A New Age For Resumes? A Discussion.

I’ll be the first to admit it: I’m a dinosaur when it comes to technology.  I’m rarely on any social media and when I think of “new technology” I actually think of using the brand new Apple IIe computer in my elementary school to play the DOS version of Oregon Trail (man, that was cool)!

I recently saw a social media post about the demise of resumes.  The post argued that because Chat GPT and other artificial intelligence apps can draft resumes for you, no one should ever have to worry about drafting their own resume again.  Not only are these computer generated documents specifically tailored to a position, they are drafted using the actual job description (which you feed into the computer algorithm). 

 After playing around a bit on one of the websites, I’m not sure what to think.  The technology looks impressive, but the initial results are extremely raw and MUST be revised heavily by HUMAN eyes.  Additionally, the results put the resume into a format that is better suited for the business community, NOT a legal resume.  As we’ve discussed, legal resumes are nuanced and different from a traditional resume.  The formats they suggest are far too flashy and contain sections in a resume that have no place in a legal resume (I’m looking at you, objective section and emojis in the headings).  That said, it is just a matter of time before the AI learns about legal resumes and hones in on the appropriate format. 

 The other thing that is nagging at me is that the resume serves as your first writing sample to a potential legal employer.   It is an example of your work.  Sure, it can (and should,) be reviewed by others to get it as close to perfect as possible, but that dinosaur in me is uneasy with presenting a resume that was entirely drafted by someone else (or “something else” as it relates to artificial intelligence). 

 I can imagine a scenario where law firms are going to have to ask the question “was this resume drafted by you” as a gateway question.  I wonder if the writing samples attorneys provide will be under the same scrutiny.

 Certainly, not all employers will care about how the resume was generated.  If it is accurate and is an honest reflection of an attorney’s work history and summary of their skills, it may not matter.  Some employers may applaud the creativity of using AI to draft a legal resume, just as many firms are exploring how AI can be used to draft legal briefs. 

 But others will care.  And this rift in the market will be one more area where communication between an employer, a candidate and a recruiter will be important. 

 We will be keeping a close eye on the trend to have resumes drafted by a computer.  Will they stick, or will they go the way of the DOS-based computer game and fade from memory?  Time will tell.