI to write your resume; all you need are some actionable steps to make it easy. Let’s start with:

#1. Choose a Professional Resume Template

The first step to working on your resume is choosing the correct resume template.

Since you plan on working with AI, you need to consider that AI tools usually aren’t great at visual design and formatting.

So, while ChatGPT and similar tools can be great at generating some basic content, they can only produce plain text that looks like it came straight from a basic text editor.

A plain text black-and-white document just isn’t enough to cut it in the job market. You need to capture the hiring manager’s attention in under ten seconds, and your resume’s layout is the first step to that. Your resume needs to be visually appealing, with text that’s easy to skim and effective use of white space.

But doing everything from scratch is a hassle. Between setting the page margins, choosing the correct font, and adjusting the line spacing, your resume will take hours, even if you use AI to help with the content.

Why not skip all the hassle and start with one of our professional resume templates instead?

Each template is designed in close collaboration with HR experts from around the world to ensure your resume is professional and visually appealing.

Just look at how one of our templates compares to an AI-generated resume:

#2. Gather the Necessary Information

Before you can start filling in the contents, you need to collect all your career information first. AI is only as good as the information you feed it, so taking time to organize your professional details and history upfront will save you hours of back-and-forth later.

Start with your basic contact information. This part should be entirely manual, since all you need is for it to be factually correct. It includes:

• Your full name.
• Your phone number.
• A professional email address.
• Your city and state/country (no need for your full address).
  Any relevant links, like your LinkedIn profile URL, a portfolio website, or relevant social media profiles.

Next, think about your work experience. For each job, write down the company name, your job title, employment dates (month and year), and what you did. This part is where many people get stuck, so just try to list as much as you can think of. This can be your daily responsibilities as well as achievements from your time at that company.

If you don’t have a lot of work experience, don't forget your education details. Include your degree type, major, school name, graduation year, and any honors or relevant coursework. If you're a recent graduate, you can include your GPA if it's 3.5 or higher.

Finally, make a list of your skills, including both hard and soft skills. Think about what tools you use daily, what training you've completed, and what coworkers often ask for your help with. You don’t need to worry if you can’t think of enough skills – your AI agent will help with that when you get to that part.

Organizing all this information before you start writing your resume with AI will make the entire process smoother and more effective.

#3. Pick the Best AI Tool

Now that you have your information ready, it's time to choose the right AI tool for the job. The AI landscape is packed with options, and it can make a huge difference for your resume.

ChatGPT is by far the most popular choice and for good reason. It's user-friendly, widely accessible, and excellent at understanding detailed prompts about your work experience. Most people start here because it's free and can handle resume writing.

Other solid alternatives include Claude and DeepSeek, which have a similar interface with slightly different writing styles. Claude tends to be more conversational, but DeepSeek can be better for technical roles. You might want to experiment with several AI tools to see which one matches your tone.

In any case, you will need to go back and forth with the AI agent and then paste the results into a template and arrange them to look good.

But things can be even easier. You can just use the Novorésumé AI-backed resume builder!

Our resume builder comes with a built-in AI assistant, so you can work on your resume’s contents while customizing your chosen template in real time instead of jumping between different tools and tabs.

So, you get to save yourself formatting headaches, and you can keep an eye on your resume’s layout throughout the entire process.

#4. Write Effective Prompts

The difference between a generic AI resume and a compelling one comes down to how well you communicate with the AI. Most people type something like "write me a resume" and wonder why the results are terrible. The secret is in crafting detailed, specific prompts that give your AI tool exactly what it needs to help you.

So, start every prompt by setting the context. Tell the AI to act as an experienced resume writer or a career coach, or even just specify you need help with your resume and what kind of tone you want it to have. This simple instruction completely changes how it approaches your request. 

Then, be specific about what you want. For example, you could say:

Always include relevant details in your prompts. Instead of just asking it to "write bullet points for my job," mention how many bullet points, for which role, and what those bullets should focus on – daily responsibilities? Achievements? Sales or customer service skills?

You can also give the AI examples of your impressive achievements. The more concrete information you provide, the better your results will be. If you’re not sure how to describe the achievements, just ask the AI to help you describe them. You might discover that when you “Managed company social media,” you actually “increased social media followers by 40% over two months through a targeted campaign.”

AI cannot read your mind, but it's pretty good at turning tidbits of your accomplishments into polished, professional language.

#5. Tailor It for Every Job Application

This step is where AI shines – tailoring your resume to every position you’re applying to.

Sending the same generic resume to every role almost guarantees it’s getting rejected. Every job description has different requirements, keywords, and priorities for its candidates, and your resume needs to reflect that. 

Thankfully, AI can make this process incredibly easy by carefully analyzing the job description. Ask it to look for specific skills, qualifications, and any keywords that come up more than once. These are the elements that you need to include in your resume.

So, copy the entire job ad and feed it to your AI assistant. You can either do this by prompting it to tell you what your resume should include based on the job description or by feeding it the current version of your resume and asking it for tips on how to improve it.

Some examples of prompts include:

AI excels at integrating resume keywords naturally, without any obvious keyword stuffing. It can naturally weave important terms from the job posting into your existing content, so your resume will be more likely to pass through applicant tracking systems (ATS) while still sounding authentic.

But don't just focus on work experience or hard skills when you’re tailoring your resume to the job description. Your soft skills or personal projects can also be tailored to match the role. If the job emphasizes teamwork, the AI might emphasize collaborative experiences over individual ones, including certain hobbies and interests, like team sports.

#6. Edit and Personalize the Output

Once the contents of your resume are ready, all that’s left is to edit and personalize the output.

Raw AI output is often robotic and generic, which is exactly what hiring managers have learned to spot. Your goal is to transform that AI-generated text into something that sounds authentically like you.

Start by reading everything out loud. If it doesn't sound like something you'd say in a conversation, it probably needs to be changed. AI often uses overly formal language or corporate buzzwords that make you sound like a robot. So, replace stiff examples like "utilized” and “methodologies" with more natural language like "used” and ”methods."

Be sure to add specific details that only you would know. AI might suggest a sentence like "improved team efficiency," but you should specify with some metrics. Maybe you "reduced project completion time from 3 weeks to 2 weeks by implementing daily check-ins."

Feel free to sprinkle in some personality where appropriate. If you're naturally collaborative, emphasize teamwork. If you're detail-oriented, then highlight your organizational skills and methods. When you go to the job interview, you want to make sure your personality reflects your resume.

#7. Review and Optimize for the ATS

Before your resume even reaches a human, it needs to pass the applicant tracking system (ATS). This is a type of software that automatically scans and filters resumes and ultimately rejects those that don’t meet the initial criteria.

Start by:

• Avoiding the biggest ATS formatting mistakes. Applicant tracking systems tend to struggle with complex layouts, so avoid images, tables, or graphics and stick to easy-to-read fonts. Thankfully, our resume templates are all preformatted and ATS-friendly, so this won’t be a problem.
• Checking your keyword density. The ATS looks for specific terms you can find in the job description, so make sure you've included the most important ones naturally throughout your resume. Just don't go overboard – keyword stuffing makes your resume sound unnatural, and it can hurt your ranking.
• Using standard section heading titles. Stick to conventional namings like "Work Experience," "Education," and "Skills" instead of quirky alternatives like "Professional Journey" or "Academic Background." The ATS is programmed to recognize the standard terms hiring managers expect, and being creative won’t help you here.
• Saving your resume in the right format. Send your resume as a PDF. It’s the best file format to keep your formatting and design intact, regardless of what device or software the hiring manager uses to open it. However, older ATS models might need a DOC or DOCX version of your resume instead. In that case, the application form or job description will usually specify that you have to send your resume as a Word file instead.

#8. Get Feedback from Others

Your resume may still be lacking even after using an AI tool and editing the output yourself. A fresh pair of eyes on your resume can be just what you need to make sure your application is solid.

Staring and working at the same content for hours can make it easy to miss obvious mistakes or confusing phrasing that would be apparent to someone else. 

Consider asking a friend or trusted coworker to review the final draft of your resume.

You could also ask people in your target industry for feedback, especially if you’re planning on a career change. They know what employers in your field are looking for, and they can spot irrelevant information that you might have thought was important.

Ask your reviewer if anything is difficult to understand. For example, if it’s not clear what you did at a previous job, that's a problem you need to resolve ASAP.

Finally, think about how authentic your resume sounds. Ask your reader if it’s how you would actually talk about your work. If the answer is no, you need some more editing to make it genuinely yours before you can submit it.

#9. Create an AI-Backed Cover Letter

You’re almost there! Now, your resume is polished and ready to go. All your job application needs is a matching cover letter.

And before you complain about how cover letters are difficult to write, consider that hiring managers get hundreds of resumes every day. Even when your resume makes it past the ATS, you’ve got a lot of competition for the role you want. And the quickest way to make an impression is to show that you went the extra mile by including a cover letter.

Writing a cover letter is your chance to directly address the hiring manager before the interview. You can show your personality, explain your motivation, and demonstrate why you’re genuinely excited about this specific role. This puts you leagues ahead of anyone who’s just randomly applying to jobs left and right.

Of course, the best part is that you can easily create a cover letter with AI. After you’ve finished your resume with your preferred AI tool, creating a compelling cover letter is a breeze. You can even use the same chat and similar prompts, just slightly edited to be about a cover letter instead of a resume. So, instead of listing achievements in bullet points, you're telling a story in 2-3 paragraphs about why you're the perfect fit.

Start by choosing one of our cover letter templates. They’re designed to perfectly match your resume for a comprehensive and visually cohesive job application!

Our AI-backed cover letter maker can help you generate the perfect cover letter in just a few clicks, so you don’t need to stress.

Key Takeaways

You just made it to the end of our article. High five!

Well, you know all there is to know about whether you should use AI to write a resume and how to use it if necessary.

But before you go land that dream job, let's just do a quick recap:

• You can use AI to write your resume as long as you use it as an assistant, not a replacement. Using AI correctly can give you an advantage, but relying on it too much can lead to a resume that reads flat. 
• AI can be really good at optimizing your writing, but it can never capture your voice completely. You need to do some heavy editing to make it sound natural and reflect who you are.
• Start with a professional resume template before you generate any content. AI still can't perfect visual design at a click, so we recommend you choose one of our ATS-friendly resume templates so you can paste the output there.
• Tailor every application to the specific job by asking the AI to optimize keywords. Generic resumes get rejected, and you can use AI to quickly customize yours to every job ad.