📑 The Ultimate Guide to AI-First Job Search

Hello there 😎 

I went hard on this one.

This is the ultimate guide on using AI for your job search marketing materials, aka your:

1. Resume

2. LinkedIn profile

3. Cover letter

Make sure you save or bookmark this 🔖 . You’ll be coming back.

Let’s get into it:

Hi, I’m that guy (@christopherming on LinkedIn) that you probably found talking about how to use AI to land your next job.

My name is Chris Ming, dad of 3 and I live in Philadelphia, PA. I build education for companies like Clay and The Rundown, and have worked with companies like Noom, Reforge, Ramit Sethi, and others.

And I help people land remote jobs.

Here's what you'll learn today:

• How to optimize your resume for AI screening without gaming the system

• The LinkedIn strategy that gets you noticed by both algorithms and humans

• Cover letter frameworks that position you as the solution, not the problem

• Why your marketing materials need to work together as a system

...and more!

First, let’s look at some open roles I’m excited about.

📝 The Job Search Game Has Changed

So we have to change how we play. Get this right, and everything else makes sense. Get it wrong?

You’ll never break through.

Here’s what it boils down to:

This is happening across companies and job portals. And the trend will continue to grow.

Gloria Dallas, Recruiting Lead at Snappr, says:

Source

So these scores can be totally wrong. But they’re still important to understand, because they decide who gets seen by actual humans.

The problem is that as job seekers, we’re still writing resumes assuming there’s a human on the other side reading them first. So:

• We say "CRM tools" instead of "Salesforce" when the job specifically mentions Salesforce.

• We write "modern front-end frameworks" instead of "React" when React is in the job description.

Then we wonder why our applications disappear into black holes 🤔

All of these mistakes—and the AI-first reality of job applications—point to a bigger shift in the job search game:

Your marketing materials aren't individual pieces.

Your job search marketing materials should work together in a step-by-step flow, creating a powerful combination that first gets you past AI screening, second catches the recruiters' attention, and finally positions you as the obvious, no-brainer choice for the role.

Here’s what the flow looks like:

Step 1: Resume optimization. Everything builds on this foundation. Speak the same language as job postings while telling a compelling story of impact.

Step 2: LinkedIn amplification. Transform your profile into a magnet for opportunities using your optimized resume content (plus a professional headshot that doesn't cost $300+).

Step 3: Cover letter connection. Position the company as the hero and yourself as the solution to their specific problems.

To be clear, I’m not talking about keyword stuffing or trying to game the system (although including some keywords is part of the game).

But I am saying that you need to speak the same language as both the AI screening your resume and the humans who wrote the job posting.

Fortunately, we can use AI to help us do all of it.

Let's break down each component:

🎯 1/ Resume Optimization

Always start by optimizing your resume first.

Your optimized resume will feed into your LinkedIn profile, then your cover letter.

👉 Do this first:

✍️ Use this prompt

🎰 Bonus: Get a match score

Then, use a AI tool with a Match score to score and edit your resume based on target job descriptions. I recommend Teal or Jobright.

💼 2/ Your LinkedIn Profile: The 24/7 Marketing Machine

Your LinkedIn profile works around the clock, even when you're sleeping.

Every recruiter, hiring manager, and potential connection is making snap judgments about whether you're the right fit based on what you post.

Now that your resume is optimized, let's turn your LinkedIn profile into a magnet for opportunities.

Let's fix the two biggest problems I see:

• Profiles that don't leverage keywords recruiters search for

• Terrible headshots

✍️ Profiles That Leverage Keywords Recruiters Search For (with AI)

Now let's fix your headline, summary, and work experience so recruiters actually want to talk to you.

👉 Do this first:

✍️ Use this prompt in Claude:

Remember: LinkedIn is consumed differently than resumes. People scan faster, recruiters look for specific keywords, and you have seconds to grab attention. Your profile should tell the same story as your resume but optimized for how people actually use LinkedIn.

The goal isn't perfection. It's making sure when someone lands on your profile, they immediately think: "We need to talk to this person."

📸 Get a Professional Headshot (Without the Professional Price)

Your LinkedIn photo is doing more heavy lifting than you think. People hire people, and whether we like it or not, snap judgments happen in seconds.

But professional headshots are expensive and scheduling a photoshoot during a job search feels overwhelming. SectaLabs lets you generate professional-looking headshots from your existing photos for $39 instead of $300+.

✍️ Use this workflow:

Pro tip: Works better if you're not wearing glasses in input photos. If you normally wear glasses for work, mention that in style preferences.

📮 3/ Your Cover Letter: Stop Making It About You

Finally, let's tackle the piece that ties everything together: your cover letter.

Here's the biggest mistake I see in cover letters: people make themselves the hero of the story.

"I'm passionate about..." "I want to grow my career..." "This role would help me achieve..."

Wrong protagonist.

You are not the hero of your cover letter. The company is. They're the ones with problems to solve, goals to hit, and challenges to overcome.

Your job is to position yourself as the guide who helps them win.

Think about it from their perspective: they're drowning in applications from people who want something from them. Then your cover letter lands in their inbox focusing on what you can do FOR them, not what they can do for you.

You can do all of this with an AI-powered cover lettering writing process.

👉 Do this first:

✍️ Use this prompt in Claude:

The result: You'll get a detailed analysis of what's working and what isn't, plus a complete rewrite that positions the company as the hero and you as the solution to their specific challenges.

Key principle: Every sentence should answer the question "So what?" from the hiring manager's perspective. If it doesn't help them understand why you're the right person to solve their problems, cut it.

Your cover letter should read like you already understand their world and have ideas about how to make it better. That's the difference between "another applicant" and "someone we need to talk to."

💫 The Bottom Line

The future of job applications is understanding how job tracking systems work and creating materials that serve both AI and human reviewers.

To do that, your marketing materials need to work as a system:

Your resume gets you past the AI gatekeeper by speaking the same language as the job posting while telling a compelling story of impact.

Your LinkedIn profile amplifies that story 24/7, working as your always-on marketing machine with a professional headshot and optimized content.

Your cover letter ties it all together by positioning the company as the hero and you as the guide who can help them win.

AI tools can help you create all of this faster and more effectively than ever before—so do it! But the real power comes from understanding that these aren't just individual documents. They're components of a complete personal marketing system.

The sooner you put this system to work, the faster you’ll land the next role.

I love meeting new people. Say hi on LinkedIn 👋

🤝 When you’re ready, here are 2 ways I can help you land your next job:

That’s a wrap. See you next week 👋