Department toolkit
The AI Student Toolkit
Everything to set up before you apply — in the order this field actually checks it.
Why this order, for artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence moves fast enough that yesterday's tool list is already dated. What a reviewer in this field actually checks is whether you work with these systems daily and can show something you built with them — not whether you can recite which model does what.
That's why this path opens with the AI tools themselves, set up honestly and used daily on real projects, and a portfolio that shows what you built with them, before the resume and profile steps that describe that work to someone screening fast.
- 1Set up ChatGPT for study and job prepSet this up as a working tool you use daily, not a novelty — this field expects fluency with at least one major assistant, demonstrated through what you built with it.
- 2Set up Claude as your second AI assistantA second assistant, used for a different kind of task, shows range beyond a single tool — this field notices which situations you reach for which one, and why.
- 3Use AI in your job search without losing your voiceJudgment about when to disclose AI use and where a human check still matters is itself part of the skill this field is hiring for, not a footnote to it.
- 4Set up GitHub so your code speaks for youA repository showing how you actually built or fine-tuned something with these tools — not just that you called an API — is the evidence this field's reviewers look for first.
- 5A simple personal site you can stand behindA short write-up of one or two AI projects, in plain language, lets a non-specialist reviewer see what you built without reading through the code.
- 6A one-page resume structure that worksList the specific tools, models, and techniques you've actually used, alongside what you built with them — this field's resumes get read for concrete projects, not enthusiasm.
- 7Go straight to the source: company career pagesRoles in this field often live inside a broader engineering or research team's own postings rather than a dedicated board — checking career pages directly catches them.
Before you apply — the checklist
- At least one AI assistant set up and used daily on real work, not just tested once
- One project built with these tools, documented in a repository or write-up
- Clear on when to disclose AI use and where you still check the output yourself
- Resume names the specific tools and techniques you've used, next to what you built
- Resume saved as PDF, named FirstLast_Resume
- LinkedIn headline names your specific direction (applied, research, engineering)
- Know where you stand: your free Knock Number