Many burned-out employees have probably dreamed of hiring a career counselor or resume writer. Now LinkedIn is rolling out human-powered chats with AI generative career experts. Other recent AI tools available on the platform will aid people write CVs and cover letters or assess their qualifications for posted job vacancies.
LinkedIn has improved its generative artificial intelligence tools over the past year and intends to incorporate the technology into even more of its offerings. On Thursday, the career site announced recent features such as pilot access to AI-powered expert advice, interactive chat to enable feedback in LinkedIn courses, and other AI features that can be used to search and apply for jobs for premium users in English . The changes demonstrate LinkedIn’s massive efforts to leverage generative artificial intelligence. (LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft, which has invested heavily in OpenAI, which in turn powers the platform’s AI offerings). As LinkedIn continues to strive to become more than just a job site, people can spend time there socializing or learning recent skills through video courses.
The idea behind some of these AI tools is to enable people to develop their skills and apply to more jobs that match their experience, rather than mass disseminating CVs. “We expect AI to help you find the most suitable job faster,” says Gyanda Sachdeva, vice president of product at LinkedIn.
LinkedIn’s AI chatbots will allow premium subscribers to ask career-related questions such as: “How can I negotiate my salary?” The chatbots are trained in classes with real trainers who are paid by LinkedIn to repackage their content. These include AI versions Anil Gupta from the University of Maryland, psychologist and author Gemma Leigh Robertsand career coach Lisa Gates.
Last fall, LinkedIn added AI tools for recruiters to apply conversational language to find job candidates. Earlier this year, the company began rolling out generative artificial intelligence tools that allow job seekers to open a chat window with job descriptions and ask if they’re a good fit for an open position. In turn, they receive AI-generated feedback on how well their skills and experience match, or if there are other skills they should add to their profiles to stand out.
LinkedIn is currently improving some of these features. Premium users can start their job search with a conversational question such as “Find me an engineering job in Texas that pays at least $110,000.” They can then apply generative AI to write cover letters and CVs, tailoring them to specific positions, and apply it to send messages to hiring managers or search for a job. WIRED tested the cover letter writing feature and found that the tool was able to coherently synthesize the experiences of a reporter listed on LinkedIn and the job posting, but more editing may be necessary to make the letter truly stand out as direct examples of past work.