The ultimate guide: how to use ChatGPT for job search success

Using ChatGPT in the job search process has become the "next big thing," and it can save you time, whether it's providing career advice, analyzing job descriptions, answering application questions, or tailoring your resume. Learning how to use ChatGPT for your job search can provide you with an “AI assistant” that generates useful information to help you land the job of your dreams.

In this article, we’ll discuss:

• What is ChatGPT and can you use it to find a job?

• How do you use ChatGPT to apply for jobs?

• Can you use ChatGPT for career advice?

• Do employers check to see if you use ChatGPT?

What is ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is a state-of-the-art AI chatbot that utilizes “natural language processing” to generate a conversation that simulates human discourse, which means that it aims to sound like you’re interacting with an actual human being. The chatbot can answer questions, perform coding, and “write” content, such as blog posts, social media posts, newsletters, emails, or long-form articles. It was created by a company called OpenAI and launched in 2022. It’s free to use and can be accessed easily at chat.openai.com, or you can download an app for your phone.

Can you use ChatGPT to apply for jobs?

Yes, you can, but proceed with caution. It should be considered a tool, and you shouldn’t rely on it to completely write your cover letter and resume or fill out your application, because it can lead to material that sounds inauthentic and frankly, like a computer wrote it. Use it as a starting point, and make sure you’re inputting the correct information so that it has enough material to generate the appropriate text. Remember the old computer adage: “Garbage in, garbage out.” ChatGPT can’t do its job if it doesn’t have the right information to work with.

Considering that the average job applicant sends out anywhere from 21 to 80 applications before landing a job, ChatGPT can help you automate the process of tailoring your documents for each opportunity,  thereby increasing your job search efficiency. How does ChatGPT do this?

• It saves you time. ChatGPT can help to target your resumes and cover letter by allowing you to input your data one time, then hand-select the work experiences and keywords you want to incorporate in each resume to best align with your desired job.   

• It helps you apply for jobs that match your skills and interests. By asking the chatbot questions like, "What jobs are a good match for a person with {insert your skills. education, or experience}" it can cut through jobs that aren’t right for you and hone in on ones that might be a good match.

• It can polish your resume/cover letter, eliminating typos or grammatical errors that might cause a recruiter to toss it in the proverbial trash bin.

• ChatGPT can improve your interview skills. You can ask ChatGPT to provide sample questions that are often asked during interviews for positions like yours and receive feedback on your responses. (Career.io also offers an Interview Prep service, which utilizes AI-generated mock interviews, feedback, and live recordings.)

How do you use ChatGPT to apply for jobs?

There are several ways ChatGPT can help you apply for jobs. It’s important to remember, though, that you will still need to review the information the AI produces, to make sure it’s accurate and doesn’t sound mechanical or “off.” It's vital to edit the text and incorporate it into the material you already have. Also make sure you correct any “invented information” that ChatGPT writes, such as how long you were at a previous position or your achievements. You may have to refine your prompts so that ChatGPT can come up with more nuanced, accurate responses.

Using ChatGPT to tailor your resume

You already know how important it is to tailor your resume for each job you’re applying for, even if they’re similar roles since each company will have its own distinct requirements. This involves using keywords from the job description and highlighting work experience that aligns with the job description. ChatGPT can make this process go a little faster, saving you precious time. 

1. Find the prompt, and enter the phrase “create resume accomplishments with metric based on X-Y-Z job responsibilities.”

2. Hit shift+enter, and paste the job description.

3. If you like the information ChatGPT gave you, copy and paste it into a document you can edit, such as a Word doc.

4. Review the information, make sure it’s correct, and do the same process for the other jobs on your current resume.

5. Proofread the document.

6. Copy and paste this new information as your bullet points on your resume.

Utilizing ChatGPT for application questions

Often, a job application will require you to answer a few job-related questions. While you might be tempted to blow these off—all the information they need is on your resume, after all—you can actually use ChatGPT to help you craft concise, tailored answers to any question you encounter on an application. For example, if you’re in sales, you can use ChatGPT to answer questions like "What were your responsibilities in your previous role?" 

1. In the prompt box, enter “scan my resume to identify my responsibilities in inside sales. Write a three to five-sentence response in convincing, intelligent, and plain language describing my inside sales experience in the first person.”

2. Hit shift+enter then paste the job description from your resume.

3. If you’re not happy with the results, repeat the process.

4. Copy and paste the text into a Word doc when you have output that you’re happy with. 

5. Proofread for typos and grammatical errors (yes, AI can do this but it's better to use human eyes).

6. Copy and paste into the application question box.

How to use ChatGPT for career advice

If you’re stuck in a career rut, ChatGPT can be used for career advice or as a starting point for a career development plan. To utilize it, input information about your current career and any goals you have set. Include a desired salary, job titles, and your skills and education. A great thing about ChatGPT (and AI in general) is that it can analyze huge amounts of data—much more than a person could—and generate results that you might overlook on your own. It can also examine your social media profiles, resumes, and evaluation feedback that you've received to help you tease out your strengths, weaknesses, values, and primary personality aspects to help you get a better insight into what career would work best for you.

Do employers check to see if you use ChatGPT?

Employers might not perform an in-depth investigation to determine if you used ChatGPT with any part of your application process, but they usually can tell if you’ve used it. Documents or answers created with AI are often vague or lack personalization. They use broad, sweeping statements and a lot of technical jargon. A ChatGPT-created text lacks specificity, and may contain statements like "I am proficient in social media" or "I have worked for many large companies.” Additionally, it might not have any relation to the prompt you entered and include incorrect statements that imply you have expertise you don’t actually possess. It also is very likely to lack personality, which makes sense, because it’s AI. It’s up to you to edit and revise the text, so that it is accurate and reflects who you are as a person as well as a candidate.

To ensure maximum effectiveness of your resume, check out Career.io’s Resume Builder tool, which will provide you with professionally tested resume templates, AI-generated “smart suggestions”, and insight from our team of experts to help you land your next job with confidence.

Key takeaways

1. ChatGPT is a state-of-the-art AI chatbot that utilizes “natural language processing” to generate conversation that simulates human discourse.

2. You can use ChatGPT to apply for jobs, but you shouldn’t rely on it to completely write your cover letter and resume or fill out your application, because it can lead to material that sounds inauthentic.

3. Use ChatGPT to tailor your resume and cover letter for each job you’re applying for, write answers to application questions, or prepare for job interviews.

4. ChatGPT can provide career advice by examining your social media profiles, resume, and evaluation feedback that you’ve received to help you tease out your strengths, weaknesses, values, and primary personality aspects to help you get a better insight into what career would work best for you.