Our analysis of 31,000 resumes reveals that 83% of recruiters favor tailored applications.
Resume tailoring is important because it helps you pass ATS screening, brings attention to your core skills, and conveys your genuine interest in the role to hiring managers.
However, it can be a time-consuming process and this is where artificial intelligence comes in. AI has optimized job search and hiring in various ways. It's particularly useful when it comes to tailoring your resume to job descriptions.
In this guide, we’ll explore ways to improve your resume with AI-powered tools so you can not only save time but also get more interview calls.
Key takeaways
- AI tools can significantly speed up resume tailoring.
- Don’t rely on them entirely, review your content.
- Apply the feedback strategically and improve upon it.
- AI tailoring is worth it even if you think you already have a pretty good resume.
- Recruiters expect applicants to use LLMs but disapprove of generic resumes.
How AI can help you tailor your resume
AI tools, specifically large language models (LLM), can perform complex tasks in mere seconds. Leveraging their speed to target job descriptions will save you a ton of time and effort.
Let’s take a closer look at how they can assist you.
AI-driven job description analysis
You can task an AI to analyze a job description and detect important details about the role.
These include:
- Key skills and competencies
- Required experience level
- Specific industry jargon
AI content optimization
After analysis, AI can help you write a resume that targets the job description.
Here you can prompt it to apply resume-writing best practices, such as:
- Polishing writing and maintaining a professional tone.
- Making accomplishments more impactful through action verbs.
- Quantifying your achievements with numbers and metrics.
Another great use of AI is that it can analyze your work history and identify transferable skills. This is especially useful when you don’t have direct experience for the role you’re applying for.
You see, the secret to bringing out the full potential of LLMs is mastering prompts. The more complex and nuanced the prompt, the better response you’ll get.
AI-powered resume builder
Enhancv’s AI resume builder gives you everything you need to tailor your content to the job posting.
Here’s what’s waiting for you:
- Readability check
- Content suggestions
- Experience and skills analysis
- Instant comparison to job descriptions
You also benefit from professionally designed ATS-friendly resume templates and a multitude of customization capabilities.
Imagine how much better your polished resume will appear next to the typo-ridden, poorly formatted documents of other applicants.
Speaking of comparisons, now’s the perfect time to upload your document to our AI resume checker to see what can be improved.
Is your resume good enough?
Drop your resume here or choose a file. PDF & DOCX only. Max 2MB file size.
How to tailor your resume to a job description using AI
Not sure how to approach resume tailoring with AI? Don’t worry, we got you covered. With most tools, it’s generally the same straightforward process and we’ve broken it down into five simple steps so you’ll always know what to expect.
- Upload: Provide the AI of your choosing with your resume and the job description you’ll be targeting. Most tools allow you to upload files or directly paste text.
- Initial analysis: Prompt the tool to analyze the information and give you a report with improvement suggestions.
- Feedback: Read the report carefully and consider what improvements are applicable.
- Content optimization: Task the AI to rework the content of your resume accordingly.
- Review: Read the response and adjust the information if necessary.
To better understand this process, let’s look at an example.
First, here’s a mock job ad.
Financial Analyst
Location: New York, NY
Company Profile
Summit Capital Advisors is a leading financial consulting firm specializing in investment strategies, risk management, and corporate financial planning. Headquartered in New York City, we work with Fortune 500 companies and fast-growing startups to optimize their financial performance. Our firm thrives on analytical excellence, strategic insights, and a collaborative team environment.
We are seeking a Financial Analyst to join our dynamic team. This role is ideal for someone with strong analytical skills, financial modeling expertise, and a keen ability to translate data into actionable business insights.
Responsibilities
- Conduct in-depth financial analysis to evaluate company performance, identify trends, and forecast future financial health.
- Develop financial models to support investment decisions, budgeting, and strategic planning initiatives.
- Analyze market trends and industry data to provide recommendations on competitive positioning and risk mitigation strategies.
- Prepare financial reports and presentations for senior management, ensuring clarity and accuracy in all financial communications.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to assess financial implications of business strategies and operational changes.
- Monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) and provide insights on financial efficiency and cost-saving opportunities.
- Assist in the preparation of quarterly and annual financial statements, ensuring compliance with GAAP and regulatory standards.
- Support the budgeting and forecasting processes, providing data-driven recommendations to optimize resource allocation.
- Evaluate investment opportunities and conduct due diligence on potential acquisitions or strategic partnerships.
- Work closely with senior leadership to drive data-driven decision-making and financial strategy development.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in finance, accounting, economics, or a related field (MBA or CFA preferred).
- 3+ years of experience in financial analysis, investment banking, or corporate finance.
- Proficiency in Excel, financial modeling, and data visualization tools (e.g., Power BI, Tableau).
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to interpret complex financial data.
- Experience with financial reporting standards (GAAP, IFRS) and regulatory compliance.
- Exceptional communication and presentation skills, with the ability to convey complex financial concepts clearly.
- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
- Strong attention to detail and a proactive, strategic mindset.
For easy reference, we’ve highlighted the specific parts of the job posting that we’re going to target. These are the keywords that the AI deemed most important so we want to have them in our resume.
After that, we used Enhancv’s AI resume builder to create a resume experience section that’s perfectly tailored to the job description above.
03/2019 - Present 
- •Conduct in-depth financial analysis to identify cost-saving opportunities, leading to a 12% reduction in operational expenses in 2024.
- •Develop financial models that have improved forecasting accuracy by 30%, enabling more efficient capital allocation and growth planning.
- •Analyze market trends and industry data to optimize investment strategies, directly contributing to a 20% increase in portfolio performance.
- •Prepare financial reports and presentations for executive leadership, reducing reporting time by 25% while improving decision-making clarity.
- •Collaborate with cross-functional teams to assess the financial impact of business strategies, supporting a $75M expansion initiative.
06/2016 - 02/2019 - •Monitored key performance indicators (KPIs) and implemented tracking systems that improved financial efficiency by 18%.
- •Assisted in the preparation of quarterly and annual financial statements, ensuring 100% compliance with GAAP and SEC regulations.
- •Supported budgeting and forecasting processes, reducing budget variances by 12% through data-driven insights.
- •Evaluated investment opportunities and conducted due diligence, contributing to $25M in successful acquisitions.
- •Worked closely with senior leadership to develop financial strategies that increased profitability by 10% year-over-year.
If you read the content carefully, you’ll notice that we used action verbs and quantified achievements to draw attention and convey competence.
You can use the same approach in your resume’s skills section:
As you can see, the AI paired each skill with a specific quantifiable achievement to show what the applicant is capable of.
Tips for effective AI-assisted resume tailoring
AI tools are fast at analyzing and writing text but the responses they produce aren't always perfect. Sometimes there are mistakes or misalignments with the prompts you give them.
So here’s what you can do to maximize their effectiveness.
Focus on keywords and skills
Make sure your resume includes the keywords and skills identified by the AI. These elements are crucial to pass ATS systems and grab the attention of hiring managers.
However, do your best to use them naturally in your content and within the context of your competence.
PRO TIP
Don’t stuff your document with keywords. It won’t help with ATS screening and it certainly won’t impress hiring managers. Also, make sure that the AI-generated content you put on your resume is truthful and corresponds to your competencies. Otherwise, you run the risk of unintentionally lying on your resume.
Tailor your resume beyond keywords
While using keywords on your resume is important, taking the time to tailor it according to your unique views on the role adds tremendous value. Customizing your content beyond keywords ensures your resume leaves a lasting impression:
- Align with the industry, company, and role: Incorporate relevant terminology and address specific challenges to demonstrate competence.
- Use formatting and design strategically: Keep your document simple and easy to read. Use headers and bullets for each section and avoid complex elements like graphics and tables.
- Have a compelling summary: Write a powerful opening statement, telling who you are as a professional and what value you bring to the role.
- Keep your experience concise and relevant: List only your most recent and relevant jobs. Outline your most impressive achievements that align with the role.
Don't rely on AI alone
You should think of AI feedback as a starting point. It’ll quickly provide you with usable content but remember that it’s not a substitute for your own judgement.
This is why you should carefully review the information and adjust it if necessary before you put it on your resume.
Frequently asked questions
If you’re new to using AI for your resume, then you might have a few questions in mind. Here are some helpful answers that users usually want to know.
Is using AI to tailor my resume going to hurt my chances if recruiters find out?
No. Recruiters are well aware of AI’s prevalence in resume building. Still, they won’t be particularly impressed if your content is generic and uninspired so make sure to add a personal touch.
Are there any free AI resume tailoring tools available?
You can use the free versions of LLMs such as Google’s Gemini, or ChatGPT. They’re great at following prompts and writing text. However, you’ll have to copy the content and put it in your document manually. Don’t forget to make sure your resume is properly formatted.
Can AI help me write my resume from scratch?
Yes, some AI tools can completely guide you through the process of writing your resume. Simply prompt them and ask for instructions, then follow their guidance.
Conclusion
AI tools can help you tailor your resume to a job description and save you time. However, it’s best to use them strategically and not rely on them entirely. Always review your resume content after using AI and improve upon it based on your experience and knowledge.
Make one that's truly you.
