Prompts for resumes, LinkedIn and interview practice
Use AI to sharpen your resume bullets, tailor them to a job description, improve your LinkedIn profile and practise interviews, without inventing experience. Includes copyable prompts and the honesty rules recruiters care about.
A resume and a LinkedIn profile are short, so every word matters. AI is good at rewriting weak lines, spotting what a job description asks for and playing an interviewer who never gets tired. It is bad at knowing what you actually did. If you let it guess, it will invent skills and numbers, and an interviewer will find out in two questions.
The rule for this whole tutorial: you supply the facts; AI improves the wording and structure.
You will work through a fictional fresher, Asha, a final-year B.Tech student applying for a Junior Python Developer role, but use your own details as you go. Prerequisites: your current resume as text, one real job description, and any AI chat tool.
Protect your data and your honesty
Remove your phone number, address, Aadhaar or any ID numbers before pasting a resume into any AI tool; the email and city are rarely needed either. Never let AI add skills, projects, grades or numbers you cannot defend in an interview. Many companies test claims on your resume directly. Some also use tools to detect keyword stuffing and copied text.
Step 1: turn duties into achievements
Weak resume lines describe duties: "Worked on a Python project." Strong lines show what you did, how, and the result: "Built a Flask app that tracks expenses, used by 30 classmates for 2 months." Notice the second line needs facts only you know. Give the model your raw facts and ask it to write the line, then check that every detail is true.
Rewrite my resume bullet to be clear and specific. Use the pattern: strong verb + what I did + tools used + result (only if I give one).
Raw facts (the only facts you may use):
- What I did: [e.g. built a web app to track expenses]
- Tools: [e.g. Python, Flask, SQLite]
- Result or scale: [e.g. 30 classmates used it; or write 'none' if unknown]
Write 3 versions, each under 25 words. Do not add numbers, tools or claims that are not in my facts. If a result is missing, tell me what number I could find.What to expect: Check that no tool, number or claim appears that you did not give. The last line is useful: it tells you what to measure (users, time saved, marks, requests per second) so you can add real evidence.
1. Built an expense-tracking web app with Python, Flask and SQLite, used by 30 classmates.
2. Developed a Flask and SQLite app that lets users log and categorise daily expenses; 30 classmates used it.
3. Designed and shipped a Python/Flask expense tracker backed by SQLite for 30 classmates.
Tip: add how long it ran, or one measurable result such as the number of expenses logged.Step 2: tailor to a job description
Recruiters and applicant tracking systems (ATS) look for the skills in the job description. Tailoring means putting your real matching experience first and using the employer's words where they are accurate. It does not mean copying the job description into your resume. Start by finding the gaps.
Compare my resume to the job description below.
1. List the 8 most important requirements in the job description.
2. For each, say whether my resume shows it clearly, weakly or not at all, quoting the line from my resume if it exists.
3. Suggest how to reword my existing lines to match the job's language where it is true.
4. List requirements I do not meet. Do not suggest inventing experience; suggest honest ways to close the gap (a small project, a course, an open-source contribution).
<job_description>
[paste job description]
</job_description>
<resume>
[paste resume text without personal ID details]
</resume>What to expect: Look at item 4. A real gap list is more useful than a polished resume. Ask: which of these can I fix in two weeks with a small project?
Keep a master resume
Keep one long master resume with every project and skill. For each application, ask AI to pick and reorder the most relevant items into a one-page version. You stay in control of what is true, and tailoring takes minutes.
Step 3: a stronger LinkedIn profile
The headline and the About section are what people see first. A headline like "Student at XYZ College" wastes the space. Say what you do and what you are looking for. Keep the About section in your own voice: short, specific and free of buzzwords like "passionate" and "hard-working".
Write 3 options for my LinkedIn headline (max 120 characters) and one About section (max 150 words, first person, plain English, no buzzwords such as passionate or hard-working).
Facts (use only these):
- Education: [degree, college, graduation year]
- Skills: [list]
- Projects: [1-2 lines each]
- Looking for: [e.g. junior backend developer roles in Bengaluru or remote]
- One thing I am proud of: [fact]
End the About section with a one-line invitation to connect.What to expect: Read the About aloud. If it doesn't sound like you, shorten it and replace generic words with specific ones from your projects.
Step 4: practise interviews
A mock interviewer helps you practise saying answers aloud and shows where your answers are vague. Give the model the job and your resume so the questions are realistic, and ask it to wait for your answer.
Act as an interviewer for a [role, e.g. Junior Python Developer] position at a [type of company, e.g. product startup]. Use my resume and the job description below to ask realistic questions.
Rules:
- Ask one question at a time and wait for my answer.
- Mix: 2 questions about my resume projects, 3 technical questions at fresher level, 2 behavioural questions.
- After each answer give a score out of 5, one thing I did well and one specific improvement. Then ask the next question.
- If my answer is vague, ask a follow-up the way a real interviewer would.
- After 7 questions, summarise my top 3 strengths and top 3 things to practise.
<job_description>
[paste]
</job_description>
<resume>
[paste]
</resume>What to expect: Type your answers as if you were speaking, then try them aloud. For technical answers, verify anything surprising in a textbook or documentation.
For behavioural questions ("Tell me about a time you faced a problem in a team"), use the STAR structure: Situation, Task, Action, Result. Ask the model to restructure your story, but keep your own facts.
Question: [e.g. Tell me about a time you worked in a team and faced a conflict.]
Here is my rough story, in my own words:
[write what really happened]
Rewrite it in the STAR structure in about 150 words, in first person, as I would speak it. Use only the facts in my story. Then tell me which part of my story is weakest (usually the Result) and ask me 2 questions that would help me improve it.What to expect: The two follow-up questions matter. Answer them honestly and re-run until the story has a concrete result.
I will describe my project below. Ask me the 8 hardest questions an interviewer could ask about it: why I chose each technology, what went wrong, how I tested it, how it would handle 100 times more users, and what I would change. Do not answer for me. Then wait for my answers one at a time.
Project: [describe in 5 to 8 lines]What to expect: If you cannot answer a question, that is the part of your project to learn before the interview. Also see InterviewAI's mock interview feature for full practice sessions.
Cover letters and follow-up emails
Write a short email (under 120 words) applying for [role] at [company]. I am [who you are in one line]. The two most relevant things I have done are: [fact 1] and [fact 2]. I attach my resume. Tone: polite and direct. No flattery, no clichés like 'I am writing to express my interest'. Subject line included.What to expect: Replace any generic sentence with something specific about the company only if you know it is true. Never let the model invent facts about the company; check their website.
Before you send a resume or profile
- Every line is true and I can talk about it for two minutes.
- Numbers and tools come from facts I supplied.
- Resume is one page for a fresher, with consistent tenses and spelling.
- No personal ID details (Aadhaar, full address) are on it or in the AI chat.
- The wording sounds like me, not like a template.
- I have read it aloud once and corrected anything awkward.
Before the exercise: a quick workflow
- 1Collect your raw facts: projects, tools, results, marks.
- 2Improve the weakest bullets one at a time with the bullet prompt.
- 3Run the job-match prompt and read the gap list.
- 4Update LinkedIn with the headline and About prompt.
- 5Practise with the mock interviewer and redo your lowest-scoring answers.
Try it: Tailor one resume in 30 minutes
Pick a real job posting. 1) Run the match prompt with your resume. 2) Fix the three weakest bullets with the bullet prompt. 3) Pick the one gap you can close and plan a small project for it. 4) Do a 7-question mock interview and write down your two lowest-scoring answers.
Key takeaways
- You supply the facts; AI improves wording and structure. Never let it invent experience.
- Strong bullets show action, tools and results; ask the model what result you could measure.
- Tailor a master resume to each job by reordering true experience, and use the gap list to plan real improvements.
- Use a mock interviewer that asks one question at a time and gives specific feedback; shape stories with STAR.
- Remove personal ID details before pasting anything into an AI tool.
Check yourself
Finishing the quiz marks the lesson as done.
1. Your resume bullet says 'Built a web app'. What is the best way to use AI to improve it?
2. The match prompt shows you lack a required skill. What is the best response?
3. Why should a mock interviewer ask one question at a time?
4. What does STAR stand for?
5. Which should you remove before pasting a resume into a public AI tool?
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