ITEMS NEEDED
• Job description (including list of responsibilities and requirements)
• Resume (PDF or Word version)
• Microsoft Copilot (free for student & staff use): copilot.microsoft.com
STEPS
1. GET THE JOB DESCRIPTION
- Option 1 (recommended): Paste the job description text directly into Microsoft Copilot’s text box. Focus on the list of responsibilities, the requirements, and the position summary.
- Option 2: Paste a link to the job description directly into Microsoft Copilot’s text box.
2. PROVIDE YOUR RESUME
- Option 1 (recommended): Upload the resume file (Word or PDF) by clicking on the + symbol in the Microsoft Copilot text box.
- Option 2: Paste the resume’s text into Microsoft Copilot’s text box.
3. ASK COPILOT TO COMPARE THE RESUME AND JOB DESCRIPTION
Enter the following prompt into Microsoft Copilot’s text box:
- Please compare the job description with the provided resume and list the skills required in the job description that are missing from the resume.
- Microsoft Copilot will then extract key skills and qualifications from the job description, analyze the resume for matching skills, and generate a list of missing or underrepresented skills.
4. REVIEW & REFINE THE RESUME
- Missing keywords can now be added into the resume by identifying appropriate sections (e.g. skills, relevant coursework, bullet points)
5. ALIGNING COURSES WITH JOB RESPONSIBILITIES (optional but highly recommended)
- Google (or use whatever search engine you prefer) the following: “Pace University [Major Name] [Level] Program Curriculum” For example: Pace University Data Science Graduate Program Curriculum
- Find the link to the curriculum page on the University’s website
- Enter the link in Microsoft Copilot’s text box with the following prompt: “Here’s the link to my academic program curriculum.”
Enter the following prompt:
- “Please list the job responsibilities for the role I shared and identify which courses from my curriculum are most relevant to each one.”
- Microsoft Copilot will generate a table that lists each job responsibility, a course from the student’s curriculum that aligns with the responsibility, and a summary of what the alignment stems from.
- Students can identify projects they completed in the relevant courses to highlight in their resume and in their cover letters – bullet points and paragraphs can easily be generated by using the START method (situation, task, action, result, takeaway) to outline what they did, and they can utilize the missing keywords identified by Microsoft Copilot in their bullet points.
Note: To protect personally identifiable information, resume headers (containing name, email address, phone number, and LinkedIn) can be removed if desired