AI technology is no longer just a science fiction staple. With tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, anyone can experiment with artificial intelligence.
This technology is still being refined and can’t replace the creativity or contextual mind of a human, but it can be a great device to enhance all sorts of efforts—including aiding in your job search! From helping to build your resume and cover letter, to optimizing your LinkedIn profile, to interview prep, to simply being a wonderful research assistant, learn how to utilize AI technology to give your job search a boost.
Treat prompts like a conversation
ChatGPT works by typing in a prompt and it will answer as best as it can based on the set perimeters. But the bot isn’t all-powerful or all-knowing. To get the result you want, you’ll need to treat the chat box like a conversation and refine ideas or comes up with follow-up questions.
“As we often need to do when talking with a human, you may have to ask follow-up questions to get a more precise answer. Consider your prompt as the beginning of your conversation. (This is different logic than you use when searching Google.)” –Hannah Morgan
Career Sherpa’s Hannah Morgan writes to keep your prompts specific and descriptive. Set the perimeters you’d like covered, and don’t be afraid to start over as needed. The more information you provide, the better the bot can do its job!
Use it to spice up writing
Once you’ve gotten the hang of working with the AI, one of the best ways to use it is to spice up your writing. This wide-ranging feature can help you writes resume bullets, cover letters, LinkedIn bios, and more!
“If you are already a great writer, AI can make you an even better writer,” –Oliver Yarbrough
The tool can help fill out content for your resume, saving a great deal of time, or it can find the best way to phrase something, writes Klara Cervenanska. Specific resume-building AIs are becoming more common. Resumes and cover letters can take a lot of time, especially if you’re tailoring them for each position. Just remember that you’ll still need to proofread and make it your own. It’s often easy to tell if something was written by an AI, as it can’t compete with a human’s contextual ability and you want your unique voice to take the stage.
Use it as an assistant
AI can also be used as a reliable research assistant if you know how to ask the right questions.
Hannah Morgan says that you can use ChatGPT to find alternate job titles, find similar jobs in your industry, and create a list of target companies. The tool can also create thoughtful interview questions for you to ask or provide examples of questions you may be asked. Jaime Dubois highlights numerous programs that can help with interview preparation, which you can find here.
Resume writer Ruth Sternberg highlights AI’s abilities to translate your resume into another language, find industry-specific keywords, and flag suspicious claims for further research as a few highlights. While you still need to be cautious blindly trusting what the bot finds, it can be a great fact-checker if prompted correctly.
Create a job search plan
If you want to take AI’s role as a virtual assistant even further, you can use it to help you create a sustainable job search plan!
iHire suggests that ChatGPT can be used to create a job search schedule specific to your needs as well as provide insight into your industry’s trends.
“Type something like “create a personalized job search plan for a java developer tailored to their skills, experience, and goals” into ChatGPT, and it will give you an outline of lists that may be helpful during your search.” –iHire
Remember that it doesn’t replace your work
AI can be a wonderful tool to enhance your job search, but remember that the goal is to enhance the journey—not replace it!
These tools are still fairly new and always learning. The results you get may not always be exactly what you need, and there are plenty of programs that can tell if something was written by AI. The AI doesn’t possess the nuance or contextual information to replace human effort.
Teal’s Lia Zneimer writes that while ChatGPT tries to decline harmful results, occasionally they might provide harmful instructions or factually incorrect answers. Always fact-check when using these programs.
Wrap up
This just barely scratches the surface of how to use AI technology and what you can use it for. Learning the basics will help you pivot toward more specialized uses in the future. Whatever your needs are, remember that the AI can’t do everything for you. You need to learn to guide it yourself and enhance the results with your own human experience!
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