ChatGPT: The Game Changer Your Job Search and Career Needs 

Everyone’s talking about ChatGPT, a relatively new artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot. But did you know this new tool can be incredibly useful for your career?

It’s true! From drafting a cover letter to writing a thank you note after an interview, ChatGPT can make job searching much easier. If you already have a job, it can help you succeed in your career, too. 

Artificial Intelligence is transforming our world and our careers. Leveraging the power of AI tools like ChatGPT can be invaluable for applicants, employees, and employers.

What is ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is a chatbot launched in November 2022 by OpenAI. GPT stands for Generative Pre-trained Transformer. In other words, it’s a revolutionary online tool that uses artificial intelligence to answer questions or prompts in a realistic conversational way. And you can use it for free.

How Do You Use ChatGPT?

If you’ve ever used a chat feature to get assistance on a website, you can use ChatGPT. The whole point is that it mimics human conversation, so you just “talk” to it.

Ask questions like “How can I improve my chances of getting hired in my field?” or “List jobs that are good for detail-oriented people.” It will answer you, and then it’s up to you if you want to continue the conversation or not. 

For example, it suggested that becoming a research assistant is a good detail-oriented job. You could ask it for more information about what a research assistant does, where they work, what skills they need, and even what salary to expect. 

If you don’t like its answer or want more varieties, ask it to “try again” or “add more” and it will! 

As a bonus, this tool also saves your chat history, so you can quickly go back to something if you need to. 

But remember, ChatGPT has its imitations. Use it to support your job search and professional development–not replace it. 

Using ChatGPT in Your Job Search 

Applying for jobs can be tedious. You are told to tailor each application to the job, so you tweak a few words here and there, but ultimately you are just repeating yourself. With ChatGPT, you can quickly create personalized content for your applications and online profiles. 

But ChatGPT can help your job search in so many other ways.

Find a Career Path

If you still don’t know what you want to be when you grow up, use the chatbot to learn about the different types of jobs out there. 

You can also use it to recommend jobs that would suit you. I asked it to “analyze my resume and suggest careers” and pasted a copy of my resume. It gave me six strong suggestions that were all good fits.

Draft a Resume and Cover Letter 

A blank page can be intimidating, especially when applying for a job. You could start with a resume template, but most are just giving you a nice layout to use. You still need to come up with the content yourself. 

It will be tempting to use ChatGPT to write your resume or cover letter, but you shouldn’t. You should only use it to generate a first draft.

An AI-generated resume or cover letter is going to be generic. It will have mistakes, be repetitive, and include irrelevant information. 

More importantly, though, is that it won’t include context. The Forage put ChatGPT to the test and found the results just weren’t specific enough. 

For example, it will output a statement, such as a list of your skills, but does not mention how you used them. Hiring managers want examples and results. Otherwise, it’s just an empty statement. This type of resume isn’t going to stand out and isn’t going to get you an interview.

Use ChatGPT as your starting point.

Ask it to create a resume outline by inputting your education, skills, and relevant experience. 

Or, as one user discovered, use the tool to create a customized cover letter. Ask the bot to: write a cover letter for the job ad (“insert the ad in quotes”) based on this resume (“insert your resume in quotes”).

Review the drafts and make sure they are accurate to your skills and experience. Edit them by correcting grammar or spelling mistakes and ensure everything is clear. Doing so will create a polished version worthy of applying with. 

Improve Your Resume and Cover Letter

If you don’t know how to polish your job search materials or tailor them to the job description, ChatGPT can suggest what you should include.

It’s as easy as entering a prompt like “I am applying for a [customer service] role” or “I want to work in the [finance] industry.” 

For example, I told the bot, “I am applying for a remote job.” The bot gave me five practical tips, including highlighting communication skills and taking an online course. But it also congratulated and encouraged me “to apply for jobs that may be a stretch for you,” which I thought was a nice touch. 

Generate Bullet Points

Turning your responsibilities, skills, and accomplishments into descriptive bullet points is where most people struggle when writing a resume. You know what you did, but how do you say that in resume terms? Ask ChatGPT!

For example: 

• List 15 examples of resume bullet points for a [teacher]’s resume
• Write 10 bullet point examples to add [interpersonal] skills to a resume

You can also use ChatGPT like a thesaurus, so you’re not repeatedly using the exact same words.

Write Achievement Statements

Similarly to resume bullet points, you’ll want to include achievement or accomplishment statements in your cover letter and resume. Recruiters want to see your results, yet many candidates don’t have any in their applications. Those who do rarely provide enough detail for it to be effective.   

Saying you “increased sales by 10%” sounds good, but it’s vague and has no context. Plus, it doesn’t tell an employer how you contributed to this increase. 

A much better statement would be, “Implemented a new customer loyalty program, resulting in a 10% increase in sales and a 12% increase in customer retention over 16 months.” It is specific and shows your impact, giving employers a strong sense of what you could achieve for their team. 

But how do you come up with something like that? You ask ChatGPT to do it for you. 

Teal suggests copying the responsibilities from a job posting, pasting them into ChatGPT, and adding the prompt: “Write resume achievements with metrics based on these job responsibilities.” Or ask, “Give me examples of strong accomplishment statements for [project managers].”

Again, you’ll need to proofread and tweak the results to reflect what you truthfully accomplished, but this should help you identify your most impressive achievements.  

Find Job Openings 

Not every job vacancy is advertised online. There is an entire hidden job market out there that ChatGTP can help you tap into. 

Use a simple prompt like “I am looking for a [marketing manager] job,” and it will suggest places to look beyond your common job boards.

Analyze Job Descriptions and Find Keywords 

Whether it’s by a hiring manager or an applicant tracking system (ATS), your resume and cover letter will be scanned for keywords, skills, and qualifications. If the essential requirements aren’t there, you won’t be getting an interview. 

Ironically, ChatGPT can be used to scan job descriptions and pick out these specific key points. Adding the ones you have to your application will ensure it gets past the initial screening. 

Enter something like “Identify the key qualifications for this job” and paste the text from the advertisement. Or enter a job description and ask the bot to create an ideal candidate profile. It will give you a solid answer. 

It can also help you include industry-specific terms which will better resonate with potential employers and may be terms they are scanning for. 

Identify Your Skills

It can be difficult to identify our skills and strengths, but it’s important to know what we are good at if we want to succeed. 

One way that ChatGPT can help is by pasting your work experience into the chat and asking it to identify what skills you have. It will look for patterns or common themes that indicate your particular strengths.

Another way it can help you discover your talents is by asking about your experiences and interests and making suggestions.

Remember, ChatGPT is designed for conversation, so chat with it. I tested it by asking it to help me identify my skills based on my resume. The bot came back with a list of questions to consider. I told it I work at a career center, and it suggested a dozen skills I have likely developed through my job. And it was spot on.

Fill Out Online Applications 

Career expert Jerry Lee shares lots of cool job searching hacks on his TikTok, including one where he used ChatGPT and a Google Chrome extension to apply for 200 jobs in 2 days. 

First, he uses the chrome extension Simplify to autofill online job applications in a single click. Then he uses ChatGPT to answer any questions on the application. Each application takes about a minute to complete with this trick. 

Find Recruiters 

There are some industries like technology, healthcare, and manufacturing that rely on recruiters, although they can be found in many others. Ask ChatGPT to give you a list of recruiters and include your industry and location. From there, you can also ask the chatbot to tell you more about each recruiter or to find reviews.

Improve Your Interview Skills

One of the best ways to nail a job interview is to practice beforehand. You will feel more confident and don’t have to worry that your nerves will get the better of you.

Once again, you can use ChatGPT to help. Use the tool to generate interview questions, ranging from commonly asked questions to industry-specific ones. Answer them back in the chat and get valuable feedback that you can actually use in your next interview.

I asked the bot for sample interview questions for an editing job, and it gave me eight great ones. I gave a weak answer to one of its prompts, and it replied with a whole paragraph about how I could expand on that answer. Once again, I am impressed. 

Research and Reviews

Look at the company’s website and social media pages directly, but dig a little deeper when researching a job lead. You can use ChatGPT like Google to help you with this. 

Some different prompts to try include:

• Tell me about [company]
• What do [company] employees say about working at [company]?
• What is [company]’s mission and values?
• Who does [company] serve? Who are their customers?
• Who are the [company]’s competitors?
• What are common complaints about [company]?

Improve Your Online Profiles

Who you are online (or who you appear to be) can impact your job search. Most companies look at your online presence as part of their background checks. Why not take this opportunity to make a positive impression?

Optimizing your LinkedIn profile is a good place to start. Once again, ChatGPT can help you find the keywords to add to your profile, update your experience and accomplishments, and even create a personalized summary for the “About” section. 

Simply ask ChatGPT to create a professional summary based on the information you include about yourself and edit the results. 

Improve Your Networking

ChatGPT can be useful for networking purposes, too. Use it to generate conversation starters and then practice having conversations with it. That is what it’s designed for. 

Before attending an event, use it to research speakers and attendees so you can think of questions you’d like to ask them or topics you’d like to discuss.

The bot can even generate outreach emails. Or, ask it for networking tips, like “how to introduce yourself at a networking event” and “how to ask for a business card.” Any of these options will help you build your networking skills.

Write a Custom Thank You Note

Sending a thank you note after a job interview is commonly suggested but rarely followed. A simple email can help you stand out as a candidate and allow you to reiterate your interest in the role. But what do you say beyond “Thank you?”

ChatGPT can give you some great ideas! Use the prompt “Generate a thank you note after a job interview for…” and fill in as many details as you like, such as the job role, the company, or anything else you want to include. The more information you give it, the more customized it will be. 

Salary Negotiations 

Before you accept that job offer, make sure they are offering you a good salary. ChatGTP can help you determine what that amount is based on your job title, location, responsibilities, and experience.

If you decide to negotiate the salary, ask the bot for advice or hold mock negotiations with it to increase your confidence.

Using ChatGPT in Your Career

Once you start that great new job, you can still take advantage of ChatGPT to help you succeed and reach your career goals. From helping you streamline everyday tasks to offering career advice, using ChatGPT can make you a more productive and valuable employee. 

As An Assistant 

You may not have a personal assistant, but ChatGPT can help fill that gap. On the job, it helps you use your time more efficiently by doing some of the work for you, such as: 

• Generate ideas for projects or marketing purposes
• Write marketing copy and social media posts
• Research topics 
• Create outlines and reports 
• Write professional emails
• Brainstorm solutions to problems 
• Turn your rough notes into a summary
• Suggest questions to ask
• Edit your documents to follow style guidelines
• Write instructions 
• Draft press releases 
• Come up with title suggestions
• Summarize documents
• Build swipe files 

And this is just the start. There are many practical ways you can use ChatGPT for your specific role. 

As A Teacher

Don’t stop learning and growing your skills if you want to stay relevant in your field. AI programs like ChatGPT can help your professional development in several ways.

Use it to research topics and find recent reports and media mentions from your industry so that you’re up-to-date on developments. Ask for recommendations on online courses or ways to enhance your skills. Get it to explain complex things to you in simpler terms. Or, as mentioned, chat with ChatGPT to improve your communication skills. 

Getting a Raise   

Too many people deserve raises but are afraid to ask for one. Like negotiating your salary, it’s not an easy conversation to have–but it’s an important one. 

If you’ve been working with the company for a couple of years, ask ChatGPT for the current salary ranges for your role so you know if you’re being paid fairly or not. 

If you’re not, use it to get tips for negotiating a raise and to help you generate a list of reasons why you deserve to be paid more.

Using ChatGPT as an Employer

Whether you’re a small business owner or the leader of a major firm, artificial intelligence will change how you do business. Here are a few ways you can use ChatGPT: 

• Write effective job advertisements and job descriptions
• Screen resumes 
• Generate suitable interview questions
• Create onboarding documents and training materials 
• Draft contracts 
• Market your company 
• Communicate with your candidates and staff
• Write product descriptions
• Translate languages
• Research market trends
• Write step-by-step guides 
• Analyze customer feedback 
• Track performance and write performance reviews 

ChatGPT: The Essential Tool for Success in Your Job Search and Career

Artificial intelligence is changing how we work and live. ChatGPT is only the beginning. Its ability to give personalized advice and valuable suggestions will make it easier to find a job and advance your career. So start embracing its power today.

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