How to Use AI to Write a CV That Gets Interviews

A CV has one job: to get you an interview. Most recruiters skim each one quickly, so yours needs to show, at a glance, that you can do the job in the advert. That’s hard to do when you’re staring at a list of past duties and trying to make them sound impressive without stretching the truth.

AI is very good at the fiddly parts of CV writing: turning vague duties into clear achievements, matching your wording to a job advert, cutting waffle and checking consistency. It is not good at knowing what you actually did, so you stay in charge of the facts. Set aside an hour for your first version and about 15 minutes to tailor it for each new application.

What you’ll need

• Your current CV, or a rough list of jobs with dates, main duties and anything you’re proud of
• The job advert or person specification for the role you want
• Numbers where you have them: budgets, customers served, targets hit, time saved
• An AI chatbot (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Grok) and a word processor
• About an hour for the master CV, then 15 minutes per application

Step-by-step: write your CV with AI

1. Collect the raw material. Write down every role, with dates, what you were responsible for and any results. Don’t worry about wording. Remove your address, phone number and email before pasting anything into a chatbot; you can add them back at the end.
2. Find what the employer wants. Paste the job advert and ask the AI to list the essential and desirable skills, the key words that keep coming up and the three things this employer seems to care about most (prompt 1).
3. Turn duties into achievements. “Responsible for social media” says little. “Grew the Instagram account from 800 to 3,000 followers in a year by posting three times a week” says a lot. Ask the AI to rewrite each role as three to five bullet points that start with a strong verb and show a result (prompt 2). If you don’t have a number, it should ask you rather than make one up.
4. Write a short profile. Two or three lines at the top that say who you are, what you’re good at and what you’re looking for. Ask the AI for three versions and pick the one that sounds most like you.
5. Choose a simple layout. Name and contact details, profile, key skills, work history (most recent first), education and training, then anything extra such as languages or volunteering. Plain fonts and clear headings are easier for people and for applicant tracking systems.
6. Tailor for each job. Ask the AI to compare your CV with the advert and suggest which bullet points to move up, reword or cut (prompt 3). Use the employer’s language where it’s honestly true for you.
7. Proofread properly. Ask for a check of spelling, tense consistency, date gaps and repeated words (prompt 4), then read it aloud yourself. A friend’s eyes are still the best final check.

Copy-paste prompts

1. Decode the job advert

Here is a job advert: [PASTE ADVERT]
List the essential skills, the desirable skills and the words or phrases that appear most often. Then tell me the three things this employer seems to care about most, and what evidence a strong candidate would show on their CV for each.

2. Rewrite my experience as achievements

Here are my roles and notes (personal details removed): [PASTE JOBS, DATES AND NOTES]
For each role, write 3–5 CV bullet points in UK English. Start each with a strong verb, keep each under 25 words and focus on results rather than duties. Do not invent numbers or achievements. If a result would be stronger with a figure, ask me for it and mark the gap with [ADD FIGURE].

3. Tailor my CV to this role

Compare my CV with this job advert.
CV: [PASTE CV]
Advert: [PASTE ADVERT]
Show me a table of the advert's main requirements and where my CV gives evidence for each (or "missing"). Then suggest which bullet points to move higher, which to reword using the advert's language where it's truthful, and what to cut to keep it to two pages.

4. Final check

Proofread this CV for spelling, grammar, inconsistent tenses (past roles in past tense, current role in present), date gaps or overlaps, repeated words and anything that sounds vague. List each issue with a suggested fix. Don't rewrite the whole thing.
[PASTE CV]

Recommended tools

• Claude: careful with your wording and good at tightening long bullet points without losing meaning.
• ChatGPT: good for decoding adverts and producing several versions of a profile quickly.
• Gemini: handy if your CV lives in Google Docs.
• Grok: quick for brainstorming strong verbs and alternative phrasing.
• Microsoft Copilot in Word: can help rewrite sections inside your existing document.
• A plain CV template in Word or Google Docs: simple, single-column layouts work best.

Tips and mistakes to avoid

• Never let AI invent experience. Anything on your CV can come up at interview. If you can’t talk about it confidently, it shouldn’t be there.
• Remove personal details before pasting. Names, addresses, phone numbers and references don’t need to go into a chatbot.
• Avoid AI clichés. Phrases like “results-driven professional” and “passionate self-starter” are everywhere. Ask the AI to replace them with specific evidence.
• Keep it to two pages. One page is fine for school leavers and graduates. Recruiters rarely need more than two.
• Don’t send the same CV everywhere. A quick tailoring pass for each application makes a real difference.
• Explain gaps simply. A short line such as “Career break to care for a family member” is enough. AI can help you word it neutrally.
• Save as PDF unless asked otherwise. It keeps your formatting intact, but follow any instructions in the advert.

FAQ

Can recruiters tell if my CV was written by AI?

They can often spot generic, buzzword-heavy text. The fix is to give the AI real detail and edit the result in your own voice. A CV full of specific, true achievements doesn’t read like AI, whoever helped with the wording.

Should I put a photo or date of birth on my CV?

In the UK, no. Photos, age, marital status and nationality usually aren’t expected, and leaving them out helps avoid bias. Other countries have different conventions, so check local norms if you’re applying abroad.

How do I write a CV with no work experience?

Lead with education, skills and anything practical: volunteering, school projects, part-time work, clubs or caring responsibilities. Ask the AI to help you describe these as evidence of skills like teamwork, reliability and organisation.

Here is a job advert: [PASTE ADVERT]
List the essential skills, the desirable skills and the words or phrases that appear most often. Then tell me the three things this employer seems to care about most, and what evidence a strong candidate would show on their CV for each.

Related guides

• How to use AI to write a cover letter (that doesn’t sound like AI)
• How to use AI to prepare for a job interview
• How to use AI to write professional emails faster

Reference: National Careers Service: How to write a CV