In simple terms
AI is more useful as an editor and thinking partner than as an automatic CV writer. Give it the vacancy, your genuine experience and clear limits. Then check its suggestions against the facts and rewrite anything that does not sound like you.
The eight prompts form a practical sequence, but you can use only the steps you need. They compare requirements with evidence, improve wording, review structure and help prepare a role-specific draft.
Key takeaways
- Start with the vacancy and your verified evidence, not a blank-page request.
- Ask AI to show what is clearly, partly or not supported.
- Never invent experience, qualifications, outcomes or numbers.
- Treat ATS comments as general checks, not a simulation of an employer's system.
- Keep your judgement, voice and final review in the process.
Before you paste anything: protect your information
Remove your address, personal phone number, private email address, references, employee data, customer details and confidential project information before using an AI service. Replace them with labels such as [EMAIL] or [CLIENT]. Check the service's privacy controls, retention terms and workplace policy. Do not upload material you are not authorised to share.
AI output can contain confident errors. Check each claim against your records and the vacancy. Keep accurate non-numerical evidence when no verified figure exists.
Civil Service applications: keep every statement truthful, accurate and based on your own experience. Official guidance says not to use AI during ability or personality assessments, or to answer questions during live or pre-recorded interviews. Follow the current vacancy instructions and see our guide to using AI in a Civil Service application.
What AI can and cannot tell you about ATS
Employers may use applicant tracking systems to collect, organise, search or filter applications. Products and employer configurations differ. Clear headings, readable text and relevant evidence are sensible general practices, but a general AI tool cannot reproduce every employer's parser, ranking rules or hiring process. Use Prompts 4 and 5 as document checks, not as a pass prediction or guarantee.
Prompt 1: Compare your evidence with each role
Use a simple evidence table instead of a made-up percentage. This makes gaps visible without pretending that suitability can be calculated precisely.
Act as a careful career transition adviser. Compare my verified experience [PASTE RELEVANT CV CONTENT] with these job descriptions [PASTE JOB DESCRIPTIONS]. For each role, create an evidence table with these columns: requirement, clearly supported, partly supported, not supported, and evidence from my experience. Quote or closely paraphrase the evidence you used. Do not infer experience that I have not provided. Then identify transferable skills, important gaps and up to three related role titles worth researching. Explain your reasoning without giving a numerical score.
Prompt 2: Turn duties into accurate evidence
A useful bullet explains what you did, how you did it and what changed. A number can help only when it is factual and relevant.
Help me edit these CV bullet points for this vacancy. My bullet points: [PASTE BULLETS] Vacancy: [PASTE JOB DESCRIPTION] For each bullet, preserve the facts and clarify the action, context and outcome. Use relevant terms from the vacancy only where my evidence supports them. Do not invent or estimate numbers. If a factual detail would improve a bullet, ask me a specific question first. If I cannot verify a number, write a strong version without one. Avoid clichés, exaggerated adjectives and claims about being the best.
Prompt 3: Make the experience section consistent
Older roles may contain relevant evidence, but not every duty needs the same emphasis. This prompt edits the section as a whole while keeping unsupported claims out.
Review my complete work history [PASTE WORK HISTORY] against this vacancy [PASTE JOB DESCRIPTION]. Recommend which verified points to keep, shorten or remove for relevance. Rewrite the retained bullets in clear UK English, using varied action verbs and a natural tone. Never add duties, outcomes, qualifications or metrics. Ask factual follow-up questions where important context is missing, but also provide an accurate version that works without numbers.
Prompt 4: Review CV structure for common parsing risks
Describe the visual layout as well as pasting the text. The result is a general risk review, not a test against a specific employer's software.
Review my CV structure for common readability and parsing risks. I will paste its text and describe its layout [PASTE TEXT AND LAYOUT DESCRIPTION]. Check tables, columns, headers, footers, text boxes, icons, graphics, heading labels, date formats and reading order. Explain which items may cause problems in some systems and which are simply design choices. Do not claim to know how a specific employer's ATS will behave. Provide a clear single-column version that preserves every fact. Recommend that I follow the employer's requested file type where one is stated.
Prompt 5: Perform a plain-text extraction check
This check helps you inspect headings and text visibility. It cannot predict screening decisions or reproduce proprietary software.
Using only the CV text I provide [PASTE CV TEXT], extract my name placeholder, contact placeholders, job titles, employers, dates, section headings and bullet points into a structured table. Compare the wording with this vacancy [PASTE JOB DESCRIPTION] and list relevant terms that are supported by my CV, plus important requirements that are not supported. Flag ambiguous dates, headings or reading order. State clearly that this is a general text review and not a reproduction of the employer's ATS.
Prompt 6: Read the vacancy carefully
Separate essential criteria from desirable criteria and from general employer language. This is more useful than counting repeated words alone.
Analyse this vacancy [PASTE JOB DESCRIPTION]. Separate essential criteria, desirable criteria, responsibilities and application instructions. Summarise each in plain language and group related requirements into themes. Distinguish explicit requirements from your interpretation. Quote the text supporting each important conclusion. Identify anything I should clarify with the employer rather than guessing what the hiring manager wants.
Prompt 7: Map the strongest proof and expose gaps
This step connects the vacancy themes to specific examples and makes unsupported areas explicit.
Map my experience [PASTE EXPERIENCE] to the vacancy themes from the previous step. For each theme, label the evidence clearly supported, partly supported or not supported. Cite the relevant role and bullet point. Suggest which verified examples deserve emphasis. For partial or missing evidence, ask factual questions that may uncover real examples. If none exist, leave the gap visible and do not invent a substitute.
Prompt 8: Assemble a tailored draft
Use this only after checking the evidence. The output is a draft for your review, not a document to submit unseen.
Create a tailored CV draft using only this verified experience [PASTE VERIFIED EXPERIENCE] and this vacancy [PASTE JOB DESCRIPTION]. Use a clear single-column structure with contact placeholders, profile, relevant skills, experience, education and certifications where supplied. Write a concise profile that reflects my actual background. Include skills only when the experience supports them. Keep unsupported requirements out. Do not invent or estimate experience, achievements, qualifications, dates or metrics. Ask factual questions where useful and provide accurate wording without numbers when no verified metric exists. Use natural UK English. Mark the result as a draft that I must check against the original facts and employer instructions.
A practical order
- Use Prompt 1 when choosing between roles.
- Use Prompts 6 and 7 to understand one vacancy and map your proof.
- Use Prompts 2 and 3 to edit verified experience.
- Use Prompts 4 and 5 for structure and plain-text checks.
- Use Prompt 8 only if you need a complete draft, then review every line yourself.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use these prompts with a free AI tool?
Yes. Features and input limits vary by product, so you may need to work in shorter sections. Review every output for accuracy and do not paste personal or confidential information unless you understand how the service will use it.
Is it acceptable to use AI on a CV?
Rules vary by employer and assessment. Use AI only where it is allowed, keep every claim truthful, and make the final wording your own. Follow the vacancy instructions and disclose AI use if the employer asks you to.
Should I use all eight prompts for every job application?
No. Choose the steps that solve your current problem. For example, you might analyse the role, map your evidence and then edit an existing CV without asking AI to produce a complete document.
What if I do not have metrics for my CV bullet points?
Do not invent or estimate a number. Ask factual questions such as how many people you supported or how often you completed a task. If you cannot verify a figure, describe the action, scope and outcome in accurate non-numerical terms.
Are these prompts only for project coordinator roles?
No. Replace the placeholders with the real role and job description. The evidence-first process can support many sectors, but you should adapt it to the employer's instructions and the type of assessment.
Sources
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