There is no doubt that one of the biggest changes to working and teaching in the past few years is the emergence and widespread adoption of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT. Around UTS there have been many valuable conversations around AI in the past twelve months, particularly about how we can encourage the ethical and effective engagement with these tools in learning and teaching. At UTS Careers, we identified a gap in resources for students, particularly around recruitment, job searching and the career space.
The challenge
Our staff had started receiving and fielding questions in class, at events and in appointments around whether or not students should or could use Generative AI for resumes and cover letters. With so many conflicting perspectives and information, and a gap of UTS resources in the careers space, we were faced with the task of collating the information around GenAI and careers, to create a resource that would help both staff and students.
The research
Our first step in tackling the issue was to assess what already existed in the problem space. This involved looking at both the existing UTS resources – such as the LX lab resources for academics, UTS Library resources for students, and information on Academic Integrity – as well as external sources on careers and job searching.
While we found many different perspectives through the various career-focused GenAI resources, there were a few core topics that emerged. These were:
- the use of GenAI to write job search documents
- using GenAI to explore career directions
- existing and emerging GenAI programs affecting recruitment, such as ATS
- the gap between industry perspectives on GenAI and student understanding
- questions around how GenAI might affect the future of work
And, throughout the resources addressing these topics, responses had consistent talking points of:
- GenAI not being a concrete source of truth
- GenAI writing needing to be reviewed and modified
- adapting to changes in AI as these tools evolve
The solution
We decided to use our existing platforms and avenues at careers to break down these big ideas and educate our students and staff.
Our strategy was to:
- Create a series of blog posts on our existing UTS Careers blog on the different aspects of GenAI and careers
- Filter these posts as quotes and core ideas in our communications – via email newsletters, LinkedIn, Instagram stories and informational swipe posts
The overarching goal with these blog posts and communications was to create a relevant and actionable guide for students about how they can ethically use and respond to GenAI in job searching or their career. By screening these posts through multiple touchpoints, these would be solid, fact-checked posts consistent with the overall UTS approach.
The resources
- How to ethically use AI when job searching – the resource most on the mind for students, with a focus on resumes and cover letters, but also how generative AI can help students explore new career ideas, sreahc for jobs and prepare for interviews
- ATS and AI in the recruitment process – this post broke down applicant tracking systems, the ways recruiters are using AI tools through the recruitment process and the perspectives of recruiters on the use of AI in job searching, with direct quotes from our industry contacts and our careers staff
- The impact of AI on the future job market – the final post looked at the uptake and ethical use of AI by organisations, advocacy for fair use, new professional capabilities emerging because of AI and practical ways to prepare for the future.
The results
Analysing the impacts of this project is about looking at both the numbers and the qualitative impacts. We assessed the data from our various communications channels, surveyed students via social media about their perception of these resources, as well as speaking to staff candidly about outcomes.
The blogs were widely read, performing better than other blogs featured in our weekly newsletter. Our social media content also gained a collective total of over 15,000 impressions. By surveying our followers on Instagram, we found that 29% of students said that had read our AI blogs, 60% had seen our content on Instagram and 64% had found these resources useful. We also had feedback from staff that these resources helped them feel more confident to speak about AI and could refer students to these blogs if they had questions.
Overall, the project illustrated the reality that GenAI tools are useful when utilised correctly and that students are already using them. We need to continue encouraging ethical and effective engagement, in all aspects of work and careers.