Applying to jobs is notoriously a “numbers game” — the more resumes and applications you get out, the better your chances supposedly are of landing a gig. Resourceful job seekers are turning to new technology to help streamline the tedious application process: ChatGPT. With the free AI chatbot, you can produce a polished resume and cover letter in just seconds. But can using ChatGPT as a shortcut mess with your chances of landing the job? It depends.
Mindlessly copying and pasting whatever ChatGPT generates into a job application, resume, or cover letter and passing it off as your own is not the best use of the technology. “I would caution candidates against copying and pasting,” says Robert Lingham, a technical recruiter who most recently worked at Lever.
A human recruiter or hiring manager will likely be able to tell that you’ve submitted something written by an AI chatbot, because it might lack human tone, nuance, and context. Not to mention, ChatGPT could fabricate points about your experience and qualifications that are straight-up untrue, and lying on a job application is a bad idea in general.
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This doesn’t mean that ChatGPT is off-limits for job seekers. “If you’re using ChatGPT smartly, and incorporating things that are true about yourself — more power to you,” says Mandy Tang, a career coach and founder of Rose Gold Careers. “I’m a huge fan of it.”
As ChatGPT touches more areas of our lives, there are new ethical questions about AI to consider. In our new free course Intro to ChatGPT, we’ll break down the risks and limitations of AI, and help you figure out how and when to use the technology in your life and in the products you build. Here are some ways you can use ChatGPT as a tool in your job search while maintaining your integrity and honesty as an applicant.
Let ChatGPT write a rough draft
Writer’s block is real, even when you’re writing about a topic you know a lot about — in this case, yourself. “Writing requires a lot of momentum,” Mandy says. “You need a prompt or something to react to.” Having ChatGPT write a rough draft of your cover letter or resume is a great way to get your writing process started, she says. (Here are some more tips for writing a bio about yourself.)
Rather than just copying and pasting the ChatGPT-generated response as-is, you can use it as inspiration to build something that’s more personal and accurate to you, Robert says. For example, if you ask ChatGPT to build a resume based on a job description, take a look at the skills that it pulls out, and see if they align with your own experience. “You might think, Oh that bullet is a good point, I actually did something similar to that,” he says.
Proofread and fact-check
While ChatGPT can do a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to applying for a job, it’s on you to make sure that the information you submit about yourself in a job application is truthful and coherent. “A large language model tool like ChatGPT still has boundaries,” Robert says.
It’s very important to proofread and edit whatever material ChatGPT provides. “It’s still a bot,” Mandy says. “ChatGPT will take its best guess based on your prompts, but you still have to read it with human eyes to double check that it makes sense and has a nice flow.”
Know how to write detailed ChatGPT prompts
How you word a ChatGPT prompt can influence the quality of the response it generates. As a large language model, ChatGPT is trained on datasets from the internet to predict the word that’s likely to come next in text using probability distributions over words. The more specific data you can train ChatGPT on, the more relevant the responses will be.
If you’re using ChatGPT to help you write a resume or cover letter, you’ll probably want to run at least 3-4 cycles, getting more specific and feeding additional information each round, Mandy says. “Keep telling it to refine things,” she says. For instance, you can tell ChatGPT to write your cover letter in the writing style and voice of an article or use a standout resume example as reference material. Or you can ask the AI to tweak your resume so that it includes measurable outcomes that align with the job description.
We’ll teach you how to write clear and specific prompts for ChatGPT in our free course Intro to ChatGPT, so you can boost your chances of generating a useful response.
Customize according to the job
Sending the same exact generic cover letter for every job is not great form: “You don’t want to send the same cookie-cutter template to every job, because it will look like you’ve just copied and pasted,” Mandy says. ChatGPT can help you tweak your application materials slightly depending on the position or organization, she says. “Try to include at least one specific detail about each company.”
For instance, you could give ChatGPT the job description and your resume and say: “Here is my resume. I am applying for a job as a UX Researcher. Can you optimize my resume so it fits the keywords in this job description?”
Brainstorm interview questions
You can also use ChatGPT to help you get ready for a job interview, Robert says. For example, say you’re interviewing for a position at a climate tech company, but you’re not super familiar with the space or field, so you don’t know how to prepare. Here’s a ChatGPT prompt you could use:
Pretend you are an expert in the climate tech space, and you’re interviewing a candidate for a Software Engineer position. Give me some questions that you would ask someone at the senior level. Please limit it to five responses and provide any links for any additional information.
As you can see, ChatGPT generates a solid list of relevant interview questions about key topics related to climate technology. With this list, you can identify your knowledge gaps and start thinking about how you might answer the questions.

TL;DR
The debate about using ChatGPT in your job search speaks to the deeper frustrations that people have about the hiring process. “For the candidate, it’s really difficult, confusing, and opaque when your effort is not tied to a result,” Mandy says. Lots of employers have gotten rid of cover letter requirements altogether. Considering that many organizations use AI in the hiring and screening process, why shouldn’t applicants be allowed to use it, too?
Ultimately, ChatGPT can make you look like the perfect candidate for a role on paper in just seconds — but you’re still expected to prove your skills on your own. “If you somehow hack a system in order to get in front of a recruiter or a hiring manager, you need to be able to talk about the things that are on your resume,” Robert says. “No matter how many prompts you give ChatGPT, and how creative you get, if you get into that seat, you need to be able to execute against it.”
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FAQs
Can I use ChatGPT to write a cover letter? ›
Everybody's talking about ChatGPT, the new artificial intelligence tool that can generate unique content – including cover letters! This is excellent news for job seekers, who often struggle to write the perfect cover letter.
Can I use ChatGPT to write my resume? ›Here's how to use Chat GPT to write a resume (and more specifically, your professional summary.) Once you've tailored your resume in the Teal Resume Builder, copy the text. For the ChatGPT prompt, say: "Write a professional summary using my resume." Press "Shift" + "Enter."
How do I use ChatGPT to write a cover letter? ›- Create Your ChatGPT Account. If you don't already have an account, starting your ChatGPT account is simple. ...
- Introduce Yourself to ChatGPT. ...
- Submit a Job Description. ...
- Prompt ChatGPT to Write Your Cover Letter. ...
- Proofread & Review the Generated Cover Letter.
ChatGPT's advanced AI capabilities allow it to generate eloquent, human-like sentences in seconds — and it's free. You can ask the chatbot to write a customized resume based on a job description and it will produce a nearly complete document just missing a few basic details, like your name and address.
What is the best use case of ChatGPT? ›- 1- Content creation. ChatGPT can be used to generate high-quality content for websites, blogs, or social media platforms in a few seconds. ...
- 2- Translation. ...
- 3- Conversational AI. ...
- 4- Writing code. ...
- 5- Debugging. ...
- 6- Code completion. ...
- 7- Code refactoring. ...
- 8- Code documentation.
- Provide a summary of your work experience.
- Share your top skills and how you have used them in your past roles.
- Provide any relevant information about your achievements, including specific metrics or examples of successful projects, hackathons, or campaigns.
Conclusion. So, can Chat GPT be detected by Turnitin? Well, yes it can! While this may concern some, students need to understand that using artificial intelligence in this way is not a replacement for their academic work and critical thinking skills.
What should you avoid using on your resume? ›- Resume objective statement. ...
- Unprofessional email. ...
- Full mailing address. ...
- Multiple phone numbers. ...
- Outdated or irrelevant social media profiles. ...
- Personal details. ...
- Headshot. ...
- Buzzwords.
For those who have considered hiring a resume writer, the good news is that you can deduct the cost of preparing your resume. Travel expenses incurred during your job search can be deducted if you itemize your deductions using Schedule A.
Should I use ChatGPT for cover letters? ›Using Chat GPT to write a cover letter can save you time and effort while still producing a high-quality result, but definitely, this is part of your process as an applicant. Give it a try and see how it can improve your job application process.
How do I use ChatGPT in a job search? ›
- Create an interview question bank by role or interview type.
- Write Boolean search strings.
- Write candidate outreach copy.
- Conduct hiring market research.
- Create candidate summaries or "write ups" to speed up the candidate shortlisting process.
- Write job advertisements.
Is ChatGPT free to use? Yes, the basic version of ChatGPT is completely free to use.
Why not to use chatbot? ›Don't Understand Natural Language
Most chatbots are unable to adapt their language to match that of humans, which means slang, misspellings, and sarcasm are often not understood by a bot. This means chatbots typically can't be used for channels that are public and highly personal like Facebook and Instagram.
- Use a “call center” chatbot to resolve FAQs. ...
- Collect customer data and user feedback. ...
- Give personalized product recommendations. ...
- Qualify leads with lead generation chatbots. ...
- Weaponize social media for conversational sales. ...
- Reduce the number of abandoned shopping carts.
- Responding to customer inquiries through the live chat.
- Troubleshooting problems.
- Handling data entry.
- Communicating politely and effectively.
- Managing customer accounts.
ChatGPT is an artificial-intelligence (AI) chatbot developed by OpenAI and launched in November 2022. It is built on top of OpenAI's GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 families of large language models (LLMs) and has been fine-tuned (an approach to transfer learning) using both supervised and reinforcement learning techniques.
What are some of the limitations of ChatGPT? ›- It cannot access the internet. ...
- It may produce non-sensical data. ...
- It has limited knowledge. ...
- It doesn't provide in-depth information. ...
- It lacks expressions. ...
- It cannot solve complex mathematical questions with accuracy. ...
- It accepts input in text form only.
ChatGPT is a powerful language model that can now assist users in writing SQL queries. This tool can be especially useful for those who are new to SQL or who need help with more complex queries. One of the main benefits of using ChatGPT to write SQL queries is its ability to understand natural language inputs.
How do I get my resume noticed and stand out? ›- Keep your resume short and direct. ...
- Create an original resume template. ...
- Highlight relevant skills and experiences. ...
- Demonstrate results with numbers and metrics. ...
- Craft a career snapshot. ...
- Optimize your text. ...
- Think beyond your job duties. ...
- Use the right language to stand out.
- Good font. Use an easy-to-read typeface. ...
- Evenly-set margins. Resume margins on all four sides should be 1-inch. ...
- Consistent line spacing. Go for single or 1.15 line spacing for all resume sections. ...
- Clear section headings. ...
- Enough white space. ...
- No graphics, no photos. ...
- Ideally one-page.
What makes a weak resume? ›
A bad resume lacks both measurable and individualized outcomes. Instead of listing the tasks you perform or talking about your company's accomplishments, explain how you used your skills to create measurable results for your employer.
Can professors tell if you use ChatGPT? ›A lot of people have been wondering if teachers and professors can find out if a student is using ChatGPT and the short answer to that is yes.
Does ChatGPT give the same answers? ›Those who ask ChatGPT the same question multiple times will likely receive different responses. Dr. Harvey Castro, a Dallas, Texas-based board-certified emergency medicine physician and national speaker on artificial intelligence in health care, said there are a few reasons for this.
Will I get caught using ChatGPT? ›Yes, you can get caught using ChatGPT by various methods, such as plagiarism detection tools, stylometric analysis tools, code quality analysis tools, and other AI detectors.
What are 3 common resume mistakes? ›- Typos and Grammatical Errors. ...
- Lack of Specifics. ...
- Attempting the "One–Size–Fits–All" Approach. ...
- Highlighting Duties Instead of Accomplishments. ...
- Going on Too Long or Cutting Things Too Short. ...
- Bad Summary. ...
- No Action Verbs. ...
- Leaving Off Important Information.
- Having spelling errors and bad grammar. ...
- Exaggerating the truth. ...
- Poor formatting. ...
- An unoriginal personal profile. ...
- Not focusing on your achievements. ...
- Making your CV too long. ...
- Putting the wrong contact information.
- Including a resume objective. ...
- Describing unrelated work experience. ...
- Providing few details. ...
- Adding references. ...
- Listing irrelevant skills. ...
- Using the same resume for all applications. ...
- Having outdated contact information. ...
- Describing job duties only.
Claiming work expenses: First, choose a deduction
For tax year 2021, the flat rate is $12,550 for single filers and those married filing separately. The rate is $25,100 for married filing jointly. Taking this route is much easier than itemizing.
You don't necessarily need to list every job you've had on your resume. In fact, if you've been in the workforce several years, many career experts advise listing only your most recent employers or including just the positions relevant to the job you're applying for.
Does TurboTax help with write offs? ›The IRS determines what expenses can be considered legitimate write-offs. Don't worry about knowing which tax deductions and credits are deductible. TurboTax will ask you simple questions about you and give you the tax deductions and credits you're eligible for based on your answers.
What not to use in a cover letter? ›
- Spelling mistakes. For any job position you may be applying for, this is a cardinal sin. ...
- Personal information. Employers are not interested in your personal life. ...
- Salary expectations. ...
- Too much information. ...
- Negative comments. ...
- Lies or exaggerations. ...
- Empty claims.
- “I'm confident I'm the perfect person for the job.” ...
- “I need this job because … ” ...
- “I would like to know the salary range for this job … ” or “I'm requesting a salary of … ” ...
- “I think … ” ...
- “I would be a good fit.” ...
- “To whom it may concern:” ...
- “Good” ...
- “Best”
For the majority of job-seekers, the best resume format in 2023 is the reverse-chronological resume format. This resume format involves listing your resume information (e.g. your work experience and your education) starting with the most recent one and going backward through relevant jobs, degrees, or qualifications.
Can chatbot get me a job? ›Some chatbots act as screeners for in-demand positions. They can determine if you're a good fit for a job based on your responses to questions. There are also chatbots that give details about the kinds of work available at a company.
Can chatbot find me a job? ›ChatGPT can't access specific job openings—but what it can do is tell you how to find them. In this case, it refers you to a local institute where other members of the profession take classes and attend networking events.
How do you beat the job search algorithm? ›- Size and format of your CV.
- Use keywords in your resume.
- Use text instead of images.
- Clean up your social media profiles.
- Ensure it looks good for human eyes, too.
Microsoft is reportedly trying to make it cheaper. ChatGPT could cost OpenAI up to $700,000 a day to run due to "expensive servers," an analyst told The Information. ChatGPT requires massive amounts of computing power on expensive servers to answer queries.
How much is the ChatGPT app? ›OpenAI's ChatGPT pro plan, known as ChatGPT Plus, allows users to have general access even during peak times, experience faster response times, and have priority access to new features and improvements, including OpenAI's most advanced LLM, GPT-4. The premium services cost $20 per month.
How much does ChatGPT app cost? ›As we said above, ChatGPT is free - for now. OpenAI has launched a new paid option for it that basically acts like priority access, allowing you to skip waiting times and get earlier access to new features for $20 a month.
Is it bad to use ChatGPT for work? ›Confidentiality and data privacy are other concerns for employers when thinking about how employees might use ChatGPT in connection with work. There is the possibility that employees will share proprietary, confidential, or trade secret information when having “conversations” with ChatGPT.
What are the negatives of chatbots? ›
- Limited Responses for Customers. Although using chatbots may provide faster customer service overall, they aren't perfect. ...
- Customers Could Become Frustrated. Because many chatbots work from a limited data base, they can't improvise. ...
- Complex Chatbots Could Cost More. ...
- Not All Business Can Use Chatbots.
In contrast to humans, chatbots can respond almost instantly, as they need only fractions of a second to process user input and generate a response (Følstad et al.
Why do companies use chatbots? ›Chatbots can automate tasks performed frequently and at specific times. This gives employees time to focus on more important tasks and prevents customers from waiting to receive responses. Proactive customer interaction.
What is the most important thing to communicate with a resume? ›Empathy. Empathy, compassion and respect are essential qualities for professionals in every industry, especially at the management level. When you include empathetic skills in your resume, you show that you value others' views and maintain an open mind about alternative ideas, which can help you excel in your career.
What skills are required for chat process? ›- Subject-matter expertise. ...
- Understanding of brand voice. ...
- Fast response and resolution time. ...
- Impeccable writing skills. ...
- Empathy. ...
- Ask for feedback. ...
- Understanding of the live chat software. ...
- Understanding of other fundamental etiquettes.
Put communication abilities first in a list of professional skills. Use examples that show both written and verbal communication abilities. Highlight ways you were able to negotiate or discuss business deals. Describe ways you worked with a team to complete a project or motivate others to do the same.
What is the most common cover letter mistakes? ›Focusing too much on yourself
This one is definitely an easy mistake to make, due to the fact it is your cover letter, your job application and your future. But employers really don't care about how their company fits your needs (before they hire you, at least).
- Using a general greeting.
- Being overly friendly.
- Only focusing on what the company can do for you.
- Underselling yourself.
- Copying and pasting a template.
One possibility is to use "my" now and then: instead of "I am experienced in ...", write "My fields of experience include ...". Another possibility is to use references to previous sentences: instead of writing "I developed the method of ... .
What are 4 things you should include in a cover letter? ›- Information about you.
- Date.
- Contact Person's Name, Title, Employer, and Address.
- Salutation.
- Opening Paragraph.
- Middle Paragraph.
- Second Middle Paragraph.
- Contact Information and Closing.
What is the first paragraph of a cover letter? ›
1st paragraph: State why you are writing, the position or type of work for which you are applying. Mention how you heard of the vacancy. 2nd paragraph: Discuss why you are interested in this position, the company , and its products. Describe your background (skills, accomplishments, and abilities).
What are the must use words in cover letter? ›In a cover letter, emphasize your excellent communication skills by using words such as “negotiated,” “addressed,” “persuaded” and “encouraged.” To describe your writing abilities, use words such as “authored,” “corresponded” and “publicized.” Choose words that are logical, concise and reader-friendly.
What is a common mistake made on resumes? ›1. Having spelling errors and bad grammar. Whether you proofread it yourself, or get somebody else to, checking over your CV from start to finish can be the difference between being accepted and being rejected.
What are 2 tips that you can use when writing a cover letter? ›- Make It Personal. To make your cover letter seem more personable, it's a good idea to address the reader directly. ...
- Past, Present, and Future. ...
- Research is Key! ...
- Keep It Brief.
How important is a cover letter? A cover letter is important as about 26% of recruiters read cover letters and consider them critical in their decision to hire. Another study on employer preference suggests that 56% want applicants to attach a cover letter to the resume.
Can you say I in a cover letter? ›Mistake #1: Don't Overuse "I" Your cover letter is not your autobiography. The focus should be on how you meet an employer's needs, not on your life story. Avoid the perception of being self-centered by minimizing your use of the word "I," especially at the beginning of your sentences.
What are 3 examples of salutations? ›- Sir or Dear Sir. Madam or Dear Madam. (for very formal correspondence, when receiver's gender identity is known)
- Dear Mr. or Mrs. or Ms. Jones. ...
- Dear C. Jones, Dear Chris Jones. ...
- Dear Customer Service Manager. Dear Occupant.
1. Use "Hello," or "Dear," followed by their first and last name. If the job description includes the hiring manager's name, or if you've managed to figure it out through research (which we'll cover below), an easy greeting uses a full name with a "Dear" or "Hello" before it.