How to Use AI to Write a Better CV (Without It Sounding Like a Robot Wrote It)

Your CV is probably not as good as you think it is. I'm sorry. But i review CVs regularly and most of them have the same problems: too long, too vague, full of responsibilities instead of achievements, and written in a voice that sounds nothing like how the person actually talks.

AI can fix most of these problems. But only if you use it correctly. If you hand ChatGPT your career history and say "write me a CV," you'll get something generic and slightly nauseating. You know the type. "Dynamic results-oriented professional with a passion for excellence." Makes you want to throw your laptop.

Here's how to actually do it.

Step 1: Start with what you have

Don't ask AI to write your CV from scratch. That's backwards. Start with your existing CV, even if it's terrible. The raw material is yours. The AI is the editor.

Open Claude or ChatGPT (I prefer Claude for this because the writing quality tends to be more natural, but both work). Paste in your current CV and ask:

"Review this CV and tell me what's weak about it. Be specific and honest."

The feedback will probably sting a bit. That's fine. It's also probably right. Common issues it'll flag: too many responsibilities listed as achievements, inconsistent formatting, too long, missing quantifiable results, unclear career progression.

Step 2: Fix your achievements

This is where AI is genuinely brilliant. Most people are terrible at articulating their own achievements. They write "Managed a team of five" when what they actually did was "Built and led a five-person team that increased customer retention by 23% over 18 months."

Take each role on your CV and do this exercise with AI:

"Here's what I did in my role as [title] at [company]: [dump everything you can remember, in messy informal language]. Help me turn these into achievement-focused bullet points using the format: [Action verb] + [what you did] + [measurable result]. Don't use buzzwords."

The key is giving it raw, honest, informal input. Tell it things like "I basically fixed the reporting system because it was a mess and nobody could find anything." The AI will turn that into something like "Redesigned the department's reporting framework, reducing report generation time from 3 hours to 45 minutes."

That's the kind of transformation you're after. Your words, their structure.

Step 3: Tailor it to each job

Here's where most people waste their time: sending the same CV to every job. AI makes tailoring fast enough that there's no excuse not to do it.

Take the job description, paste it into your AI tool alongside your CV, and ask:

"Compare this job description to my CV. What skills and experiences should I emphasise to be a strong match? What's missing that I should address in my cover letter? Suggest revised bullet points that better align with this role."

This takes five minutes per application. Five minutes. That's the difference between a generic CV that gets filtered out and a targeted one that gets read. If you're job searching with AI tools, this is the most impactful technique there is.

Step 4: Fix the language

Paste your revised CV and try these prompts:

"Remove all buzzwords, clichés, and vague language from this CV. Replace with specific, concrete alternatives."

"Check for consistency in tense, formatting, and style. Flag any inconsistencies."

"Shorten this CV to two pages maximum without losing any significant achievements."

"Read this CV as if you were a hiring manager seeing it for 30 seconds. What stands out? What's unclear? What would make you put it in the 'yes' pile?"

Step 5: The cover letter (yes, you still need one)

I know. Nobody wants to write cover letters. AI makes it bearable.

"Using my CV and this job description, write a cover letter that: is no longer than one page, opens with a specific reason I'm interested in THIS company (not a generic opener), highlights my three most relevant achievements, addresses the key requirements in the job description, ends with a clear call to action. Tone should be professional but personable. British English."

Then edit it. Heavily. Add something personal that AI couldn't know. Why you actually want this job. What specifically about the company appeals to you. A cover letter that's clearly been personalised stands out because... most aren't.

What NOT to do

Don't let AI write the whole thing without your input. Recruiters can spot AI-generated CVs. They all sound the same. They're smooth, generic, and devoid of personality. Your CV needs to sound like you, just a more articulate, better-organised version of you.

Don't include AI-suggested achievements you can't back up in an interview. If AI adds "increased revenue by 35%" based on your vague input about "making things better," and an interviewer asks you to explain that number... you need to be able to explain it.

Don't use AI to add skills you don't have. Listing "proficient in Python" because AI suggested it when you've never written a line of code is a fast track to a very awkward interview.

Don't paste your CV into public AI tools if it contains sensitive information. Your address, phone number, and work history are personal data. Use the tool's privacy settings or strip out identifying details first. Our guide on using AI safely at work covers this.

Don't over-optimise for ATS systems. There's a whole industry around "ATS-friendly CVs" stuffed with keywords. Some keyword awareness is sensible. But a CV that reads like a keyword soup is unpleasant for the human who eventually reads it.

The format question

AI won't fix your CV's format, but it can advise on it. Ask:

"What's the best CV format for someone with [X years of experience] applying for [type of role]? Chronological, functional, or combination? Why?"

Generally: chronological for straightforward career progressions, functional if you're explaining a career change or gap, combination for senior roles.

Keep it to two pages. One page if you're early career. Three pages if you're a professor, which you're probably not.

The one thing to do today: paste your current CV into Claude or ChatGPT and ask for an honest critique. Read the feedback. Fix the single biggest issue it identifies. That one improvement will make your CV better than 80% of the ones competing against it.