Looking for work after a cancer diagnosis often comes with extra questions. How do you talk about a gap in your resume? What do you say about your history, or about a transition? And how do you do it all while keeping your energy for what matters? AI tools can be a helpful assistant for some of this work, as long as you stay in charge of the choices that are yours to make.

Tailoring applications. AI can help you adapt a resume or cover letter for a specific role without starting from scratch each time. Just make sure you aren't giving AI personal details if you don't want it to have them, including full name, phone number, past employer names, etc. You can be broad and still get useful responses.

“Revise this cover letter for a mid-level operations role, keeping the same tone. I have 12 years of experience in healthcare administration.”

Researching companies and roles. You can get a quick summary of a company, the key players and what a role typically involves, or what questions to expect before a conversation or interview. Because AI may be out of date or may fill in gaps with guesses, it’s worth confirming the details on the company’s own website and in recent news.

“What should I know about this company before an interview? What questions do they typically ask for this type of role?”

Practicing interview answers. AI can generate likely interview questions for a role and let you practice your responses on your own schedule, at your own pace. That includes thinking through what you might say about your history, gaps and transitions.

“Give me 8 common interview questions for a project manager role and coaching on what strong answers cover.”

Drafting follow-up communications. Thank-you notes, follow-up emails and LinkedIn connection requests can be drafted quickly, so more of your attention can go to the relationships behind them.

“Draft a brief thank-you email after an interview with the head of the department for a communications role. Keep it warm but professional.”

Make it sound like you

AI can produce a confident, polished cover letter in moments. The trade-off is that polished isn’t always personal. Some things you might try:

• Read it back out loud. If a sentence doesn’t sound like something you’d say, it may be worth rewording.
• Check every fact. AI has a tendency to fill in blanks when it doesn’t have a complete answer, which can mean an invented accomplishment, a wrong date or a skill you don’t have. Anything that goes out under your name is yours to stand behind.
• Keep your own details in mind. Resumes and cover letters are full of identifying information. Using placeholders for names, employers and contact details while you draft is one way to limit what you share, then adding them back yourself.

The Swivel and your disclosure strategy are yours

How you choose to talk about your health, or whether you do, is a personal strategy. AI can help you practice the language once you’ve decided on your approach. The decision itself, and the crafting of your message, belong to you.

It may help to ask:

• Have I decided what I want to say, or am I hoping AI will decide for me?
• Does the wording reflect my real situation and my comfort level?
• Would I be comfortable saying this out loud to a hiring manager?

Using AI as an assistant, not a replacement

AI can save time and lower the pressure of a blank page. It can’t know the culture of a workplace, read the room in an interview or understand what you’re hoping for in your next role. Those parts are yours. Many people find the best results come from using AI for first drafts and practice, then adding their own voice, checking the facts and talking things through with someone they trust, such as a career coach, a mentor or an advocacy organization.

Content created with support from AI tools, including Claude and CoPilot. Updated 2026.