Between crafting the perfect resume, updating your coding portfolio, and scheduling interviews, job hunting can feel overwhelming. However, it doesn’t have to be. We now live in a world where you have plenty of tools available to us that can help us along the job search journey.
Have you ever thought about how ChatGPT can ease your job search pain points in a surprising number of ways (including some that you might not have even known about!)?
For example, AI powered chatbots like ChatGPT can help you write the perfect resume, pretend to be an HR manager and ask you interview questions, and even help craft your personal brand and portfolio.
In this article, we’ll go over six use case scenarios for this popular AI tool that could help you land a job in no time.
Ask ChatGPT for Resume Tips
Writing a resume is one of the first steps in looking for a job, and it can be quite stressful — especially if it’s your first job search! Luckily, ChatGPT is here to help out.
If you already have a basic resume, you can upload it and ask ChatGPT to review your resume for mistakes, find inconsistencies, and give any additional pointers. One such prompt example you can use is, "I'm a junior front-end developer. Can you give me tips on formatting my resume and highlighting relevant skills?"
If you’re starting with a blank slate, ChatGPT can help you come up with a basic outline for your resume and even suggest a professional summary.
However, one of the best resume-writing hacks is to ask ChatGPT to help you create tailored achievements depending on the job description. All you have to do is paste the job requirements and ask it to rewrite your experience to match the company’s requirements.
This little hack can save you hours and significantly increase your chances of being noticed by recruiters — ultimately landing you that coveted interview.
Of course, let’s not forget about the cover letter. A cover letter is just as important as your resume, as it allows you to express your interest in the position and highlight why you want to work for the company.
ChatGPT can also help you craft the perfect cover letter. All you need to do is paste the job requirements into ChatGPT and mention some of your strengths, your interest in the company, and your goals. Afterwards, ChatGPT will create a basic cover letter. Be sure to edit it and rewrite parts to make it sound like it came from you instead of an AI tool.
Before submitting your resume and cover letter, it’s a good idea to give it one final look over to make sure everything sounds good and doesn't have that typical ‘AI voice.’
Let ChatGPT Be Your ‘Interviewer’
Now that you have a well-written resume, it’s time to move on to the next step — interview prep!
Take advantage of ChatGPT’s vast database and ask it to make a list of common interview questions for your position. For example, "I'm preparing for a full-stack developer interview. Can you make a list of the 30 most common interview questions for this role?"
Afterwards, take this list and work your way down each question. Once again, ChatGPT is here to help: you can ask it to be your interviewer and have a back-and-forth ‘mock interview.’ This is an especially helpful practice for articulating your thoughts and experiences. The more you practice, the better you’ll become at confidently answering questions during your actual interview!
You can also use ChatGPT in reverse, and ask it to come up with a list of questions you might have for the interviewers (such as salary, remote options, the company culture, and so on). This helps you appear engaged and demonstrates that you've done your research on the company.
Sharpen Coding Skills & Expand Your Knowledge
While going through the job searching process, it’s a good idea to keep your skills sharp and up-to-date. This is especially helpful if you're an entry-level employee (i.e. you’re an intern or a junior developer) or learning a new programming language. You can use ChatGPT to learn new skills and ask it to explain complex technical concepts in simple terms.
Need practice with a specific algorithm? Ask ChatGPT to generate coding problems and then try to solve them. Struggling with a difficult concept? Have it break the concept down step by step for easier understanding. You can even message ChatGPT your own code and ask it for feedback or troubleshooting.
If you’re completely new to a concept or programming language, a common prompt for ChatGPT is, “Explain [concept] to me as if I were a 5th grader.” Although this may sound funny, ChatGPT produces very clear answers that are easy to understand and comprehend.
You can also take advantage of custom GPTs, which are models that have been created for specific tasks or concepts. There are dozens of GPTs for coding that will help you write, troubleshoot, and even fix coding errors!
On a similar note, you can even use ChatGPT to assess your skills and create a game plan.
Make a list of your current skills, career goals, and achievements, and ask ChatGPT how you can improve. This will help you develop additional skills to give you an edge in the interview.
Polish Your Portfolio
While a resume highlights your skills and achievements, a well-curated portfolio showcases them. A good portfolio will go a long way when applying for jobs (especially for developers!) and can have a significant impact on your job prospects.
If you’re looking to polish your portfolio, ChatGPT can help spark creativity in several ways. Ask for project suggestions based on your skills or gaps in your portfolio; get recommendations on market trends; and even use it to review your project documentation for clarity.
Besides having an online portfolio, it’s also a great idea to create a LinkedIn profile in tandem. ChatGPT can assist you in many aspects of making a stand-out LinkedIn profile, including writing the headline, biography, and a summary of your work history.
For the latter, you can simply type in your work experience and key achievements and let ChatGPT do the rest.
One of the best ways to move up in your career and network with other like-minded people is to become a thought leader on LinkedIn. These are people who share original and interesting content related to their field (i.e. what it’s like working as a developer, the latest trends, how to improve, etc.) that showcases their expertise and experience.
As you can probably guess, ChatGPT is an excellent assistant when you need to come up with content ideas to boost your professional visibility. Ask it for suggestions or brainstorm together, and you’ll be a thought leader in no time.
Let ChatGPT Be Your Career Coach
If you’re tight on budget or don’t have time to work with a career coach, why not ask ChatGPT? It can help you realize where you currently stand in your career, brainstorm where you want to be, and even come up with an actionable plan.
This is exactly what Daniel Gil did when he wanted to get a job in IT. In his Medium article, he wrote how he started by creating a prompt on ChatGPT that would act as his career coach. ChatGPT then created a list of questions and asked Daniel to answer them truthfully. These included questions like, How would you rate your Python skills on a scale of 1 to 10? What’s your proficiency in X language? Is your LinkedIn profile up to date? Do you have a portfolio? and so on.
After Daniel answered the questions, ChatGPT gave him an actionable game plan that included a list of tasks broken down into categories (i.e. learning Python, writing on LinkedIn, networking, improving his portfolio, etc) and how often he should do them. For example, since Daniel wanted to improve his portfolio and learn Django, ChatGPT gave him the task, Work on enhancing the UI/UX and code quality of your existing Django project, then add it to your portfolio or website.
Using ChatGPT as your career coach can help you approach your job search from a different angle, get tailored advice, and further hone your skills.
Choosing Between Job Offers
You wrote the ideal resume and cover letter, had rounds of successful interviews, and now have multiple offers from different companies — congratulations! However, your journey isn’t finished, as you still need to choose the best offer.
One final way you can use ChatGPT in your job search is to have it weigh different job offers and assist you in choosing the best option. Its advanced AI algorithms can help you consider the pros and cons of each job to make your choice easier. This will help you make an informed decision about which job opportunity best suits your goals and needs.
In conclusion, ChatGPT is an excellent resource for helping you find a developer job. It’s a powerful tool that can help with practically every aspect of job hunting, from proofreading and helping you write your resume, to creating mock interviews, acting as a career coach, and even working together to choose the best job option.
