Raise your hand if, in the past week, you've just given up on your job search.
Perhaps it's
- those 55+ resumes you've sent out and still no call back from recruiters;
- reading and re-reading job descriptions, and you still happen to have no clue of what potential employers want from you;
- or maybe - it's the writer's blues: even listing your skills on your resume seems like you have to clean the Augean stables.
You've spent hundreds of thousands of hours on job applications (or so they seem to you) - but you still haven't even scheduled a single interview.
You're not alone.
Maybe you need a second pair of hands - or in this case - someone (or something) who can listen to you and provide you with answers.
Whatever the case may be, we want to introduce you to a simple - and cheap - solution that you can integrate into your job search.
Meet your number one virtual assistant - ChatGPT.
This AI chatbot has been around for less than six months, yet it has left a mark on the industry.
“Job seekers have the power to use AI just the way employers have been using it for years for recruiting.”
Marti Konstant, Workforce And Career Agility Trainer And Writer
Now, that's fantastic news for anyone on the lookout for a potential career change and new opportunities.
But how do you make use of ChatGPT's endless potential to get ahead with your job search?
This Enhancv guide will help you with advice on how to:
- Prepare your conversation prompts to make the most out of this AI chatbot;
- Job search strategy and ChatGPT - paving the way ahead;
- Integrating the chatbot's capacities as the strongest assessment tool you'll need for your skills and/or the job advert;
- A brief introduction to writing various sections of your resume and LinkedIn profile with ChatGPT;
- Other aspects of your job search you may need support with.
So get ready for our practical guide to help turn your job search from a Herculean task into a picayune one.
How to use ChatGPT in your job search: getting started and writing prompts
If you’re still wondering, what is ChatGPT, we have some insight straight from the horse’s mouth:
“I am ChatGPT, a large language model developed by OpenAI based on the GPT architecture.
I am an AI language model designed to process natural language inputs and generate human-like responses to the best of my ability, given the input provided to me.
I can answer a wide range of questions on various topics and engage in conversations with people to help them with their queries or to entertain them.”
ChatGPT (circa 2023) when asked to define itself
Those “conversations” are conducted using prompts - you ask your question or provide specific instructions, and then you receive answers from ChatGPT.
When writing prompts, especially during the job search stage of your application process, you need to be as specific as you can be.
Here are six of the most useful tips that can help you out.
1. Provide context
Before you start chatting with the AI, make sure you've gathered plenty of resources and information to be reviewed by the chatbot. This may include job adverts, your resume, etc.
This would ultimately help you get more tailored answers to your specific question.
2. Talk the talk
Don't treat your chat as a Google Search, but instead - as a conversation with a real person. Even though ChatGPT doesn't have feelings, it can participate in a conversation - like Siri and Alexa.
You can prepare follow-up questions, and ask the chatbot to regurgitate some of the answers (but more on that in the next couple of steps).
3. 5Ws for an H
If you ask ChatGPT, "Why aren't recruiters calling me for an interview?" the platform would provide with you a generic answer.
So be clear, specific, and descriptive with your prompts to tell ChatGPT exactly what you're looking for.
You could use the 5Ws structure when providing it with instructions (that is, answering Who, What, When, Where, and Why) to get the more tailored how “How”.
4. The big WHY
The best ChatGPT prompts are always the ones that provide the chatbot with the purpose behind the whole activity.
See for yourself with the answers to these two prompts:
"Help me improve my resume [paste in your resume]."
VS
"Help me improve my resume for a [job role] position at [company]. I'll first provide you with the specific role requirements [paste in job description], followed by my resume [paste in your resume]."
Context is everything.
5. Regenerate response
If you're not happy with the response you get, you could either regenerate one or tweak your prompt to get the most out of your ChatGPT experience.
The chatbot answer is final only when you say it is.
6. Double-check the response
ChatGPT is trained from sources up to and including 2021. This means that the answers it may sometimes provide you with could be outdated.
Remember how much happened in the past two+ years?
Even though ChatGPT is a pretty useful tool - it can't currently substitute the personality aspect of your whole application.
Pro tip:
Use ChatGPT as a supplement to your job search, not to replace yourself.
Remember that even though this is a very ambitious project, it can’t yet replace human interactions and - subsequently - feedback from recruiters on your resume, etc.
Job search and ChatGPT: some fun prompts to get you writing
Before we dive into the deep waters of how to use ChatGPT to succeed in your job search, we've prepared for you four fun prompts to test out.
Their aim is to show you that this chatbot could be useful for a couple of more outside-the-box situations.
How you use ChatGPT is entirely up to you, so get your thinking cap on and let your imagination loose. Test these prompts for yourself:
Overcoming your writer’s block
I'm currently in the process of applying for a job, but I am feeling writer's block about writing my resume, cover letter, and emailing recruiters - just basically the whole application process. Can you help me overcome my writer's block?
Growing your skills
I'm currently in the process of applying for a [marketing] role at [Google]. But I feel that my [social media] skills are a bit lacking. Could you please provide me with resources to boost my [social media] skills?
Dealing with stress and anxiety
DISCLAIMER: This next prompt is for general use only and can’t substitute professional medical advice or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified healthcare providers with any questions you may have regarding any health (or mental health) condition.
Use this prompt as solely a starting point:
I want you to act as a therapist - providing me with helpful guidance and instructions on how to deal with this case scenario. Please refer to some of the best industry practices and remain impartial throughout the whole process. I'm currently in the process of applying for a job, but I am feeling a bit stressed out and anxious. Can you please provide me with a couple of healthy and helpful routines I could integrate within my day-to-day schedule and process?
Preparing for an interview
We’ll get more into the topic in another guide, but here’s a good starting prompt to consider for your interview preparation:
The biggest lesson to remember about the whole activity is to have specific outcomes in mind - what you’d like to have generated as a response - and to provide ChatGPT with all relevant details.
Then, let the chatbot work its magic.
N.B. interview tasks
Imagine the following situation. After your first interview, the recruiters forwarded a specific task for you to complete at home. You may feel tempted to use ChatGPT to complete it.
The whole hiring process is about starting to build trust between yourself and the company - and while, yes, you may rely on ChatGPT to assist you with some aspects of the task (just like you’d for a real job), the chatbot should be used as a supplement.
If the interview task is done right - it should serve both your potential employer (to understand your capabilities) and also yourself (so you could get a preview of your day-to-day work).
Strategizing your job search with ChatGPT
This is a space of non-judgment, but just how chaotic are you about your job application strategy?
Do you base everything on whims and spur-of-the-moment muses?
Or are you a bit over-the-top meticulous with a billion trackers and Miro boards to map out the process?
Job searching is sort of like soul-searching. It's individual and at the end of the journey - you could potentially discover something about yourself that makes you unique (from a career perspective).
We've prepared three ChatGPT prompts you could play around with and integrate into your strategy.
"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail."
Benjamin Franklin, Founding Father of the United States
1. Building your job search strategy
This may be your first time applying for a job, or perhaps the one hundred.
Yet, the questions about best practices, time optimization, and prioritization remain unanswered.
What you could do is set up your strategy with these ChatGPT prompts:
I'm currently applying for a job - what are some of the best tips and tricks I could integrate within my strategy to help me stay motivated and on track with my applications? Reference the best industry practices.
What are some of the best practices concerning time prioritization in job applications?
What are the steps to building an individual job application strategy?
You may have other questions concerning your strategy - ChatGPT can help you to start thinking about those.
2. Most common mistakes
This may come as a surprise, but it's most often that the same sort of mistakes candidates make are stopping them from landing their dream jobs.
So, even though ChatGPT won't be there to hold your hand through the whole job search process, it could provide you with what not to do.
What are some of the most common mistakes that [python engineers] make during the job search?
What should I be wary of during my job search?
Job search tips and tricks - what is the number one mistake stopping candidates from landing their dream jobs?
3. Stay organized
You applied for the job three weeks ago and still haven't heard any feedback. Is now a good time to ask recruiters what's going on?
This and multiple other time-sensitive concerns that help in your strategy optimization (and organization) could be part of your ChatGPT job search prompts.
I saw a job opening that I really liked - yet the deadline for the application is tomorrow. Should I still apply for the job?
I went to a job interview last week, but still haven't heard back from the recruiters. When is a good time to message them about my feedback?
I haven't heard any news from recruiters in the past month or so about the role I applied for. I emailed them multiple times asking for feedback and received a response that they're still interviewing candidates. When is a good time to give up on the role entirely?
Assessing your career perspectives with ChatGPT
After you’ve answered some of the most important questions to you about your job search (and have set up your strategy) - it’s time to get into the research phase of the process.
ChatGPT is a real gold mine - if you’re looking for data-based decision-making. In some cases, even the emotional element can come into play.
So without further ado, here are eight of our favorite prompts to get you thinking about your career perspectives.
Discover career opportunities
Have you ever wondered what role you could have, based on your entire resume? ChatGPT can provide you with insights from an AI perspective - just exactly which boxes your resume would tick.
I'll provide you with my resume - I need help assessing two things. The first is what roles I could apply for. The second is what industries would match my experience. In general, what are your career recommendations for me? Is that alright?
You’d next paste in your resume:
In this case, ChatGPt provided the candidate with six role recommendations and five different industries, while also assessing these three resume sections:
Thus providing the candidate with pretty useful final verdicts for the future - and, in this case, ideas for education industry roles.
But what if you’re on the search for…
Alternative jobs in the same industry
Based on my resume, I want to continue growing in the same industry, yet look at alternative roles to what I'm doing at the moment. Ideally, my new role should match my [skill set], yet require [new responsibilities and help me learn new know-how]. I basically need [a change of pace]. If I paste in my resume, would you be able to assess what my alternative career opportunities within [business] are?
In particular, for this lead business analyst, ChatGPT recommended five different roles (Project Manager, Product Manager, Operations Manager, Data Analyst, and Business Development Manager) and where to look for more information.
3. Find similar jobs in a new industry
Perhaps, you’re enjoying your role responsibilities and deem that they’re way more applicable to a different industry.
There’s a ChatGPT prompt that could be of use to get you thinking about that:
I'm looking for similar roles to the one I currently have but in new industries. Here's my resume: [paste in your resume]. What are your career recommendations for me?
This activity could hence provide you with different roles you could apply for. But, what if you wanted to solely focus on new industries for your growth?
Can you please provide me with a list of industries to which my experience could be applicable?
4. New roles based on skills
Maybe you’d like to focus your career shift on transferring your technical skills to your new role:
Based on my technical skill set, what are the career perspectives ahead of me? Here's my resume: [paste in your resume]
Another viable option is to focus your job search on soft skills (or communication, analytical, and various character skills that are easily transferable to different roles) with this prompt:
Based solely on my soft skills, what are some viable career perspectives ahead of me? Here's my resume:
Of course, ChatGPT would look more for job matches, based on data. The choice for your potential career shift is entirely up to you.
1. Job recommendations based on experience
As we all know, the experience segment of your resume does play a crucial role in the whole recruitment process.
So, consider experimenting with this ChatGPT prompt and your resume:
Help me discover what my career perspectives are ahead of me by focusing solely on my experience:
This is one of the prompts which will help you consider a bit more dream-driven (and hence possibly emotional) decision-making.
Before you get writing, think about where you want to go with your resume. To make the most out of this prompt, consider making your goals tangible with your dream job, company, and deadlines.
Then, paste in your resume with this ChatGPT prompt:
My dream is to become [CTO] at [Tesla]. My professional experience looks as so: [paste in your resume]. What do you recommend should be my next role to achieve my career goals in the next [five] years?
The best piece of advice the chatbot provided us with is:
In summary, to achieve your career goals in the next five years, you should consider gaining experience in software development, expanding your leadership skills, developing your industry knowledge, and networking with industry leaders.
1. Role, based on interests
You’ve learned everything there is about your role (or so you think). What is more, you want your next job to be more focused on your interests and/or hobbies.
I'm looking for recommendations for my next role, based on my interests. Those include [painting, photography, and traveling across the globe]. I'll paste in my resume for more context: [paste in your resume in full]
Perhaps you want to invest some time in your crocheting or reading - provide all of this relevant information to the chatbot.
In this scenario, ChatGPT recommends the candidate to look into roles as a:
- Fine Art Photographer
- Travel Photographer
- UX/UI Designer for Travel Industry
- Art Director in Advertising
- Freelance Artist
This is a pretty neat (and useful) prompt.
1. Career 180
If you feel that you’ve exhausted entirely your career, and you want to switch things up - well, there’s a ChatGPT prompt to inspire you.
I'm looking for a complete career 180 change. I'm exhausted from [meeting next-day deadlines and the constant need of the industry for content creation]. Here's my resume: [paste in your resume]. What would you recommend?
Make sure to include the reason why you need this switch up so that ChatGPT can take into consideration what you don’t want for your next role.
These are just a few options to consider, but the most important thing is to identify what truly interests you and aligns with your skills and strengths. Don't be afraid to explore different industries and roles, and consider reaching out to professionals in the fields you are interested in to learn more about their experiences. Good luck with your career change!
Hint: job advert analysis with ChatGPT
Apart from using ChatGPT to analyze your professional resume and profile, you could also use it to get more insights into the role you’re applying for with these five prompts.
1. Analyze a job posting
Do you struggle to understand precisely what recruiters want from you? You feel like sometimes the job advert is in hieroglyphs, and you need the Rosetta Stone to decipher it.
We’ve got some good news for you.
I’m currently looking for a job. Could you please help me better understand what's expected of me, with a focus on requirements and my qualifications? Here's the job advert: [paste in the job advert]
In summary, to be considered for this role, you should have a bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience, 8 years of experience in product management, consulting, co-founder, or a related technical role, and 3 years of experience building and shipping technical products. You should also have experience developing/launching products/technologies within one or more of the following: Cloud, SaaS, enterprise, internal tools, or supply chain networks. Preferred qualifications include experience driving product goal, go-to-market strategy, and design discussions, managing day-to-day technical and design direction, and expertise with various data tools like Informatica, Fivetran, DBT, etc. The responsibilities of the role include owning the goal and roadmap across the full product lifecycle, collaborating with the Engineering team to build the next generation experience for getting data into BigQuery, and working closely with key partners like Fivetran, DBT, etc.
Or, alternatively, check out this prompt that’s focused on both benefits and requirements:
I'm currently trying to understand what this job is all about: [paste in job advert]. Could you please make it easier to understand and explain what are the requirements and what sort of benefits would employees be entitled to?
1. Keywords and frequency
Let’s say you have a couple of similar jobs you’d like to apply to within the same industry. You may want to analyze those for keywords (and hence rank their frequency).
This would ultimately help you discover which are the most prominent skills, which your resume should focus on.
I'd like to use your help to better understand the desired skills and keywords for the [social media] industry. For this purpose, I'll provide you with [three] job posts. After I've pasted those in, you'd assess what are the most common skills - among both the requirements and qualifications - and rank those based on frequency. Do you understand what you're supposed to do?
Here is job post 1: [paste in the job post]. Please stand by while I provide you with job post 2.
You should repeat this prompt before you paste in every single job advert. When you’re done with all three references, here’s what you could type in for the best results:
This is the third job post: [paste in the job post].
Now I want you to use all [three] job adverts to determine what the most common skills for [social media] are - using both the adverts' requirements and qualifications - and rank those based on frequency.
After analyzing the three job posts, the most common skills for social media are:
- Video production/editing skills - mentioned in all three job posts as a requirement or preferred skill
- Social media management - mentioned in all three job posts as a requirement or preferred skill
- Content creation - mentioned in all three job posts as a requirement or preferred skill
- Communication skills - mentioned in all three job posts as a requirement or preferred skill
- Project management - mentioned in two of the job posts as a requirement or preferred skill
Please note that these skills are listed in order of frequency and not in order of importance, as the importance of each skill may vary depending on the specific job and company.
1. Industry skills and qualifications
You may not currently have any specific job posts which you’d like to have analyzed, but rather want to look at the industry in general.
What are the key skills and qualifications employers look for in the [data science] industry, with a more specific focus on [data analysts]?
1. Point out red flags in an advert
This is one of those prompts you shouldn’t rely too much on as ChatGPT is a bit subjective, as it uses databases up to 2021.
Yet, it’s a fun exercise to test out whether there are any potential red flags within the advert:
Based on best practices and your know-how, I want you to help me determine if this advert has any red flags: [paste in the full job advert].
Based on the information provided, the job post does not appear to have any red flags. However, it is important to note that the language used in the job post may be subjective and could be interpreted differently by different individuals. Here are some points to consider:
Pros:
- The job responsibilities and qualifications are clearly outlined.
- The compensation is provided.
- The job does not require any discriminatory requirements or expectations.
- The company appears to prioritize safety and training.
- The job offers an opportunity to work with multiple departments and collaborate with various agencies.
Cons:
- None identified.
Overall, the job post seems to be a standard job description for a Social Media and Content Marketing Manager. However, it is always recommended to conduct additional research on the company and ask any relevant questions during the application or interview process to gain a better understanding of the job and company culture.
Writing your resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile with ChatGPT
Now no job search is complete without your document optimization, and in particular you should pay close attention to your resume, cover letter, and potentially your LinkedIn profile.
Within this next part of our guide, we’ll provide you with eight useful prompts to get you to start writing.
- Optimize your resume based on best practices
You could ask ChatGPT to act as a resume writer/ coach in helping you optimize based on:
- The role industry you see yourself succeeding in;
- Best industry practices and knowledge;
- Tone of writing and ability to stand out.
I want you to act as a professional, high-end resume writer. I'm looking to apply for a new, [more senior] role within [sales]. Next, I'll provide you with my resume - could you please help me optimize it? Use [the best industry practices and know-how] to make my resume [stand out to catch recruiters' eyes]. Are you ready to optimize my resume?
ChatGPT would provide you with professional advice and even start rewriting your resume.
Whatever you do, always double-check the chatbot’s outputs, as it sometimes tends to make things up on the spot.
2. Tailoring your resume for a job advert
What if you’ve a particular role you’d like to apply for, but don’t have enough time to target your resume for it?
ChatGPT would be more than happy to help you out - in just a few seconds, you may have a draft version of your resume, that is almost good to go. Here’s how:
I want you to act as a career coach. I've my resume ready and a job, which I'd like to apply for. Could you please help me tailor my resume to fit in more of the key skills, qualifications, and requirements, detailed within the advert? I'll first provide you with my resume and then the job. How does that sound?
After providing both your resume and the advert, you’d get instructions on what to do next, with a focus on your:
Need further help with rewriting your resume for the job? Test this prompt out:
Could you show me what my resume could look like based on your advice?
2. Create a professional summary
If you don’t have any clue about writing your resume summary (or have no time), lean on ChatGPT as a good kick-off point.
Your summary is at the top one-third of your resume, it ultimately helps Applicant Tracker Systems (ATS) recognize keywords and could make a real difference.
This prompt will also help you save time by providing you with a couple of different summary variations you could use to get inspired:
Act as a resume writer. I'll provide you with my resume. I want you to help me write a resume summary that is up to five sentences long. It should focus on my career highlights, achievements, and skills. Use professional and clear language, as well as best industry practices. Please provide me with [three] alternative versions of my summary. Here's my resume: [paste in your resume].
Resume Summary:
1. Dedicated and results-oriented high school teacher with 10+ years of experience teaching biology and chemistry. Successfully increased the number of A+ to C grades from 60% to 90% over two years, and contributed to raising the retention rate from 75% to 89%. Received two outstanding reports from classroom inspections from the city central education board.
2. Innovative and student-focused high school teacher with a proven track record of improving academic performance. Designed original student learning plans centered on the curriculum and aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards. Skilled in engaging students with diverse learning styles, including 30+ international students (ESL) and students with specialized educational needs.
3. Results-driven high school teacher with a passion for student success. Expertise in creating engaging and challenging lesson plans, and running extracurricular sessions that contributed to the increase in retention rate. Experienced in peer collaboration and instruction during staff development opportunities and peer observation of classroom strategies and assessment.
Note: These summaries are not intended to be copied and pasted directly onto your resume. They are examples to help you craft your own summary that highlights your unique skills, achievements, and experiences.
2. Resume experience section
Maybe you need your resume experience bullets to be more focused on your achievements and career highlights:
I want you to act as a career advisor and resume writer. I need help rewriting my resume experience bullets to be more focused on my [skills, achievements, and perhaps include a few certificates]. Could you please rewrite my experience bullet points for my role as [Teacher at Hudson High School of Learning Technologies]? Do you understand what I need help with?
The AI would go on to rewrite your whole resume. But, what if you want to focus on just a particular experience section? Follow up your conversation with this prompt:
Use my full resume as a reference: [paste in your full resume]. Please only rewrite this section: [paste in the experience bullets].
2. Identify resume keywords or skills
Before sending out your resume to recruiters, you’d like to know what keywords or skills it focuses the most on.
I want you to act as a recruiter or the Applicant Tracker System, set to assess my resume. What are the keywords and skills that pop out the most from it? Here's my resume: [paste in your resume]
You could use this prompt to discover if your skill set aligns with the job advert or if there are any keyword discrepancies (these could easily be amended).
2. Cover letter writing
Okay, so you have your job ad and resume. Now it’s time for your least favorite part - writing your cover letter.
Help me write a cover letter that is no longer than five paragraphs. Make sure it's focused on my skills and achievements that align with the job advert. Use the best industry practices and standards to achieve the perfect balance between professionalism and making sure my application stands out in a positive light. Here's my resume: [paste in your resume]. Here’s the job advert: [paste in the job advert in full].
Check out ChatGPT’s cover letter:
With a few tweaks and a more personalized approach, it could be the perfect fit.
2. LinkedIn headlines made simple
When writing your LinkedIn headline, you face many initial challenges:
- Which skills should you focus on?
- Should your headline be more about your current role?
- What would make you stand out on the platform?
Our best suggestion, before rewriting your LinkedIn profile, is for you to do your homework. Check out professionals who are currently working in your dream role and what their headline is like.
This might help you put everything into perspective. Otherwise:
I want you to act as a professional LinkedIn profile builder. I'm currently looking for a job and need help writing my headline. Furthermore, I want it to focus on my [chatbot implementation] achievement, and possibly my [Java, C++, and Unix] skills. Ensure the headline is no more than 220 characters and uses professional language. I'll next paste my resume as a reference for you. Can you please let me know what your task is?
After you’ve pasted in your resume, ChatGPT will provide you with a professional LinkedIn headline you could tweak.
Based on your resume, I recommend the following headline for your LinkedIn profile:
"Passionate Software Engineer | Java, C++, Unix Expert | Successfully developed and implemented chatbot to reduce costs by 240%"
This headline highlights your extensive experience in software engineering and emphasizes your expertise in Java, C++, and Unix. Additionally, it showcases your achievements in developing and implementing a chatbot that resulted in significant cost savings for a customer service department. With a strong headline like this, potential employers will immediately recognize your strengths and accomplishments, which will make them more likely to consider you for job opportunities.
If you’re unhappy with the initial result, you could also ask for more headlines with either of these two prompts:
Can you please provide me with three more alternatives?
Can you please provide me with three more alternatives that also highlight that I'm on the lookout for a new career opportunity?
2. LinkedIn summary and ChatGPT
Your LinkedIn profile summary is the second most important aspect - as it should include both keywords and achievements. Some of the best industry professionals do aim to tell a story, using it.
Here’s our favorite ChatGPT prompt for LinkedIn profile summary writing:
I want you to act as a LinkedIn profile optimizer. Here's the situation - I'm currently looking for a new job, and I am hoping to find it via LinkedIn, where recruiters would be looking at my profile. I've optimized my resume and headline, but need help with my summary. The summary you write should be no more than 2000 characters long. Please provide me with two separate versions of it. The first should highlight my achievements and skills while highlighting my resume strengths. The second LinkedIn summary should tell the story of my career growth. I'll next paste in my resume, so you could better understand my background. Is that alright - do you know what you're supposed to do?
Version 1 - Highlighting achievements and skills:
Passionate Software Engineer with over a decade of experience in developing web applications and backend systems. Skilled at writing clear, concise code that is easy to maintain and troubleshoot. Experienced in working with both small and large teams across multiple projects and companies. Able to work independently of remote locations or in office environments as needed by the company.
Achievements:
- Spearheaded a $12M software project from design to distribution as a senior software engineer in a 12-people team
- Improved query efficiency by 30% by designing and fully revising the two largest MySQL databases
- Coordinated a year-long release of a six-part platform project with marketing, BA, QA, and sales department
- Developed a chatbot which helped customers to reduce costs by 240% in their customer service department
Skills:
- Proficient in Java, C++, Python, Perl, mySQL, and ASP.NET
- Experienced with Unix, Solaris, Linux, and Windows operating systems
I have optimized my resume and headline, and now my LinkedIn summary showcases my achievements and skills, making it easier for recruiters to understand my professional expertise.
Version 2 - Telling the story of career growth:
Starting as a Junior Software Engineer at Redfin, I have grown into a seasoned Lead Software Engineer with over 10 years of experience in developing web applications and backend systems. My expertise and passion have driven my career growth and led to various achievements throughout my career.
At Redfin, I fueled an additional revenue stream through responsive customer support, generating $18k in new license sales within the first three weeks of the new release. At Target, I optimized customer resources and reduced turnaround time by 20%. At Wayfair, I re-engineered critical modules within a sprint to rely on a centralized library to optimize performance by 68%, and moved the automation solution into commercial software.
Currently, as a Lead Software Engineer at Blackbaud, I have successfully converted a whole project from python 2 to 3.8.0 and automated the process to create usage graphs, saving $500,000/year, and increasing accuracy.
I hold an Executive MBA in Engineering Management from the University of Arizona and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from North Carolina Wesleyan College. Along with my technical skills, I also excel in Corporate Social Responsibility and have volunteered in the CSR team for Amadeus, organizing tuition platforms for the underprivileged and designing confluence pages for book drives.
Through my career growth, I have learned to work independently or with both small and large teams across multiple projects and companies. My skills and experience make me an asset to any organization, and I am excited to see what the future holds for me in the software engineering industry.
Both versions would require a few more tweaks, but you get the gist of it.
Communications and ChatGPT
Candidates often get cold feet when communicating with recruiters - perhaps feeling shy about emailing first or sending out network messages.
It’s often the case that they don’t want to sound too pushy, yet, they do need to get some more background on the opportunity at hand.
So, what if you started using ChatGPT to write your networking messages to recruiters? Here’s how you could do so if you’re communicating on LinkedIn:
I need help with writing an invitation to connect to a recruiter on LinkedIn regarding a [P.A.] opportunity for [Elon Musk]. Help me write my cold outreach to the recruiter - it shouldn't sound too pushy, yet demonstrate a genuine interest in the role. Make sure that the limit of 299 characters is met.
Hello! I'm excited to connect and discuss the P.A. opportunity for Elon Musk. I'm confident in my ability to excel in the role and would love to hear more about the position. Thank you!
Alternatively, you may decide to email recruiters with questions about the role.
I want you to act as a career coach. I'm in the process of emailing a recruiter about a [graphic design] position at [Marvel]. This will be my first ever communication with the recruiters - I want the email to sound professional, yet show my interest in the role. Make it no longer than three paragraphs where within the first, I answer why I'd be the best fit, the second - showcasing my interest in [Marvel], and the third - how I see myself grow as a [graphic designer] in the company. End with questions about the position itself.
Dear [Recruiter’s name],
I am writing to express my interest in the graphic design position at Marvel. As an experienced graphic designer with a strong passion for storytelling, I believe I would be the perfect fit for this role. My ability to bring ideas to life through captivating visuals and my keen eye for detail are skills that align with the demands of the job.
I have always been a huge fan of Marvel and its world-renowned characters. The opportunity to contribute to the visual language of such an iconic brand would be a dream come true. I admire Marvel's commitment to diverse storytelling and the way it celebrates individuality, which makes the company stand out from others in the entertainment industry.
As a graphic designer, I am constantly seeking new challenges and opportunities to grow creatively. At Marvel, I envision myself collaborating with a team of talented professionals to develop innovative visual concepts that push the boundaries of traditional design. I am excited about the prospect of learning from some of the best minds in the industry and contributing to Marvel's legacy.
Could you provide more information about the specific responsibilities of the position and the qualities you are looking for in a candidate? I am eager to learn more about the opportunity and how I can best contribute to Marvel's continued success.
Thank you for considering my application, and I look forward to hearing back from you soon.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
ChatGPT can come in pretty handy within the job search process with its various capabilities. But here’s one final piece of advice from the chatbot itself:
“Remember that while I can provide valuable insights and advice, I cannot guarantee that you will find a job or secure an interview. Job searching requires patience, persistence, and a willingness to adapt and learn.”
Key Takeaways
- When providing instructions to ChatGPT, make sure your prompts are concise and descriptive, providing all relevant background information. Always double-check the chatbots outputs before submitting your application.
- Use ChatGPT’s capacities in the strategic and assessment stages of your job search to stay on track, analyze your profile, understand the job description, etc.
- ChatGPT can help you write various documents within your application process: from your resume and cover letter to your LinkedIn profile. Just make sure you’ve prepared all the necessary references (e.g. job adverts, profiles you’ve liked), so it’d provide you with more tailored responses.
- If you’re struggling with messaging or emailing recruiters, learn the basics with ChatGPT. Always make sure to put your twist into every single communication you send out.
- In the end, you’re the one applying for the job, not ChatGPT. It’s a pretty useful tool to help you along the way, but remember that recruiters are always best impressed with a more personalized approach to the job search and your application.
Make one that's truly you.
