Generative AI and Your Job Search
Prompts for Resume Building, Job Description Analysis, Cover Letter Writing, and Interviewing Tools
The job search is often a daunting process, with endless customization of resumes and preparation for interviews. However, generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude.ai, and Bard are changing the game, offering streamlined solutions for crafting tailored resumes, analyzing job postings, and prepping for interviews efficiently.
The article will help you use ChatGPT to do the following:
- Optimize your resume for AI
- Draft cover letters
- Analyze job descriptions
- Identify your competitive advantages
- Tailor your elevator pitch (tell me about yourself)
- Anticipate behavioral questions
I’ve included prompts for everything and results, when possible. Here is what they will look like:
Prompts look like this.
Prompt results look like this.
Optimizing Your Resume
A ChatGPT optimized resume has clearly delineated work history sections, quantifying achievements, and structuring content logically to name a few. Here’s a quick comparison to help you understand the difference:
Traditional Resume
- Focuses on aesthetic appeal and creative elements.
- Uses natural language and industry jargon.
- Flexible, tailored to the job and individual preference.
AI Optimized Resume
- Adheres to a structured layout for machine readability.
- Clear language and minimizes subjective elements.
- Standardized for quick identification by algorithms.
Resume First Draft
The source data for your AI optimized resume can come from your traditional resume or you can use the build a resume tool on your LinkedIn profile. The benefit of pulling the data from LinkedIn is that it will include the skills associated with each position in addition to the basic resume data. That extra LinkedIn data will help the AI understand your skills and experience. Copy the prompt below and the resume content into one prompt.
Thoroughly read, comprehend, and retain information from the resume provided below. Convert subjective elements for clear machine understanding. Rewrite, reorganize, and convert it into a plain text format.
[Resume or LinkedIn]
Enhancing Your Resume
Now use the AI to critically examine your resume to identify aspects that could be improved upon by particularly adding detail or clarification.
Analyze the entire resume and identify areas that lack detail or require additional information, including jargon and acronyms that could be reviewed and enhanced. Provide a combination of general and industry-specific advice.
For your role at ACME Inc: Use more metrics to quantify your successes whenever possible (e.g., “Reduced customer care calls by X%”).
Adding More Content
Don’t hesitate to enrich your AI-generated resume with portfolios, project synopses, or case studies. Unlike traditional resumes, AI resumes aren’t bound by page limits. The more detailed the information, the more refined and targeted the analysis will be.
Analyze the provided case study to extract relevant insights, and then incorporate these insights into the resume section for [job]. The integration should be formatted in a way that is suitable for further analysis by ChatGPT. After the integration is complete, provide a summary for review that includes key elements, skills, and experiences.
[Case study]
You should now have a very detailed, well organized AI Resume! Going forward all references to Resume should be understood to be your newly create AI Resume. Save it to a plain text file for use down below.
Analyzing Job Descriptions
Whether utilizing AI or not, you should target your job search to maximize your time and your chances of being invited for an interview. However, the AI can quickly pinpoint the most critical qualifications and competencies needed for the role based on wording, repetition, and context within the posting. This allows you to tailor your resume, cover letter, and interview answers to the areas hiring managers care about most.
To begin, use the browser’s Show Reader (Safari) functionality to reveal only critical job-related information, you’ll see the difference once you view it in reader mode. Copy the prompt below and resume into one prompt.
Please read and comprehend the appended job description for each instance. Perform the following tasks:
1. Provide an overview of the company, clarifying the limits of your existing knowledge about the company and its industry.
2. Analyze the job description and write a description of my competitive advantage over other possible candidates for this role.
3. List 5 reasons that make me a qualified candidate for this role based on the job description.
4. List 5 reasons that might make me less qualified for this role based on the job description.
5. Retain the key details from the job description and your analysis for future reference, as we will use this information to craft a cover letter later.[Job description]
Highlighting Your Qualifications: Your history of leading teams and steering strategic projects highlights your ability to excel in dynamic environments and streamline processes.
Lack of qualifications: While your resume reflects proficiency in A, B, and C the role prioritizes expertise in software X, Y, and Z. Evaluate how your skills match these specific software needs outlined in the job description.
Review the results. Does it seem like a good fit? Does it excite you? If so, save the results to a plain text file and let’s move on!
Crafting Cover Letters
First off, we are not going to just type in a couple keywords and then copy/paste whatever the AI gives us. We will use AI to help draft a cover letter and then customize it to make sure it represents you.
Cover Letter First Draft
The prompt below will have the AI draft a cover letter, providing a strong starting point saving you hours of writing. Copy the prompt below along with the job description and resume one prompt. Be sure to replace the placeholder content — Company Name, Position, and Role — before you run the prompt.
Given my resume and the job description, please draft a cover letter that showcases my suitability and enthusiasm for this role. This is a cover letter targeted at [Company Name] for the role of [Position Title], which is a [Leadership or Individual Contributor] role. First draft a customized opening paragraph. Then provide 3 variations of an ‘Alignment Paragraph,’ focusing on how specific elements of my work experience, skills, and a particular example from my previous work directly correlate to one key requirement in the job description. Conclude with a closing paragraph that summarizes my fit for the role and encourages next steps
[Job description]
[Resume]
Make it You
Once you have the first draft you can work with the AI to use one of the three alignment paragraphs, combine a couple of them, or suggest a different project example to focus on. Play with tone of voice.
“shorten the opening paragraph.”
“make it less formal.”
“Make it a little more formal.”
“Reference my experience with [skill] in the alignment paragraph.”
“rewrite the entire cover letter using a tone of voice common during the Elizabethan time.”
I pen this epistle to set forth my keen interest in the distinguished role of Product Designer. Thy mission to elevate the gaming tapestry of Roblox hath stirred my soul.
Interviewing Tools
Interview prep is critical, yet again, time intensive. Leverage AI to expedite the process by asking the AI to generate talking points that show off your strengths, answers to concerns they may find in your resume or portfolio. You can also ask it to create a grid of answers for the dreaded behavioral and situational questions based on your background.
Prepare to Tell Them About Yourself
Having an elevator pitch ready is crucial when asked “Tell me about yourself” because it allows you to present a concise, focused snapshot of your professional background and aspirations. This sets the stage for a constructive dialogue, helping you make a strong first impression while directing the conversation towards your strengths and goals. Copy and paste the prompt, job description, resume, cover letters into one large prompt.
With the provided resume, job description, and competitive advantages below for the [role] position at [company], generate three pairs of 40-second elevator pitches in response to the question ‘Tell me about yourself.’ Each pair should contain one formal version and one moderately informal version. Align these pitches with my experience, the needs of the job, and my [competitive advantages]. These will be spoken during interviews where the interviewer already knows who I am.”
[Job description]
[Resume]
[Competitive advantages]
A critical element of my success in various roles has been the ability to collaborate effectively across multiple departments. I’ve worked closely with teams that include technical, managerial, and client-facing roles to create and deliver exceptional products. One example involves leading a project that resulted in both significant customer satisfaction and operational cost savings. Would you like me to tell you more about the project?
You can now play with the results as you did with the cover letter to get the elevator pitch that is right for you.
“Let’s use the first one”
“shorten it.”
“make it less formal.”
“Make it a little more formal.”
“reference my experience with [skill].”
Address Shortcomings
Recognizing your own skill and experience gaps during job interviews allows you to take control of the narrative, displaying both self-awareness and a proactive attitude. You can address these shortcomings by discussing how you’ve successfully bridged similar gaps in the past or outlining a concrete plan for future skill development.
“With the provided resume and job description for the [role] position at [company], as a hiring manager, you have concerns about my experience. Please list 5 concerns you have about my experience and provide two rebuttals for each concern on how I could address these during an interview to improve my candidacy.”
[Job description]
[Resume]
Behavioral Questions
Tell me about a time when you… Behavioral questions. I love them. You love them. Let’s love them together. With the prompt below you can ask the AI to create answers to common behavioral questions based on your AI resume and the analyzed job description. Copy and paste all into one prompt.
Given a specific [job title] and [job description], please generate a data grid containing the 20 most common behavioral questions and answers for that [job title] during interviews. Categorize the questions by relevant skill sets. Tailor the answers using the STAR format (Situation, Task, Action, Results) and include relevant information from my resume. Make the grid format easily readable and structured.
[Job description]
[Resume]
Question: Describe a time when you had to collaborate with others who had competing priorities. How did you find common ground?
STAR: SITUATION: My team was at odds with marketing on branding decisions for a new campaign. TASK: Both teams had strong yet conflicting opinions about using our new vs legacy brand style. ACTION: I set up working sessions where we could step through both options together. I identified the pros/cons where each approach excelled based on audience and context. RESULTS: This collaborative process led us to a hybrid approach that met both team’s goals by tailoring branding per context.
Results for that type of prompt will vary depending on the AI used. Claude.ai produced the most impressive list of behavioral questions. and answers.
Conclusion
While generative AI cannot directly apply to jobs for you, it can significantly streamline sourcing, application, and interview prep. Optimizing your resume, leveraging AI analysis of job descriptions, generating initial cover letter drafts, and building a library of potential interview answers can save hours of manual work. This allows you to apply for more positions that you are qualified for in less time, making your job search far more efficient.
“You’re foolish to depend on AI, but you’re a fool to ignore it.”
