Build an evidence inventory first

Before asking for a résumé or profile, list projects, responsibilities, tools, decisions, and results you can support. Include difficult situations, not only polished achievements. The quality of the source material determines whether the draft sounds credible.

Use comparison to find gaps

Give the tool a public job description and your evidence inventory. Ask it to separate strong matches, partial matches, missing evidence, and questions. Do not ask it to make you sound qualified. Ask it to show where your actual experience connects.

Practise, then answer in your own words

AI can generate likely interview questions and challenge vague answers. It cannot supply the story or judgment that made the experience yours. Use it as a practice partner, then speak without memorizing its phrasing.

Practise on real work

Compare your evidence with a role

Remove your address, phone number, and other unnecessary identifiers.

Prompt to adapt

Compare this job description with my evidence inventory. Create four sections: strong evidence, partial evidence, no evidence provided, and questions I should answer. Do not write a résumé and do not infer achievements. Quote the source line for each match.

Judgment checks

  • Can you support every claimed achievement?
  • Did the tool confuse years of experience with proof of a skill?
  • Which examples best show judgment, not just activity?

Keep these points

  • Start from verified evidence.
  • Use AI to compare, not embellish.
  • Keep interview stories in your own voice.

Optional paid help with Ikram Rana

Put AI to work on your career preparation.

Bring a task such as organising your experience or preparing interview questions. Discuss a process that works from your real examples and keeps every claim accurate.

Discuss your task with Ikram

Scope and fees are agreed before work starts. The guides stay free.

Weekly newsletter: coming soon. Practical tasks and prompts are planned for Substack.