Georgetown Career Development and AI

Project Overview

In the world of career services within higher education, the landscape is changing and adapting to AI technology, and how it is implemented as part of career development strategies. Many schools have outlined guidelines for ethical use of AI, others have used this technology to assist with job searching and other career development strategies. Schools have even put together a set of prompts that are useful in making the most of their AI use. Schools that are able to adapt to this shift, integrate this technology into their service model, and equip students to effectively and ethically use AI, will lead the way in career services in higher education. Currently the Cawley Career Education Center (“Cawley”) offers two AI powered services for our students’ benefit, Resume Worded and Big Interview. Both of these services provide feedback for effective resume writing and interviewing that is industry-specific. 

There is a salient need at Cawley to educate our staff, peer advisors and graduate interns systematically, beyond what they have learned on their own. Cawley staff and students need to be knowledgeable on how to leverage AI technology towards career development and the ethical use of this tool. Integration into Services and Materials Additionally, the use of AI is here to stay and its impact will grow and improve with time. This creates a need for all of our programming, services, handouts, website content, courses, and asynchronous modules to be truly integrated with AI usage. This endeavor seeks to go beyond adding a slide or a few sentences about AI to our existing material, but to infuse our programs, services, and strategic initiatives in their entirety.

Lastly, this is a project that is necessary in order to remain true to our vision, guiding principles, and overarching goal to be a best-in-class career ecosystem. From the employer perspective, senior talent acquisition specialists note the inevitability of AI, both in the recruitment process and as an entry-level skill. While video call software allows for great flexibility for recruiters and students, there have been significant downsides with the advent of AI. Recruiters have experienced instances of AI use during the interview process, where students relied on ChatGPT for answers. Recruiters have also noted a general reliance on AI when it comes to communication. That said, students are expected to have a general familiarity with traditional and generative AI, specifically in search customization. Consequently we must embrace and integrate AI into all relevant aspects of our services in order to prepare students for this major shift in the world of work. These three opportunities (training, integrating, and impact) are undergirded by our WHY- the students. Ultimately, investing in these points for growth has a direct line of impact to our students. By Cawley being well equipped, we are able to prepare our students for ethical use of this technology, thereby centering the students’ career-readiness.  

Team