Journalists are leaning on AI more than ever to polish their CVs, portfolios and interview prep. But hiring managers still want the final application to sound like a real person wrote it. So how do journalism graduates cut through?

We spoke to Mark Frankel (head of public affairs at Full Fact) and Nick Wrenn (partnerships consultant at NCTJ) and drew on research from Shangyuan Wu, a journalism researcher at the National University of Singapore, whose study looks at whether AI is causing journalists to "deskill". Here's what they had to say about the skills employers actually want, how to use AI well, and the mistakes that can sink an application.

Using AI in your CV and interviews

AI is great for picking the right keywords, structuring a CV, and tailoring it to a specific employer, says Wrenn. But the CVs that stand out are still the ones written in the candidate's own voice. Companies can spot an AI-written application a mile off, he warns, so it's worth the extra effort to sound like yourself.

Wrenn also encourages graduates to talk up their experience with confidence, even if it was gained as part of a team. Research, background prep, production support: it all counts as real journalistic experience.

Frankel........

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