Beyond AI: What Your Job Search Really Needs
When I talk with job seekers these days, one of the first things that comes up is AI.
“Should I use ChatGPT to write my cover letter? Can it help me with my resume?”
The answer is yes – to a point. AI can be a powerful tool for organizing your thoughts, highlighting keywords, and helping you polish up a draft.
But AI won’t tell your story for you. It won’t give you the confidence to introduce yourself to a new contact, or the clarity to explain why you care about the work you want to do next.
And right now, when the market feels both overwhelming and competitive, that human side of the job search matters more than ever.
This is a tough job market, especially in the social sector. Many organizations are slowing their hiring or making cuts, competition for each role is higher, and job seekers are understandably anxious.
I hear from people who are sending out dozens of applications without hearing back, or who feel pressure to apply to any role just to keep momentum going. It’s discouraging, and it makes it tempting to lean on shortcuts like AI.
But the people who stand out in this environment aren’t necessarily applying to the most jobs. They’re the ones who have clarity about what they want, tell compelling stories about their impact, and build connections that open the right doors.
Throughout my career as a nonprofit leader, consultant, and coach, I’ve seen that the most successful job searchers are not the ones with the prettiest résumé or the most applications. They’re the ones who are rooted in clarity, authenticity, and connection.
How AI Can Help Your Job Search
Let’s start with the good news: AI can definitely play a role in making your job search easier. The key is knowing where it adds value, and where it doesn’t. Here are three smart ways you can use it:
1. Organize job descriptions
AI is great at sorting through job postings and pulling out the essentials. You can paste a job description into ChatGPT and ask it to highlight the top skills or requirements. You can even compare two postings side by side to see where they overlap. This helps bring efficiency so you can focus your energy on what really matters in the role.
2. Brainstorm story prompts for interview prep
One of the hardest parts of interviews is coming up with examples on the spot. You can use AI as a practice partner: paste in a job description and ask it to generate potential interview questions. Then you can reflect and prepare strong examples from your past that align with the questions.
3. Polish application materials
AI can also help you refine your résumé bullet points or strengthen the content of your cover letters. If you have a rough draft, ask it to smooth out the wording or adjust the tone. Think of it as a writing assistant that can help you get unstuck (we use it to fine tune our communications too!).
I’ve seen clients have the best success when they use AI to speed up the basics of the search, like pulling skills out of job descriptions. But when they’ve asked AI to write their applications, the content is too generic and dry. The real magic comes from weaving in why a mission resonates or what impact they’re most proud of – things no robot can supply.
The Limits of AI
As helpful as AI can be, it has very real limits. It can’t give you clarity about what you actually want in your next role. It can’t help you feel grounded and confident when you’re asked, “Tell me about yourself.” And it won’t give you the courage to reach out to someone you admire on LinkedIn.
In today’s market, I’ve noticed that many job seekers fall into the “apply everywhere” approach. When you’re anxious or discouraged, it’s natural to want to send out as many applications as possible, hoping one will land. And AI can make this easier: you can generate applications quickly and submit dozens of applications in a day.
But employers can tell when materials are generic, and you can start to feel more drained with every silence or rejection.
More applications don’t necessarily lead to better results; in fact, they often lead to more frustration.
As an example, one of my clients had applied to hundreds of jobs and was feeling very burnt out. She didn’t want to close doors or limit her options, so she was casting a very wide net.
When we slowed down and narrowed in on two potential pathways that truly matched her strengths, she was able to efficiently tailor her materials to those pathways and spend more time reaching out to people in her network with a clear story and ask. Within a month, she landed interviews at two organizations – a completely different result.
What Your Job Search Really Needs
So if AI isn’t the whole answer, what is? Over and over, I see four human-centered practices that make all the difference in a job search.
1. Clarity and Strategy
Before you send another application, take time to get clear on what you really want. What kind of role excites you? What issues or causes do you want to contribute to? What type of environment helps you thrive? Without this, it’s easy to drift from one application to the next, never knowing whether you’re actually moving in the right direction. I always say: slow down and get clear on what you really want, before you speed up.
2. Storytelling
Employers don’t just want to know what you’ve done. They want to know who you are as a professional, and how your unique approach and skillset would make you a great fit for their opportunity. Think about the moments of impact you’re most proud of. What challenges did you face? What strengths did you bring? What changed because of your work? These stories are the best way to communicate what you’re able to bring as a prospective hire in a way that sticks.
3. Networking
This is the step that many people fear or avoid, and it’s also one of the most powerful. Networking doesn’t have to mean cold-calling strangers. It’s about building authentic connections, learning from others, and letting your enthusiasm for the work shine through in conversation. It’s important because the best opportunities come from relationships, not job boards. And a networking strategy focused on real conversations instead of scrolling also helps you find work environments that are truly aligned to your values - something you can’t find just through online research.
4. Mindset
Finally, mindset is what sustains you through the ups and downs. Job searching is inherently stressful. Rejections happen. Ghosting happens. Without a resilient mindset, and a supportive community around you, it’s easy to lose motivation. That’s why I love being part of the team at Careers for Social Impact, where I’ve worked with hundreds of job seekers as they envision and work towards their next professional move, with the support of our broader community of social impact professionals.
These four practices are core to the Career Transition phase of our Career Navigation Framework. Once you’ve built clarity about what you want, Career Transition is where you put that vision into action through focused strategy, compelling storytelling, and authentic networking.
Bringing It All Together
AI is a helpful tool, but it’s not the magic solution. It can support your process, but it can’t replace the deeper work of job searching: the clarity, storytelling, networking, and mindset that help you show up authentically and confidently.
If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed, or sending out more and more applications without hearing back, know that many others are experiencing the same challenges. The job market is tough right now, and it’s easy to get discouraged.
The good news is, you don’t have to navigate this process on your own. That’s why I’m so excited to be leading Job Search Jumpstart, our 5-week group coaching program starting September 30.
It’s a space where we’ll talk about how to use AI effectively – but more importantly, we’ll focus on the things AI can’t do for you. You’ll get the clarity, accountability, and community you need to move forward in your search.
If you’re ready to stop spinning your wheels and start building momentum, I’d love for you to join us. Together, we can make your search more focused, confident, and sustainable.
Maelle Fonteneau
About The Author
Maelle Fonteneau is a career and leadership coach with over 15 years of experience in the social sector. She works with social impact leaders to clarify their purpose and help navigate the job search process.
