Creating an entry-level resume as a student or recent graduate and breaking into your career field can be daunting.
Since you don’t yet have ample work experience, you might feel like you’re trying to fill a mug when there’s not enough coffee in the pot.
The good news is that you don’t have to handle the resume writing chore alone.
Advanced resume tools powered by artificial intelligence (AI) can give you the boost you need to create an outstanding resume.
These tools can help you organize your information, optimize for keywords, and tailor your application to specific job postings. Below are five of our favorite AI resume tools.
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ResumeGiants
ResumeGiants free resume builder lets you upload your existing resume or create a new one, then enhance it with AI-generated phrases powered by ChatGPT. How does it work?
When you get to the Experience section, you’ll be prompted to enter your job title or position as well as your industry. You’ll then receive generated content that you can customize. Additionally, the tools can analyze your resume content in real time and suggest ways to optimize your keywords.
I asked ResumeGiants to help me describe my role as a Content Writer. Here’s what I got:
- Detail-oriented content writer with over five years of experience in creating engaging online articles, blog posts, and marketing content.
- Proficient in SEO best practices, ensuring high visibility and better search engine rankings for clients’ websites.
- Skilled in adapting tone and style to fit various brand voices while maintaining clarity and creativity in every piece.
I would need to edit the “five years of experience” to reflect my actual tenure, but otherwise, I found the generated content to be engaging, descriptive, clear, and brief—everything bullet point descriptions should be.
ResumeGiants also includes a built-in resume checker and templates specifically tailored for students and entry-level roles, making it beginner-friendly. This is especially useful if you’re a student or grad just entering the workforce and creating your own resume for the first time.
What are the Best Free AI Tools for Students?
ResumeCoach
ResumeCoach uses a similar system to generate resume content with AI. Again, you’ll be asked to input your job title and industry.
How does it compare to ResumeGiants? I found the AI text to be equally proficient. I especially liked the phrase, “Skilled in conducting thorough research to ensure accuracy and depth in every piece of content produced.”
In addition to its resume builder, ResumeCoach also offers:
- An AI skills generator to identify in-demand skills based on your target role
- An AI resume summary generator to write strong opening sections
- A resume checker to improve your finished product
- An AI cover letter generator to help you create customized job applications
ResumeCoach’s ability to help with both resumes and cover letters makes it a full-suite AI resume solution for grads and job seekers.
Teal
Teal is the self-proclaimed “leading AI resume builder.” Its resume checker and job matching offer real-time feedback and an instant job match score. AI can assist you in editing your summaries, bullet points, and cover letters.
One of Teal’s unique abilities is using a drag-and-drop editor “to select which work experiences to include in each resume.” In other words, you can decide which relevant experiences to pull from a master resume to create tailored, application-specific resumes. Then, you can use the checker to see which combination makes you the best fit.
Teal also offers Chrome extensions that let you save job listings from sites like LinkedIn and then automatically tailor your resume for each one.
Canva
Canva is best known for its “pretty” resume templates, and there are thousands of them to choose from. It’s especially useful if you’re in a creative field and want to show off your artistic or graphic design skills.
But Canva has also stayed ahead of the game when it comes to AI-powered tools. As early as 2019, it launched an AI-enhanced background remover tool to remove “noisy” backgrounds from pictures. That way, you can turn that really good selfie or snapshot into a professional-looking passport photo or headshot.
More recently, Canva introduced Magic Studio, a suite of AI design tools. For example, Magic Media is a text-to-image generator. Want a special bullet for your job descriptions? You’ve got it. A background that subtly complements your field? Describe it, and Canva will make it for you.
You can also use tools like Magic Write for AI content suggestions to help you brainstorm and draft resume content. With Magic Design, you can get a “sneak peek” at what your design might look like when completed, previewing a complete design based on a few simple inputs. In other words, you can guide Canva’s AI tools in creating a totally unique, one-of-a-kind resume template for you.
In short, students and grads can use Canva to combine visual polish with AI-generated text, perfect for building resumes that stand out.
Grammarly
As a student, you’re probably already familiar with Grammarly. It can be a lifesaver when you’re completing last-minute homework or intensive term papers. You should also use it to proofread your resume.
Grammarly’s free version will highlight spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes, as well as suggest simple rewordings. A Pro subscription will unlock a full range of AI-powered tools, like the Paraphrasing Tool, which can help you reword content inspiration that you’ve drawn from elsewhere.
Grammarly’s tone suggestions and clarity improvements can make your resume more professional and easier to scan—two must-haves when applying for jobs.
ChatGPT
ChatGPT is the AI text generator used to power some of the tools mentioned above. You can go right to the source for in-depth resume suggestions and editing.
How can ChatGPT help with your resume? For example, you can copy/paste your resume into the prompt, followed by “Optimize this resume for this job.” Then, copy/paste the original job description. The result will be suggested edits with keyword optimization. Don’t forget to proofread any AI content for accuracy.
You can also ask ChatGPT to suggest improvements to the clarity, tone, impact, professionalism, style, conciseness, and applicant tracking system (ATS) friendliness.
If you’re having trouble scaling down your job description to a few impactful bullet points, enter what you have, followed by a prompt like “Rewrite my resume bullet points to be more action and results-oriented.”
ChatGPT’s free membership can help you with these tasks, but a paid subscription will help the AI assistant get to know you, your situation, your likes and dislikes, and your writing style even better. With the Pro version of ChatGPT, you can upload multiple resumes and job descriptions and create a personalized system that remembers your career goals.
Additional Tools Worth Exploring
Above, we’ve taken an in-depth look at many of the top AI-powered resume tools on the market today. But with companies scrambling to incorporate AI to make their products better, there are plenty of others worth exploring. These include:
- Kickresume: Combines resume building with career tips and sample resumes, organized by job title. It also includes an AI resume builder and AI cover letter generator, especially helpful for grads looking for examples in their field.
- Jobscan: A powerful resume optimization tool that uses AI to compare your resume to job descriptions and improve keyword matching for ATS systems. The free version offers limited scans per month.
- Zety: A user-friendly resume builder that provides pre-written phrases and resume suggestions based on your job title, experience level, and goals. It’s particularly well-suited for entry-level professionals and students.
- Rezi: Uses AI to create optimized, ATS-friendly resumes and cover letters. It also includes a scoring system to measure how well your resume aligns with industry best practices.
These tools vary in complexity and cost, but many offer free trials or student discounts. It’s worth trying a few to see what best fits your job search needs.
Tips for Students and Grads Using AI Tools
AI tools can be of enormous benefit, but it’s up to you to use them responsibly. When using AI:
- Be honest: Don’t let AI overstate your experience. Always fact-check and adjust phrasing to reflect your actual roles and skills.
- Customize everything: Avoid using default AI text without editing. Recruiters can spot generic phrasing instantly.
- Use multiple tools: One tool might offer better formatting, another better content, and a third better matching. Mix and match, and see what works for you.
- Don’t skimp on the design: Use templates that reflect the mindset of your field. A finance resume should look different from a UX designer’s resume, for example.
- Export in the right format: Always save your resume as a PDF unless a job posting specifically asks for another format.
Key Takeaways for the Best Free Ai Resume Tools for Students
AI is a powerful tool. You likely learned to use it as a student, researching, brainstorming, outlining, editing, and proofreading your assignments. You can put that experience to good use as a budding professional when you use AI-powered tools to create and enhance your resume.
You can use AI-powered online resume builders like ResumeGiants, ResumeCoach, Canva, and Teal to integrate AI into the resume-writing process seamlessly. Then, use tools like Grammarly and ChatGPT to double-check and enhance your work.
Remember, it’s up to you to use AI responsibly. Always read AI-generated content before you submit it, making sure it is accurate to your situation. When you do, you’ll create motivating resumes that will help you land the job you want.
By Cara Siera
