AI for Writing Your CV: The Good, The Bad, and The Ridiculous

AI can help you write a CV that stands out. But if you use it wrong, you can also end up with something so generic it goes straight to the trash. Here’s the good, the bad, and the ridiculous.

The Good: When AI Actually Helps

Turning Vague Descriptions Into Strong Ones — You: “Managed projects.” AI: “Led cross-functional projects from conception to completion, coordinating 15+ team members across marketing, sales, and operations.” Much better.

Organizing Your Experience Logically — If you’re scattered, AI helps structure your CV so it actually flows. It groups related accomplishments, highlights impact over busy-work.

Tailoring for Different Jobs — Same experience, different emphasis. Applying for a leadership role? AI emphasizes your team management. Sales role? It highlights your revenue impact.

The Bad: Common Mistakes

Using It Without Editing — AI generates text that sounds professional but generic. You have to review and inject YOUR voice and specific details. If you don’t, your CV reads like it was written by a robot (because it was).

Too Much Buzzword Stuffing — AI sometimes overloads CVs with corporate jargon. “Leveraged synergistic paradigms to optimize stakeholder engagement.” Recruiters hate this. Your CV gets filtered out.

Losing Your Real Achievements — If you describe your job vaguely to AI, it creates vague output. “Worked in marketing” becomes “Executed strategic marketing initiatives.” That’s still vague. You need to feed AI specific details first.

The Ridiculous: What to Avoid

Don’t let AI:

Make up experience you don’t have (yes, people do this)
Exaggerate your role or accomplishments
Use buzzwords from AI when you should use industry-specific terms
Replace your unique value proposition with generic template language

The Right Way to Use AI for Your CV

Write Your Raw Details First — List your jobs, accomplishments, and specific numbers (revenue, team size, projects shipped). Be detailed and honest.
Ask AI to Polish Specific Sections — Give AI your job description and ask: “Make this sound more impactful but keep it honest.” Don’t ask it to write your CV from scratch.
Customize for Each Job — Use AI to adapt your experience to different job postings. Same truth, different angle.
Edit Ruthlessly — Read what AI generates and remove the corporate jargon. Inject your actual voice.