About AI & Your Career
Artificial intelligence is changing how we learn, work, and build careers. Learn how to use AI thoughtfully and effectively to explore career possibilities, develop career-ready skills, prepare application materials, and get ready for the evolving workplace.
AI can be a helpful career tool, but it should support your thinking, not replace it. Use AI to brainstorm, practice, research, and get feedback while keeping your experiences, perspectives, and authentic voice at the center of your career journey.
Explore TritonGPT
TritonGPT is UC San Diego’s secure, campus-supported generative AI tool. Use TritonGPT to experiment with AI and practice applying it to your career development, from exploring career options and researching industries to preparing for interviews and refining application materials.
Explore Careers with AI
Not sure what you can do with your major, interests, or skills? AI can help you brainstorm career possibilities and learn more about industries and roles you may want to explore.
Try AI to:
- Explore careers related to your major, interests, and skills
- Identify potential job titles and career pathways
- Research industries and emerging career opportunities
- Identify skills employers seek in your field
- Generate questions to guide conversations with professionals
Remember: AI recommendations are a starting point. Talk with a Career Specialist and conduct additional research before making career decisions.
Build Your Resume & Application Materials
AI can help you strengthen and tailor your application materials, but your resume and cover letter should always accurately represent your own experiences and accomplishments.
Use AI to:
- Identify keywords and skills in a job description
- Brainstorm accomplishment-focused resume statements
- Review your resume for clarity and organization
- Identify areas where your resume could be strengthened
- Brainstorm and refine a cover letter
- Practice tailoring your materials to a specific opportunity
Before you submit: Review every suggestion for accuracy and make sure the final product sounds like you.
Prepare for Interviews
AI can give you a low-pressure way to practice before an interview and help you become more comfortable communicating your experiences.
Use AI to:
- Generate practice interview questions
- Conduct a mock interview
- Practice behavioral questions using the STAR or SAR method
- Receive feedback on your responses
- Develop questions to ask an employer
- Practice explaining your skills and experiences
Pro tip: Don't memorize AI-generated answers. Practice communicating your experiences naturally and develop your own responses.
Network with Confidence
AI can help you prepare for networking conversations and professional communication.
Use AI to:
- Develop and refine your elevator pitch
- Draft a LinkedIn headline or professional summary
- Prepare questions for informational interviews
- Practice introducing yourself to an employer
- Brainstorm follow-up messages after networking events
- Research industries and professional organizations
Your relationships are personal: Use AI to prepare, but make sure your communication reflects your own voice and genuine interests.
Learn to Prompt Effectively
Better prompts lead to better results.
When using AI for career development, provide enough context for the tool to understand your goal. Instead of asking:
“Help me with my resume.”
Try:
“Review my resume against this job description. Identify five skills or keywords the employer is seeking and suggest where I could better highlight experiences I actually have. Do not invent experience or qualifications.”
A simple prompting formula: Goal + Context + Task + Constraints
For example:
- Goal: Prepare for an interview
- Context: Undergraduate student applying for a marketing internship
- Task: Generate five behavioral interview questions
- Constraints: Focus on teamwork, communication, and problem-solving
Use AI Responsibly: AI can be powerful, but it isn't always accurate, unbiased, or appropriate for every situation.
Protect your privacy: Never enter sensitive personal information, confidential employer information, or other private data into an AI tool unless you understand how the tool uses and stores your information.
Check for accuracy: AI can produce incorrect or outdated information. Verify important information using reliable sources.
Watch for bias: AI systems can reflect biases in the data used to train them. Consider multiple perspectives and question recommendations that may make assumptions about you or your career.
Keep your voice
Don't submit AI-generated content without reviewing and revising it. Your experiences, ideas, personality, and perspective are what make your application unique.
Use AI as a tool—not a replacement
Career decisions require reflection, judgment, and human connection. AI can help you prepare, but it cannot replace conversations with Career Specialist, mentors, faculty, employers, and other professionals.
Build AI Career Readiness
AI isn't just changing how you search for jobs, it's changing the workplace.
Regardless of your major or career field, developing the ability to work effectively with AI can be an important part of career readiness. Explore how AI is being used in your field, identify emerging skills employers value, and look for opportunities to develop and demonstrate your ability to use technology thoughtfully and effectively.
Ask yourself:
- How is AI changing work in my field?
- What AI-related skills are employers seeking?
- How can I demonstrate responsible use of AI?
- What human skills, such as communication, critical thinking, creativity, teamwork, and leadership, will remain important?
- How can I continue learning as technology evolves?
AI-Ready Staff
Our Career Specialists are trained in AI and can help you thoughtfully and effectively integrate AI into your career journey. Whether you’re exploring career options, identifying your skills, preparing application materials, practicing for interviews, or researching career pathways, our team can help you leverage AI while keeping your experiences, goals, and authentic voice at the center. Meet with a Career Specialist to learn how to use AI as a tool for career exploration, preparation, and decision-making.
AI Is Changing the Job Search
Recent research highlighted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) shows that students are using AI to support their own job searches.
60%+ of students surveyed have used generative AI to help write or edit their resumes and cover letters.
48% have used AI to prepare for interviews.
AI Insiders
Business Higher Education Forum
- How to Build an AI-Resilient Workforce (PDF)
- Future-Proofing Talent in an AI-Powered World: A Sharp Competitive Advantage
Jeremy Schifeling
Jeremy is an AI career strategist and former LinkedIn insider who helps professionals and students use AI tools to accelerate job searches and career growth.
