Careers advice: ChatGPT for your career

Are you wondering how you can use ChatGPT for your career? Released to the wider public in November 2022, ChatGPT now has 25 million users a day and was the first app to reach 100 million users within two months of its release. Alumni Careers Manager Konstantina Dee has had regular discussions with colleagues and friends about its capabilities, impact and if she will soon need to be looking for a new job as ChatGPT offers careers guidance too! In the latest careers blog, she explores how you can leverage ChatGPT for your career.   

As an Alumni Careers Manager, I was curious to find out how ChatGPT can help a job seeker.  After trying different questions and scenarios with ChatGPT, I realise that I am not the only one doing this and if you are applying for jobs, it is very likely you will be competing with others who use ChatGPT for additional help. So, let’s see how to leverage the chatbot for your job hunting. 

Generating ideas  

You might have been fixed on a specific job title and looking for opportunities with little success.  Try to see what suggestions ChatGPT will come up with and this will encourage you to expand your criteria. 

I asked ChatGPT: Can you suggest what jobs are similar to Project Manager?

The Chatbot suggested the following: Programme Manager, Product Manager, Operations Manager, Construction Manager, IT Project Manager, Event Manager, Marketing Manager, and Research Manager. It also highlighted the common key skills required for these, making it obvious how they relate.

ChatGPT then listed top recruiters of ‘Project Managers’ in the UK and a sample list of smaller organisations.

This is a useful tool, especially for people who are looking for jobs in a country they are not familiar with - a neat way to start developing your LAMP list. 

Highlighting key skills

ChatGPT can highlight key skills and experiences needed for the role you apply for. Paste the job description in the question box and ask the chatbot to provide the top skills required for the job. It scans the full text and responds with a skills list, which will help you focus on making sure you demonstrate these in your application.  

Even more, using your CV, the chatbot can suggest if you are a good match for the job.

This is a beginning of the process and it requires a deep level of self-awareness. Of course, talking to people could be extra helpful in making the final decision about job roles or getting feedback on your application. Don’t forget you can use the WBS CareersPlus team for support.

Boosting your CV and/or cover letter

We have all experienced writer’s block – sitting in front of the screen and not knowing how to start.  

You can ask ChatGPT for suggestions on how to structure your cover letter for a specific job. But please do remember to write your own letter, using genuine examples of your work experience and highlighting your skills. The chatbot can be useful to suggest how you can improve certain statements in your cover letter, making it even punchier and clearer.

Interview preparation

Based on a specific job description fed into the chatbot, it can suggest questions you may be asked at an interview.  Submit your answers to these questions and ask for feedback. Some reviewers comment that the feedback is on each individual answer rather than on the whole interview but this still might give you the tools to practise and fine- tune your responses.  

Final remarks

Don’t assume that the information is up-to-date

ChatGPT shared: My knowledge cut-off date is September 2021, which means that any information or events that have occurred after that time may not be included in my responses. However, I can still provide general knowledge and insights on a wide range of topics.

This means that you still need to research the current situation of the company you apply to, its latest products, markets, etc. ChatGPT tends not to provide lots of information about individuals, especially if they don’t have a very prominent internet presence. So, if you’d like to research your interview panel members, LinkedIn will be a better option. Remember, ChatGPT is a tool and not a solution.

Be savvy when asking the questions

As a LLM (large language model) ChatGPT predicts answers to the question asked. You need to develop skills in posting the right question – it needs to be clear and very well defined. For example, when I was looking for ‘Graduate Schemes in Machine Learning and AI’, the chatbot kept suggesting ‘graduate schools’ in the US. Obviously, my input was not good enough to get the information I needed.

Take responsibility and ownership

Ensure the information you feed into the chatbot is an accurate representation of your personal circumstances – qualifications, work experience, and skills. Moreover, you still need to decide how to incorporate its contribution into your personal statement. Remember recruiters are now aware of how the chatbot is used for job applications and you might not be shortlisted if the recruiter submits your cover letter to ChatGPT and asks: “Did you write this?”

WBS provides lifelong career and professional development support to all alumni. Please contact alumnicareers@wbs.ac.uk for further details.