ChatGPT is Open A.I.’s newest venture into A.I. product offerings. You might’ve heard of Open A.I. last year when they really started off the boom of Text-To-Image A.I. models with DALL·E 2.
ChatGPT is a conversational approach to the search engine, and it’s proving a big hit. ChatGPT gained 1 million users in its first week and has caused Google, the search engine monolith, to consider implementing a more conversational approach to its search engine.
Simply give ChatGPT a job posting description and ask it to write you a cover letter and resume. Within seconds you’ll get a resume and cover letter tailored just for that specific posting. This allows you to apply to jobs at the level of efficiency you need while still maintaining a level of customization for each posting. I and a lot of my other friends had to apply to about 100 jobs to get our internships, so efficiency is necessary when it comes to applying to jobs these days.
*A quick disclaimer: I do not condone using ChatGPT in your job application. I have never used ChatGPT in a job application and I probably never will. It is unknown how companies view the use of these technologies in your application (although it is easy to assume companies view it negatively) and I would never want to risk getting my application thrown out over it. It still is a valuable exercise and I’ll mention why at the end.
Let’s go through an example. I will be using a UX posting as my audience is design centered but this can apply to any industry.
I found this random UX job posting on LinkedIn. (If the job posting is down when you are reading this I’ve posted a copy on google docs here) I’ll copy and paste it into ChatGPT and ask for ChatGPT to write me a resume and cover letter.
Here is the cover letter Chat GPT wrote:
Dear Hiring Manager,
I am excited to apply for the UX Designer role at Aha! As a self-motivated and detail-oriented professional with at least three years of experience in user experience at a high-growth SaaS company, I am confident in my ability to contribute to the Aha! UX team in designing a lovable customer experience.
I am particularly drawn to Aha! as a company because of its focus on delivering optimal usability and customer satisfaction, as well as its recognition as one of the best fully remote companies to work for. I am also excited by the opportunity to work with a team that has a deep understanding of customer needs and wants, empathizes with the customer perspective, and is dedicated to delivering delightful product experiences through the user interface, layout, visual design, copy, and interactions.
In my previous roles, I have consistently demonstrated a track record of major accomplishments and have a “get it done” attitude. I have experience collaborating with product management and engineering teams, crossing back and forth between UX and visual design, and delivering superb work that ships quickly. I also have experience in maintaining consistent visual standards and updating living style guides, as well as conducting user research and testing to inform design decisions.
I am excited about the opportunity to work with the Aha! team and help product teams at the largest companies in the world build lovable products. I would love the opportunity to further discuss my qualifications and enthusiasm for this role. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or to schedule an interview.
Thank you for considering my application.
Sincerely, [Your Name]
Here is the resume ChatGPT made:
You can also view it in Google Docs.
It’s simple, ChatGPT effectively pulled out some of the most important aspects of the job posting and really understand the intent of the posting. It crafted a cover letter and resume that expertly highlighted the company culture described in the posting.
In short, ChatGPT can help you break out of your cover letter template and highlight what from the posting is important to address yourself.
Let’s analyze the cover letter and resume to see what ChatGPT took away from the job posting.
Cover Letter Analysis
ChatGPT shows that demonstrating an understanding of a company’s work culture and showcasing that you are a good fit for it can make an impactful, effective cover letter – A lesson that we can take and apply ourselves next time we write our own cover letter.
Resume Analysis
ChatGPT shows that looking through the job posting and highlighting where your past experience overlaps with what the job posting is can help you present yourself as the perfect fit for the job.
Yes, we probably already understood that utilizing the job description to craft tailored applications for each job you apply to would be a good thing.
But many times, understanding that concept doesn’t mean you’ll execute it well. ChatGPT can help get your gears turning when it comes to sending in the perfect application. Try it out, see what you think, and let me know your thoughts.
It’s not all sunshine and flowers when it comes to ChatGPT. This new technology is going to exacerbate some issues when it comes to hiring in the ATS-scanning era.
As jobs get easier to apply to, it can become too overwhelming for hiring channels to look through every application. We already see it when companies use automated ATS processes to sort through their applications. You can be rejected before a human even views your application.
What happens now? If everyone can apply to jobs with tailored resumes in seconds, how can applications be fairly processed? The workload could potentially get too costly for companies to hire through job boards. Will it drive hiring to focus more on referrals? How would that impact the accessibility of obtaining jobs for those who are not well-connected or breaking into a new industry?
Perhaps these pressures will eventually force a new process for hiring. Perhaps resumes and cover letters will become a thing of the past. What do you think will happen? Let me know in the comments.
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I always love to hear what others think in the comments; I like how some of y’all really challenge my thoughts. But before you do, please note that I do make some of my statements *slightly* more inflammatory to drive engagement and thought.