How to make the most of AI in careers advice – and avoid the grifts

How many of your colleagues are talking about artificial intelligence? Better yet, how many in careers advice and guidance are talking about how to use AI? The space between these questions might seem small, but it creates a chasm when it comes to how higher education is integrating AI to help our students transition into the workplace.

Young people are overwhelmingly using AI, as are the recruiters who will decide which of our graduates find employment. If we do not respond swiftly, then students and the job market will outpace service provision in terms of AI use and expertise. Yet careers services are perfectly placed to make interventions, both by becoming experts on AI-enhanced careers advice and by training students on how better to use tools to facilitate their recruitment journeys.

Here are four practical methods for careers counsellors to use AI and support their students.

1. Develop a departmental strategy – then upskill staff based on this

Most university careers services do not have a specific strategy for AI use – although many institutions have adopted AI policies in areas such as assessment. The problem with this oversight is twofold. First, without a departmental strategy, even staff comfortable with AI will tend to use different platforms with inconsistent results. Students are therefore more likely to receive conflicting advice from advisers. Second, many staff simply do not have appropriate AI skills. 

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These problems can be ameliorated by writing a departmental policy that outlines which tools you will focus on using, as well as how best to implement them. A strong policy should cover key uses for AI in your department, a training and development plan, ethical compliance, and a roadmap for integration into regular service. 

It’s always better to test new technologies on a small scale before adopting them wholesale. Once you have chosen the best AI-powered services for your department, you can develop bespoke training. Better yet, appoint different staff members as “experts” on certain tools and factor in time for them to develop extended practical knowledge of your chosen platforms. These staff can then be on hand to troubleshoot FAQs and support colleagues, promoting professional development and ensuring an even-handed approach to career-enhancing technology.

2. Create custom chatbots as cost-effective support for your student body

Integrating AI into careers advice and guidance can often feel like the Wild West. As with essays, students are already using AI to write CVs and cover letters – though to varying degrees of success. At the same time, the internet is awash with tools: everything from help finding scholarly consensus to turning any article into a digestible podcast. However, most of the options on offer are expensive and still relatively new to the market, meaning we remain unsure of their long-term impact. 

So, how can we tangibly use AI to support student employability?

At London South Bank University Careers Hub, we have found that the most cost-effective and high-yield solution is creating a range of custom chatbots that offer advice and guidance on a range of subjects from refining CVs to developing a LinkedIn profile or practising job applications. These chatbots are deployed for out-of-hours usage and as pre-screening tools before one-to-one appointments, allowing students to troubleshoot common mistakes before seeing an employability consultant, who can then offer deeper personalised advice. The chatbots are trained to give the answers our department wants to prioritise, ensuring that students receive relevant, institution-specific guidance. This approach allows us to maintain quality control over the advice provided while streamlining support for common queries related to CV writing, interview preparation and job-search strategies. 

3. Respond to the job market

AI is changing recruitment processes. Recruiters are already expressing exhaustion with AI-generated application material and changing the hiring process to focus on interview skills. Increasingly, recruiters are asking if the CV will become less important in years to come. As careers services, we must respond to market changes.

Primarily, we should be developing careers-specific AI training sessions for students, teaching them how to best use new tools to write submissions. The mock interview is no longer enough. Instead, we must incorporate real-world examples and interactive exercises to help students navigate new AI-powered interviews. Training students how to write effective prompts and critically assess AI-generated documentation such as CVs and cover letters will empower them to use these tools responsibly. At the same time, different kinds of workplace simulations are necessary, from how to record the perfect video interview to completing AI-style questionnaires. Across many institutions, advisers have even reached out to the companies that create these AI tools to hear more about how they work, what their metrics for success are, and how advisers can support students to navigate virtual environments.

4. Avoid AI grifts

Education, and edtech in particular, is particularly susceptible to false promises. From primary education right through to university, staff often have fads thrust upon them at the drop of a hat. A whole generation can tell you what "learning style" works best for them – even if there is no evidence to support this. Though alarm bells have been raised in the wider sector, careers advice and guidance is still in search of a golden goose. AI technology is changing rapidly, and we must first establish secure parameters for success before we can claim our metrics are working. What measurable output do we want to achieve through adopting AI technology? Our proposition is that new AI tools should be tethered to industry standards, most specifically graduate outcomes. To avoid edtech that over-promises and under-delivers, we need a sector-wide focus on helping students better use AI to enter graduate-level work, where they can continue to fruitfully employ new technologies.

By embracing AI with a strategic, critical approach, careers services can enhance student support without falling for trends or ineffective tools. The key is to integrate AI thoughtfully, ensuring it serves both student needs and the evolving job market.

Sean Richardson is the employability resources manager and Keiran Whitwell is an employability resources consultant, both at London South Bank University.

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