You’ve made it to the fifth and final edition of AI Unlocked. Before the graduation ceremony, here’s one final newsletter to help you explore the different ways to use chatbots in your everyday life.
The post below was first published in 2023. Use the menu above to read the original five AI Unlocked newsletters.
These three ideas are worth keeping in mind as you explore:
- Don’t spam recruiters or misrepresent your work history. Although a chatbot can spruce up your cover letter, it's up to you to verify accuracy.
- Discretion might be best in this case. While getting a new job is hard and you should use every available resource, old-school hiring managers may react negatively to your use of AI.
- Remain wary of sharing highly identifiable information with chatbots. Yes, this is the most evergreen of all the tips. (Because it can sometimes be the most difficult to follow!) Using ChatGPT to rewrite your résumé? Make sure to remove your phone number and email address first.
Right now, take the time to either read or listen to David Nield's article that highlights a few different ways ChatGPT can be beneficial for job hunters. After checking out his tips, try to brainstorm an additional use case. (You got this!) As you work through the “Your Prompt” for today, experiment with one or two of your own potential use cases.
Prompt Pro Tip
By this point, I’m sure you understand the importance of detailed prompts. Always keep your intended audience in mind, as well, when using AI tools. For example, if you’re composing messages for a recruiter that you’ve talked with before, make sure to mention this in your prompts so the bot can use the additional context to better tailor its output.
Instead of: Write an intro email to a tech recruiter.
Try: I want to be a software developer who works in San Francisco. Write a professional, introductory email to recruiters that focuses on my passion for the company and experience with asynchronous working schedules.
My Prompt
In the example, I used ChatGPT Plus with web browsing to visit the job’s listing page. An alternative approach is to put the listing and your prompt into a Google Doc. Then, paste the info into the chatbot all at once.
This time, I asked ChatGPT:
Based on the below job listing, what skills would be best to highlight in my cover letter? https://www.tesla.com/careers/search/job/copywriter-183739
Your Prompt
Let’s work on those cover letters! Go ahead and find an old cover letter that you’ve written in the past as well as a new job listing that piques your interest. Use the chatbot to give the cover letter a refresh.
Should the rewrite sound more enthusiastic or more professional? Should a focal point be the narrative journey of your career or should it focus more on your daily skill set? Now, try asking the chatbot to create a fresh cover letter just from the job description. How do the different outputs compare?
Pause and Think
Alright, a chatbot can assist your job search in a couple of different ways. But isn’t AI going to take your job? *shakes fist*
Maybe! But, maybe not as well! It’s easy to imagine stingy managers using automation tools to squeeze every bit of productivity they can out of employees (or, let’s be real, contractors). Senior writer Will Knight has a counterpoint based on research from 2023:
Think about your industry and how your current (or former) job could be different in 5 or 10 years with the further adoption of AI tools. What aspects will remain unchanged? What parts may be taken over by a chatbot?
Yes, Context Matters
If you take a selfie right now, I guess that basically counts as a graduation photo? Kudos!
Want to discover the latest tips and tricks for making the most of chatbots and AI tools in your everyday life? Sign up for a whole new season of AI Unlocked now!
And if you still haven’t had enough, here’s more fantastic journalism from WIRED:
