A Career Expert’s Warning on “Generalized ChatGPT Prompt” Jobseekers Are Using The Wrong Way

By Moon Harper

Mar 28, 2024 04:00 AM EDT

As a leader at Khan Academy, Jeremy Schifeling was excited when ChatGPT launched in November 2022, allowing them to offer personalized tutoring to more children than ever.

However, as a hiring manager and co-founder of a career development business who has trained both first-generation students at CUNY and MBAs at Harvard Business School, Schifeling was disheartened to observe many job seekers misusing these tools.

Jobseekers often overlook that despite the excitement surrounding this new technology, humans ultimately oversee the hiring process. Relying on a robot to write your resume can lead to disastrous results. However, having authored a comprehensive guide on leveraging ChatGPT in job searches, Schifeling understands how AI can effectively enhance one's resume. When used correctly, it can increase your chances of securing an interview and ultimately landing the job.

The Wrong Way to Use AI

Schifeling observed that many job seekers utilizing ChatGPT or similar AI platforms often start with a prompt such as "Generate a marketing resume." While this might appear to be a logical starting point, it is the biggest mistake you could make. Here's why:

Massively Generic Results

As a hiring manager, Schifeling's priority is to find evidence of specific accomplishments. However, many resumes appear to be filled with buzzwords rather than actual marketing skills, which is not the impression candidates aim for, especially since employers spend only about seven seconds reviewing resumes on average.

AI Tools are Going to Make Stuff Up

AI tools can sometimes generate content for resumes that lacks accuracy or credibility. Job seekers should carefully review and tailor their resumes to represent their skills and experiences accurately. While AI tools can be helpful in resume creation, they should be used cautiously and supplemented with human judgment to avoid inaccuracies or misrepresentations.

The Right Way to Use AI

Relying solely on AI to generate a resume from scratch may lead to rejection, as human reviewers value specificity and credibility. However, by understanding human reviewers' preferences, we can utilize AI to enhance these aspects of our resumes. When used strategically in resume creation, AI can provide specificity and credibility, ultimately improving our chances of success in the job application process.

1. Start with a Human-Written Draft

Begin your resume drafting process with your initial and rough draft to ensure the specificity and accuracy of your actual accomplishments. While these achievements may still require polishing, starting with your draft allows for a solid foundation to build upon.

2. Identify and Incorporate Lacking Keywords

Refer directly to the job description as your primary source of truth. The hiring team designed it to outline the specific skills they seek, including keywords you should aim to match on your resume.

Here's when you can utilize AI by entering the prompt:

"Which keywords from the following job description are missing from my resume?"

"Here's the job description: [Paste the job description here]"

"And here's my resume: [Paste the text of your resume here]."

This will help identify any keywords from the job description that are absent in your resume.

After identifying the missing keywords you have experience with, prompt the AI with the following:

"Suggest ways to incorporate [keyword] into my resume."

This will help generate suggestions on effectively integrating the identified keywords into your resume.

3. Quantify Achievements and Corresponding Results

Recruiters and hiring managers typically rely on past performance as the best indicator of future success. They prioritize seeing tangible results rather than hallucinations.

To enhance the quantitative impact of a bullet point, prompt the AI with:

"Suggest three ways to add more quantitative impact to the following bullet point: [Paste your bullet point here]."

This will provide suggestions on how to make the achievement more quantifiable and impactful. While it may be tempting to directly copy and paste the bullets suggested by your AI platform into your resume, ensure that you edit the text to reflect your actual accomplishments accurately. It is important to maintain authenticity and integrity when presenting your professional experiences.

4. Review, Review, Review!

Always proofread your resume thoroughly before submitting it, especially if you have utilized AI. Review every word and number to ensure complete accuracy. The last thing you want is to find yourself in a final-round interview only to be questioned about a resume bullet fabricated by the AI that you forgot to update. Accuracy and attention to detail are crucial in presenting yourself professionally.