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James Ononiwu
James Ononiwu

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How I Turned My Resume Into a Podcast with Google’s NotebookLM AI

How I Turned My Resume Into a Podcast with Google’s NotebookLM AI
In the age of AI, where technology and creativity intersect, there’s a tool that might just change the way you think about personal branding—Google’s NotebookLM. I recently had the pleasure of experimenting with it, and let’s just say, the results were beyond fascinating. Imagine turning a static document, like your resume, into an audio story, a podcast that captures not only your skills and achievements but your personal journey. Yes, that’s exactly what I did—and I’m excited to share how!

Discovering NotebookLM Deep-Dive

I stumbled upon Google’s NotebookLM while exploring tools for summarising text and automating content generation. NotebookLM is a next-gen AI tool designed to help users organize, synthesize, and create content from large volumes of text. It’s like having a personal research assistant at your fingertips. For someone like me, constantly juggling multiple research projects-whether in tech or other research areas, the idea of this tool doing the heavy lifting was irresistible.

But then, I had an even crazier idea: What if I fed it my CV, links to my LinkedIn profile, Github, and a few of my blog posts and asked it to create a podcast version of my professional story?

The Experiment: Input Meets Intelligence

To start, I uploaded my resume, links to my LinkedIn profile, Github, A few blog posts and a little text for fine tuning the whole process as sources into NotebookLM. These documents, though familiar to me, became the foundation of a much more dynamic narrative in the hands of the AI. I wanted the tool to not just list my qualifications or regurgitate bullet points, I wanted it to craft a flowing, engaging audio story that could be shared as a podcast.

NotebookLM

The process felt like magic. NotebookLM parsed through my documents, picking up on key milestones in my career and even nuances from the blog posts that reflected my personal philosophy and approach to work. It wasn’t just about summarising, it was creating a unique angle.

From Data to Dialogue: The Podcast is Born

What amazed me most when I clicked the load button to create a podcast from the summary, was how NotebookLM managed to pull themes from my work that even I hadn't explicitly identified. For example, my focus on building businesses in tech and software development, as well as my thoughts on leadership and innovation, became central threads. It wasn’t just reading off my resume, it was curating my story in a way that was conversational, personal, and impactful.

NotebookLM helped organise this into podcast-friendly scripts, bite-sized segments that covered everything from my early career to my recent ventures in software development. It even suggested moments where a "personal reflection" or anecdote could be inserted, making the podcast sound more like an intimate conversation than a lifeless resume readout.

And that’s where it got intriguing: It felt as if my CV came alive, not as a formal document but as an audio journey, my journey.

AI-Powered Storytelling

What’s most exciting about NotebookLM is its ability to go beyond simple data aggregation. The AI identifies underlying themes and turns static information into dynamic content. For my podcast, it didn’t just stop at the job titles or skills. It connected the dots between them to form a coherent and compelling narrative.

Take this for example: I had a section on my resume that highlighted a project where I implemented an automated system with microservices. NotebookLM didn’t just focus on the technical details of the project, but also on the broader context of why I was passionate about automation and efficiency. It captured the ‘why’ behind my work, transforming that simple bullet point into a storyline that talks about microservice architecture.

The Final Product: More Than a Podcast

The final product? A seamless podcast that not only showcased my professional achievements but also conveyed my personality, passions, and aspirations. all I had to do next was click on the download button.

I’ve shared this with a few people in my network, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Some even joked that my podcast resume was more engaging than my LinkedIn profile, which in hindsight, might actually be true.

Why This Matters: A Glimpse into the Future

What’s truly exciting about this experiment is that it represents a shift in how we present ourselves to the world. The traditional resume, while functional, is limiting. With tools like NotebookLM, we can move beyond that, creating content that tells a story rather than just listing facts.

Imagine submitting a podcast resume to a potential employer, a vibrant, audio-based narrative where they can hear the passion behind your projects, the tone of your voice, and the excitement in your journey. This kind of personal branding is no longer a futuristic dream—it’s here.

Conclusion: AI, Creativity, and You

Using NotebookLM to turn my resume into a podcast wasn’t just a fun experiment; it was an eye-opening experience in what AI can offer in personal branding. By feeding it the right inputs... my CV, LinkedIn profile, and blog posts, I unlocked a storytelling tool that brought my professional journey to life in ways I couldn’t have imagined.

The future of AI-driven creativity is limitless. And with NotebookLM, I caught a glimpse of how it can transform not just how we work, but how we present ourselves to the world. Whether you're a tech entrepreneur, an artist, or someone just starting out, this kind of AI innovation is a game-changer and I can’t wait to see what comes next.

I generated a resume from my LinkedIn profile and added it as a background to video I made with the downloaded podcast.

If you haven’t explored NotebookLM yet, you’re missing out on something special. there's a whole lot you can do with it, you can dissect your research papers into different sections and have a chat with each section, upload not just text documents but audio as sources of information.
Also, Your resume, your story, could be the next big podcast sensation.

Top comments (2)

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syeo66 profile image
Red Ochsenbein (he/him)

"How I Turned My Resume Into a Podcast with Google’s NotebookLM AI"
Summary: I uploaded documents and pressed a button...

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jamesbright profile image
James Ononiwu

Yes literally, and that’s the beauty in the whole process.