USC Career Center announced its plan to launch a new artificial intelligence-powered career preparation platform this fall. The platform, Quinncia, will include features like resume reviews, mock interviews and LinkedIn profile revision suggestions — and will be available to all current USC students.

Quinncia will replace the University’s previous resume review platform for students, VMock, which was discontinued in June. Lori Shreve Blake, senior director of career engagement at the Career Center, said the center decided on the switch after reviewing the platform through meetings and demonstrations earlier this year. She said Quinncia offers better user experience and interface design compared to VMock.

“VMock was solely focused on resumes [and] cover letters, and it had limitations,” Shreve Blake said. “[Quinncia] would tell people what to do and make recommendations. [Quinncia] is more of a teaching tool, so it’s almost like having a virtual career advisor there teaching students.”

Shreve Blake said the launch of Quinncia is part of an effort to make career guidance available outside the Career Center’s regular operating hours, and they have been “leaning into AI” to achieve that.

“The USC Career Center wants to be a 24/7 career center,” Shreve Blake said. “If our students at 3 a.m. or at midnight or at 8 p.m. or 5 a.m. want help with their resumes, they don’t have to wait for the normal hours.”

Quinncia evaluates resumes and gives feedback that’s optimized for applicant tracking systems, which employers use to review application materials. Shreve Blake said the platform is intended to help students understand those systems and tailor their resumes to specific positions.

Shreve Blake also said Quinncia is different from VMock because it “gamifies” career preparation by awarding points as well as bronze, silver and gold badges as students make improvements, which can make the platform more engaging.

Kaitlyn Nguyen, a junior majoring in business administration, said she was interested in Quinncia and had attempted to access it before its launch. She said Quinncia’s mock interview feature could offer students useful practice.

Nguyen said she has used Handshake’s AI resume optimizer to refine her wording and generate ideas for tailoring her resume to different jobs, though she does not adopt its suggestions directly.

“When I work with AI, generally, whether it’s with my internship or anything within my life, I usually take things with a hint of salt,” Nguyen said. “I don’t use exactly what it says. I use it more like a stepping stone.”

Quinncia’s mock interview feature can generate questions based on an uploaded resume and assess a student’s response content, including both audio and video, Shreve Blake said. She said the system evaluates elements including filler words, speaking pace, answer length, enthusiasm, eye contact and the use of skills and keywords from job descriptions.

Shreve Blake said the platform is not meant to replace the Career Center’s in-person advising experience. Instead, students can use Quinncia alongside in-person workshops and the 30-minute mock interviews with human career advisors, which can be scheduled through Handshake.

“In addition to using the AI, we do want them to work with a human being,” Shreve Blake said.

Kyle Zeng, a first-year master’s student studying computer science with an emphasis in artificial intelligence, said he has regularly used generative AI for career preparation. He said he was not especially concerned about uploading his own information, but understood why other students might worry their data could be used to further train an AI model.

“Personally, I wouldn’t blindly trust the AI model,” Zeng said. “I would also compare it to in-person mocks … to feedback I would get with a real person.”

Shreve Blake said Quinncia will not collect student data, and any vendor USC brings in that engages with student data is vetted and goes through an intensive approval process to ensure student and alumni data is kept safe.

Shreve Blake said Quinncia will allow students to submit an unlimited number of resumes for review, compared to VMock’s limit of 10 resume uploads per year. Quinncia’s LinkedIn review feature will remain limited to 10 uses annually, a restriction set by the company, Shreve Blake said.

Shreve Blake said she was excited about the launch of Quinncia, and she hoped students can lean in and use the platform.

“Quinncia hosts all kinds of workshops that students can take advantage of, and we have videos on our website,” Shreve Blake said. “There’s all kinds of great things. We’re super excited about this new resource for our students.”