ChatGPT: A Job Search Tool, Not a Disruptor
Weekly Career Tip #29
Two Minute Read
ChatGPT and similar AI tools can be helpful in the job search, but they are not as disruptive as the hype would have you believe.
People look for every edge when searching for a job. And there are many tools to increase productivity.
Many people latch onto tools and rely on them too much and get tripped up. For example, Microsoft Word’s spelling and grammar checker doesn’t flag the following as a problem: “I want to work at Googol.” This is because googol is a word (10 to the 100th power.) Spell checkers also won’t help with proper names an author misspells.
ChatGPT is evolutionary, not revolutionary. Customized communication is still essential. But, just like the computer replaced the typewriter, allowing people to produce written output free from smudges and x-outs, ChatGPT is a step up from Grammarly, which is a step up from spell check. ChatGPT raises the quality level of what is average and expected. To stand out, one needs to rise above the merely acceptable.
I asked ChatGPT to produce a cover letter for a job and fed it some information to seed its line of thinking. It spit out perfectly grammatical paragraphs. There were a lot of overused phrases in it, including generalities about the writer’s hard-working attitude. However, the ability to correlate what someone’s done in the past and what a target company may want from a candidate is a bigger leap. It also took a passive stance about the writer’s interest, saying the writer looks forward to hearing from the prospective employer. It didn’t use a more effective letter-writing tactic that I recommend. I suggest that the writer ask how they may best connect with the recipient and add that, alternatively, the writer will reach out to them next week. This often motivates the recipient to reply instead of waiting to be prodded again.
LinkedIn is rolling out a split message inbox, separating “Focused” messages from “Other” messages. Focused messages are the more personal messages as identified by LinkedIn’s algorithm. Other messages are the spammy, blast messages people use for marketing. LinkedIn recognizes that people are tired of boilerplate come-ons and will suffer message fatigue if subjected to robotic message assaults like the generic messages that ChatGPT composes.
Bottom line, consider AI a tool, not a silver bullet, for great business communications. Use ChatGPT or other AI tools but personalize your communications to stand out from the noise of generalities to succeed.
I help young adults (college students and grads several years out) jumpstart their careers and get hired for full-time jobs and internships through individual and group career coaching and advising. I employ a holistic, design-oriented approach to help candidates find meaningful, self-sustaining work matched to their skills and interests. I welcome you to contact me.