This is how ChatGPT can level up your job search

Morgan Llewellyn, FastCompany Viewed 7467 Times Viewed by 2183 People

ChatGPT can help job seekers level up their job-searching skills and provide guidance throughout the hiring process.

[Source photo: San Engineer/Pexels]

ChatGPT has been nothing less than a disruptor, making waves in about every industry. Given its strong writing abilities, it’s been called a job taker by some, but in actuality, the recommendation-style chatbot can help people find jobs.

In fact, a job application written by ChatGPT was recently shortlisted for an interview by a company and fewer than 20% of candidates moved forward to this stage of the process.

However, tools like ChatGPT can be much more than job application support—they can serve as career coaches, helping in every stage of the job search process.

With uncertainty over an economic slowdown and layoffs on the rise, competition among job seekers is increasing, making it hard for job seekers to stand out and in turn, find employment. Recent Employ data finds applicants per job, aka job seeker competition, is up about 50% over early 2022. 

ChatGPT can help job seekers level up their job-searching skills and provide guidance throughout the hiring process. Here are the four key areas ChatGPT can support candidates with examples of actual questions and outputs submitted to ChatGPT:

CAREER PLANNING

Sometimes the most difficult part of job searching is knowing where to start. ChatGPT can support candidates through the planning phase and help job seekers research common questions to understand the state of the job market and better inform job seekers where to focus their job search. For example, ChatGPT can be leveraged to uncover what industries are growing / shrinking, what skills / competencies are required for certain industries, what are the highest-paying jobs, and the list goes on and on. By using ChatGPT in the planning phase of the process, candidates can gauge where they should be investing their time such as narrowing down the job searching stage.

Example: I’m a freshman in college and looking at a field in healthcare. What healthcare jobs are the most in-demand?

Output: 

1. Registered Nurse (RN): RNs are responsible for providing patient care and coordinating with doctors and other healthcare professionals. RNs are in high demand across the country due to an aging population and an increasing need for healthcare services.
   
   
2. Physician Assistant (PA): PAs work under the supervision of physicians and provide a wide range of healthcare services, including diagnosing and treating illnesses, prescribing medication, and conducting physical exams. PAs are also in high demand due to an aging population and shortage of primary care physicians.
   
   
3. Medical and Health Services Manager: Medical and health services managers are responsible for managing healthcare facilities, such as hospitals, clinics and nursing homes. These professionals are needed to oversee the daily operations of healthcare organizations and ensure that they run efficiently.
   
   
4. Physical Therapist: Physical therapists work with patients to help them recover from injuries and illnesses, as well as manage chronic conditions. There is a growing need for physical therapists as the population ages and the demand for rehabilitative services increases.
   
   
5. Occupational Therapist: Occupational therapists work with patients to help them develop or recover the skills needed for daily living and working. There is a high demand for occupational therapists in a variety of settings, including hospitals, schools, and rehabilitation centers.

JOB SEARCHING

After ChatGPT helps candidates identify where to focus their search, it can help job seekers find positions and potential employers. The chatbot can outline major employers based on location and the best job boards to widen their search and find open positions.

Additionally, this technology can help candidates navigate through the job searching process by serving as a resource to answer the common questions that pop up when looking for a position such as what skills are required for an entry-level sales role. This is especially helpful for those new to the job search.

For example, since job titles for positions can vary from industry to industry, or even company to company, ChatGPT can help to create a list of common job titles for specific industries and/or levels. There are an endless amount of job searching questions ChatGPT can help answer, truly guiding candidates through the entire process.

Example: I’m looking for a job in nursing, can you recommend a website or job board?

Output: 

1. Indeed: Indeed is a popular job board that lists nursing jobs from various employers. You can search for jobs by location, job title, or company name.
   
   
2. Nurse.com: Nurse.com is a job board that is specifically designed for nursing jobs. It lists job openings from various healthcare facilities across the United States.
   
   
3. NursingJobs.com: Nursingjobs.com is a nursing job board that lists jobs from hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare facilities across the United States.
   
   
4. Health eCareers: Health eCareers is a healthcare job board that lists nursing jobs as well as other healthcare jobs. You can search for jobs by location, job title, or employer.
   
   
5. American Nurses Association Career Center: The American Nurses Association Career Center is a job board that is exclusively for nurses. It lists job openings from various healthcare facilities across the United States.

Example: What are the largest companies that employ nurses in the state of Michigan?

1. Beaumont Health: With eight hospitals and over 38,000 employees, Beaumont Health is one of the largest healthcare systems in Michigan and is known for hiring a large number of nurses.
   
   
2. Henry Ford Health System: Henry Ford Health System is another large healthcare system in Michigan that employs a large number of nurses across its hospital and clinics.
   
   
3. Spectrum Health: Spectrum Health is a not-for-profit healthcare system that operates several hospitals and clinics across Michigan, and employs a large number of nurses.
   
   
4. McLaren Health Care: McLaren Health Care is a healthcare system that operates several hospitals and clinics across Michigan, and is known for employing a large number of nurses. 
    
5. University of Michigan Health System: The University of Michigan Health System is a large academic medical center that employs a large number of nurses across its hospitals and clinics.

RESUME BUILDING

A strong résumé is crucial for securing a job as a single corporate job opening receives roughly 250 résumés. What’s more, the job market is continuing to get more competitive as Employ’s Q4 2022 Quarterly Insights Report uncovered new job listings have decreased by 10.4% between Q2 and Q3 2022 while the total number of applicants has increased by 8.7% within the same time period.

ChatGPT can serve as a résumé consultant providing recommendations of top skills to include, how to word job descriptions, and overall résumé editing. To be clear, ChatGPT should be used to elevate a résumé not to build a résumé solely on its own. The tech is best leveraged to wordsmith sentences or provide recommendations for developing more compelling, well-rounded sections in the résumé. If ChatGPT completely crafts a résumé from scratch, it is likely it will produce a more generic version that doesn’t stand out to hiring managers as it lacks needed personalization.

Example: Suggest a more effective way to communicate the following phrase on a résumé: “Architected and implemented an automated system using real-time IoT device data, forecasted weather, and forecasted customer demand to drop product delivery costs 17%”

Output: 

*One possible way to communicate this phrase more effectively on a résumé is to use a bullet point format and focus on the specific skills and technologies you used to achieve the results. Here’s an example of how you might communicate this:

• Designed and implemented an automated delivery optimization system that leverage real-time data to IoT device data, weather forecasts, and customer demand forecasts to reduce product delivery costs by 17%
  
  
• Utilized skills in data analysis, system architecture, and process optimization to develop and refine the system
  
  
• Led cross-functional team of developers, data analysts, and operations personnel to successfully implement the system on-time and within budget
  
  
• Conducted thorough testing and validation to ensure system reliability and accuracy
  
  
• Create detailed reports and dashboards to track and communications system performance and results to stakeholders

By using a bullet point format and highlighting specific skills and technologies you used, as well as the results you achieved, you can better demonstrate your expertise and value to potential employers. It’s also important to use action verbs and quantitative results to help your résumé stand out and showcase your accomplishments. 

INTERVIEW PREPARATION

Although ChatGPT is mainly known for its writing support, its capabilities also extend to the interviewing stage. Job seekers can use ChatGPT to gain advice for interviews and they can even conduct a mock interview through the platform. The technology will act as an interviewer asking typical questions and can also provide feedback on the candidate’s responses, enabling candidates to identify their specific strengths and weaknesses. This real-time, personalized feedback helps job seekers level up their interviewing skills and better prepare them for their real-life interview.

It’s clear ChatGPT serves as a valuable resource to job seekers and is working to create a more equitable job searching process. Not everyone has access to career services or someone in their life that can guide and support them through the process of finding a job. ChatGPT can fill that role, serving as a resource to help everyone navigate the process.

However, many concerns around ChatGPT as a source of plagiarism are valid and something that HR and business leaders will have to navigate during the hiring process. But when ChatGPT is leveraged how it is intended—to provide suggestions and recommendations—it can help improve the hiring process for job seekers and provide more equitable access to career services, relabeling ChatGPT as a career coach rather than a job taker.

Example: Suggest a more effective way to communicate the following phrase in an interview “Architected and implemented an automated system using real-time IoT device data, forecasted weather, and forecasted customer demand to drop product delivery costs 17%.” 

Output:  

*One possible way to communicate this phrase more effectively during an interview is to break it down into more digestible pieces and highlight the impact and results of your work. Here’s an example of how you might communicate this:

“I led a project to create an automated system that used real-time IoT device data, as well as weather and customer demand forecasts, to optimize our product delivery process. By leveraging this system, we were able to reduce delivery costs by 17%. Specifically, we were able to improve our routing and scheduling processes, resulting in more efficient deliveries and reduced fuel costs. Additionally, by incorporating customer demand and weather forecasts, we were able to better anticipate and avoid potential delays or issues with delivery, improving our overall customer satisfaction and reducing delivery times.” 

By breaking down the project into segments, and highlighting the specific impact and results of your work, you can better convey the value you brought to the project and demonstrate your expertise in using data and technology to drive results.

ChatGPT requires responsibility and awareness. The job seeker, not ChatGPT, is responsible to ensure a truthful representation of their skills and experiences. Responsibility aside, using ChatGPT requires a high level of job seeker awareness.

Like all language models, the quality of the ChatGPT output is heavily reliant on the question asked. Job seekers will tend to receive better results with clear and specific questions. For example, include contextual information such as your career field or geographical preference. Also, be specific regarding what you want ChatGPT to provide, a list of company names, career sites or job boards, etc.

Finally, experiment with different question wordings as differences may lead to a different, preferred result. ChatGPT represents a new and valuable type of resource to job seekers.

Originally Published On: https://www.fastcompany.com/90867514/chatgpt-as-career-coach

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