The Biotech Career Coach Podcast
2026-10-16
What is the best AI for your resume and cover letter? I tested 6 AI models blind, one from each major model family plus an open weight model, to see which one tailors a resume to a job description the way a recruiter wants to see it. I get asked every week which AI to use for resume tailoring: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or Grok? Free or paid? So I ran an experiment. Every model got the same template resume, the same job description, the same example tailored resume and cover letter, and the same prompt. I scored each output blind, then compared my scores with two AI judges (Claude Opus 5.5 and GPT-5.6 Sol) and Jev, a yes or no decision API that checks rules like headline format and a one-page cover letter. The AI models tested: Claude Opus 5.5 (Anthropic) Claude Sonnet 5.5 (Anthropic) Gemini 3.8 Flash (Google) GPT-6 Sol (OpenAI, ChatGPT) Grok (xAI) An open weight model I also share what each one costs and how fast it runs, so you can decide if paying for AI is worth it. In this episode you'll learn: Which AI model is best for tailoring a resume to a job description ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini vs Grok for resumes and cover letters Whether free AI models are good enough for job applications or worth paying for What a strong resume headline and highlights section look like to a recruiter The AI writing habits that make a cover letter unusable Why my human scores disagreed with the AI judges See every output side by side, plus the template resume, job description, and example inputs, in the Model Bake-Off on the Biotech Career Coach website under Learn. https://biotechcareercoach.com/ Want help tailoring your biotech resume and cover letter? Join our Biotech Career Coach Skool community for the portal, resume reviews, and interview prep. It is $9 a month with a 7-day free trial. Learn more about the Collaboratory Career Hub community and access our free resources: Join our Skool Community Take the Free 7-day Interview Sprint Challenge Check out our sister podcast: Building Biotechs Send Carina a connection request on LinkedIn! Stay connected with us: 🌐 Website 📱 Facebook 📷 Instagram 💼 LinkedIn 00:00 Which AI should you use to tailor your resume 01:15 How the blind AI resume test works 03:45 Inside the Model Bake-Off app and answer key 07:00 Scoring the resume headline and highlights 15:35 The AI cover letter I would submit with no edits 21:35 AI cover letter mistakes that fail the vibe check 26:50 Human scores vs AI judges and Jev rule checks 29:50 The reveal, which AI model wins 32:45 Free vs paid AI models for job applications 34:35 Compare AI resume outputs side by side