We had a lively September info session with teaching artist and non-profit professional Colleen O’Doherty. What began as a do’s and don’ts of using AI became a conversation about focus and search strategy for humanities professionals.

Right at the start, Mandy advised against using AI tools to write entire résumés. She argued the generic content they produce lacks the vision and unique voice that can stand out amid many technically “perfect” but bland AI-generated documents. She also offered helpful points on hierarchical ordering of information, along with some examples, and how to present information like skills to human and machine readers. 

Nicoletta discussed other risks around having AI tools draft your job documents and warned against entering any personally identifiable information into the models. Not only are they drawing on historical data, where the consequences of social prejudice and convention in roles and pay will be found, the data you enter into them are not secure. Chats are used to train the models and data you enter may be retrievable later. Chats are also not private. 

She suggested training your AI tools to copy-edit and proofread. Colleen was quick to add that she’d had success with this, but still had to double-check the work.

It wasn’t long before the conversation broadened to the need for a clear overall strategy and approach to beginning a search that starts with deciding what you can and want to do.

Humanities professionals are often generalists–highly adaptable and effective across a number of roles and sectors. This strength can sometimes result in an approach to career transition that begins from the fact, “I can do so many things!” But this will not help you find an appropriate role, or the knowledge and support that will help you get there. One has to do the hard work of deciding what they want to do and where.

As certain technical tasks are increasingly delegated to machines, humanities professionals often possess increasingly valuable abilities. Many can combine strategic planning and project management with team-building and support talents and extraordinary communication skills.

As highly skilled generalists, humanists exiting academia must first define who they are, what they do, for whom and how before some decision-maker comes to their own conclusions.