Powered by nSpire AI, Career AI is the new agentic AI platform being piloted by the Costello College of Business Office of Career Services within the Costello College of Business at George Mason University this semester.
Jay Liwanag, Costello career advisor, facilitating a virtual info session. Photo by Hannah Patterson/Costello College of Business.
The platform is designed to help students navigate a rapidly evolving job market by bringing together cutting-edge AI capabilities and the business college’s career-readiness resources. As employers increasingly rely on digital tools to source workforce talent—from applicant tracking systems to AI-assisted screening—Career AI equips Costello students with the skills, confidence, and technological fluency they need to stand out.
“What employers are looking for is changing and how people find jobs is changing. AI is a really critical piece, whether you love it or hate it. Learning how to use it in the job search now, while you’re in school, is really important.”
— Kerry Willigan, assistant dean of Costello’s Office of Career Services
“What employers are looking for is changing and how people find jobs is changing,” says Kerry Willigan, assistant dean of Costello’s Office of Career Services. “AI is a really critical piece, whether you love it or hate it. Learning how to use it in the job search now, while you’re in school, is really important.”
Career AI consists of three main components. The first is the resume optimization platform. With applicant tracking systems filtering out approximately 75 percent of submitted resumes, Career AI analyzes student resumes and identifies adjustments students need to make for their resumes to stand out to employers. The second is its interview preparation component, where Theo—the AI-enabled career coach bot—generates interview questions based off industry information, role requirements, and data from job sites, along with additional information it deems relevant to the opportunity. The third component is the entrepreneurship module that helps students develop a personal pitch and business plan. With so many entrepreneurial-minded students at Costello, the tool is poised to be a game changer for the business college.
Kaleb Gajeton-Lewis, director of Costello’s Office of Career Services, is especially excited for the resume optimization platform. “I think students sometimes have a hard time understanding or seeing what their resume is actually reading in comparison to a job description,” he says. “I find that Career AI’s platform does a good job of understanding business process, understanding business curriculum, and is able to tailor the feedback in a way that actually shows results for students.”
Students concerned about data privacy can be confident knowing that Career AI passed through George Mason University’s Architectural Standards Review Board with flying colors. Already, about 400 Costello students are actively using the platform, with more than 1,700 slots still available. “We are starting to partner with faculty members to allow full class sections access to the system so that they can optimize their resumes, practice interviewing, etc.,” says Gajeton-Lewis.
Costello students are encouraged to embrace Career AI as a tool for improving their success withcurrent job searches and for building fluency in agentic AI. Fluency in agentic AI will help to prepare them for a not-so-distant future where AI will be used by members of the workforce to help them do their best work.
Costello students who are interested in learning more about Career AI can contact the Office of Career Services at mycareer@gmu.edu for more information.