AI for job seekers · At home in East Kent or online
Use AI to job hunt well, without inventing anything
AI can compare your CV with a job advert in seconds, suggest sharper wording and play an interviewer you can practise with out loud. It can also write fluent nonsense about experience you don't have. In one lesson at home or online, I'll show you how to use it for the useful parts and keep every application true.
£149 · at home or online
Home visits across Canterbury, Whitstable, Herne Bay, Faversham and Thanet. Evenings and weekends by arrangement.
The honest way to use AI on a CV
AI-written applications tend to look alike: the same polished phrases, and none of the detail that shows what you actually did. So use AI to sharpen your own material rather than replace it. Give it your real CV and the job advert, ask what's missing or unclear, then make the changes yourself.
A rule worth sticking to: if AI suggests a skill, a result or a responsibility, keep it only if you could talk about it for two minutes in an interview. Anything else falls apart at the first follow-up question.
Keep personal details to a minimum. AI doesn't need your home address, phone number, date of birth or National Insurance number to improve a CV, so take them out of the copy you paste in. In ChatGPT you can also switch off model training in the settings, or use a Temporary Chat; Is ChatGPT safe? explains both.
Prompts worth trying, and what to check
| Ask AI to... | Then check... |
|---|---|
| Compare my CV with this job advert and list the gaps | That you don't fill a gap with something you haven't done. |
| Rewrite this bullet point to show the result, not just the task | That any numbers it adds are real ones you can stand behind. |
| Suggest five questions this employer might ask me | The employer's own website and recent news, so your answers are current. |
| Draft a cover letter using only the facts in my CV | That it sounds like you. Read it aloud and change anything you wouldn't say. |
| Summarise what this company does and who its customers are | Every fact against the company's own site, since AI can mix up firms with similar names. |
| Explain this job title in plain English | With someone who does the job if you can, because titles mean different things in different firms. |
These work in ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude or Copilot.
Practising an interview out loud
Voice chat is included free in ChatGPT, and Gemini Live is free in the Gemini app (checked October 2026), so you can rehearse by speaking rather than typing.
- Set the sceneTell it the job, the employer and the type of interview, and ask it to play the interviewer, one question at a time.
- Answer as you would on the daySpeak in full sentences, without notes. It feels odd at first and gets easier quickly.
- Ask for blunt feedbackWhich answers were vague, rambling or missing an example.
- Try the awkward questionsGaps in your CV, why you're leaving, what salary you're after.
- Repeat your weakest answerThree goes at one answer does more good than one go at ten.
- Then practise with a personAI is a good warm-up, but a friend will notice things it won't, like fidgeting.
Learning something new for a career change
AI can explain an unfamiliar field from wherever you're starting and quiz you as you go. Free courses help too.
Free, from the government
AI Skills Hub
Short online courses on using AI at work, some under 20 minutes, free to every UK adult since January 2026. Completing selected courses earns an AI foundations badge.
Free, in England
Skills Bootcamps
Courses of up to 16 weeks for people aged 19 or over, each ending with a job interview. Digital examples include data engineering and software development; some have entry requirements.
Free plan
A study partner on your phone
ChatGPT includes a Study mode on the free plan. Ask it to explain a topic step by step and test you, and check anything important against your course material.
How employers may use AI on your application
Some employers use automated tools to sift applications. In March 2026 the ICO, the UK's data protection regulator, reported that many employers using automated recruitment are probably making decisions with no meaningful human involvement. It told employers to be open with candidates and to explain how to challenge an automated decision and ask for a person to review it. If you think a tool has rejected you unfairly, you can ask the employer whether one was used and request a human review.
The lesson is £149, either two hours at your home with a printed guide and two weeks of phone help afterwards, or two one-hour sessions by video as online lessons. For a general grounding in the app itself, see ChatGPT lessons, and if you're thinking of working for yourself instead, AI for startups and new businesses.
Questions people ask
Can I use ChatGPT to write my CV?
Yes, as an editor rather than an author. Give it your real CV and the advert, ask for gaps and clearer wording, then make the changes yourself so every line is true.
Will employers know I used AI?
What tends to give it away is generic wording, and claims that fall apart at interview. Make sure every line sounds like you and is something you can back up.
Do companies use AI to screen CVs?
Some do. The UK data protection regulator expects employers making automated decisions to tell candidates and offer a way to ask for a human review.
Is it safe to put my CV into ChatGPT?
Remove your address, phone number, date of birth and any ID numbers first. On personal plans you can switch off training in the settings, or use a Temporary Chat for one-off jobs.
Can AI help me prepare for a job interview?
Yes. It can suggest likely questions, play the interviewer by voice and comment on your answers. Check any facts about the employer yourself.
Can the lesson be done online?
Yes. By video it's two one-hour sessions for the same £149, anywhere in the UK, and you pay after the first one.
Who you'll learn with
I'm Ross Hayes, and I live in Herne Bay. I come to you, we use your own phone, tablet or computer, and I explain things in plain English. I never ask for your passwords or bank details, family are welcome to sit in, and there's no selling on the day.
Start with a free 15-minute phone chat, so I can check what you'd like to learn and which device you use.
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