UbUMade redundantFinding workUsing AI
Made redundant · Finding work · Using AI
Let AI do the admin. Keep the story yours.
Seven prompts to copy and paste, and what not to hand over.
What it is good for.
Admin, structure, first drafts and practice. It saves hours on the dull parts of a search. It does not know what you enjoyed or what you want. That part is yours.
What it is not.
It is not your voice. A CV written entirely by AI reads like one, and recruiters notice. It can also make things up. Check that every line is true before you send it. You are the one in the interview.
Protect yourself.
Do not paste in passwords, bank details, National Insurance numbers or anything your old employer would call confidential. Take out the names of clients and colleagues. If the tool lets you switch off the use of your chats for training, switch it off.
For reminders, use your calendar.
An AI assistant can plan your week. A reminder that actually goes off is better set in your phone calendar. Most job sites let you save a search and email you new matches. Set those up once, and the looking is partly done for you. The government’s Find a job site is a good one to start with.
Try one thing today
Copy prompt 1 into any AI assistant, change the hours to match your week, and put the result in your calendar.
Seven prompts to copy.
Plan your week.
“I have been made redundant. Build me a weekly job-search plan with two two-hour search blocks a day, a stop time, one networking message a day and one 30-minute walk. I am free Monday to Friday, 9 to 3. Put it in a table.”
Why: A plan with edges is one you can keep.
Set up your searches.
“I am looking for [role] roles in [place]. List ten search phrases, including alternative job titles, that I can save as email alerts on job sites.”
Why: Titles differ between companies. Alerts do the looking for you.
Find what makes you smile.
“Here is my CV with the names removed. List the five achievements that sound most enjoyable to do and the kind of work they point to. Then ask me five questions to work out which parts I enjoyed most.”
Why: It turns the smile exercise into a conversation.
Tailor your CV to one advert.
“Here is my CV and a job advert. List the essential requirements and where my CV already shows them. Suggest where to use their wording. Do not add anything I have not done.”
Why: You get the matching done in minutes, and the last sentence stops it inventing.
Check the weak spots.
“What would a recruiter question in this CV? Give me short, honest answers I could say to each.”
Why: Better to meet the awkward question at your desk than in the interview.
Practise the interview.
“Act as an interviewer for [role]. Ask me one question at a time. After each answer, tell me what was strong and one thing to improve.”
Why: Saying it aloud to something that answers back beats rehearsing in your head.
Draft the thank-you.
“Write a three-line thank-you email after an interview with [name], mentioning [one thing we discussed]. Plain English, no clichés.”
Why: Edit it into your own voice. Never send it raw.
Where to go
- GOV.UK: Find a jobThe government’s job search site.