
Should You Use ChatGPT to Write Your Resume?
Will you get what you need with a ChatGPT-generated leadership resume?
Maybe not.
Now that ChatGPT has taken the world by storm, you might be wondering about its application in your job search – namely, to write your resume or other materials.
But what are the implications, advantages, or pitfalls you might experience when using ChatGPT for resume writing?
A truly compelling resume MUST SET YOU APART with unique content… ensuring others can’t claim your achievements or own your professional perspective. It takes work and introspection to write about yourself, even with the help of ChatGPT.
No matter if you turn the job of resume writing over to ChatGPT (or its competitor Google Bard), both you and the bot will need to dig deeper to discover your competitive edge.
Consider these scenarios when considering using ChatGPT to help produce your resume:
1 – You’re okay with using ChatGPT to piece together your achievements, one by one.
If you’re pursuing an early career position, some of your accomplishments and career path might look similar to other professionals.
For example, most IT security analysts will be able to point out how they’ve engineered or embedded threat detection solutions or worked on intensive monitoring systems. A registered nurse should have a background in hands-on patient care, with a good understanding of safety initiatives.
However, when you’ve amassed a significant amount of experience, your resume (and LinkedIn) should also capture your leadership style, pattern of success, career trajectory, and personal brand reputation.
You’ll find that chatbots can prompt you for individual achievements, but function best as a foundational tool for a resume (as described by Eryn Marshall of Oyster in “ChatGPT writing résumés and cover letters needn’t be feared, HR pros say“), who points out that the “human element” will always be a factor in your job search.
2 – You’re not concerned about a bland “branding” experience.
Recruiters and employers have been unimpressed by bland resumes for YEARS. Most often, these resumes fail to provide the context crucial to describe each candidate’s contributions.
If you already know someone at the company, you might be in luck. Or if you’re in line for the hiring process at Canva, you may have been referred for a great opportunity, with your resume as only the starting point.
But if you’re planning on targeting a role where you’ll face stiff competition and a grueling interview process, think again before cranking out a ChatGPT-generated resume and calling it done.
The text will look professionally done, but will it convey the heart and effort behind YOUR career success? Therefore, when you use ChatGPT to write your resume, be ready to supply your own career data – leveraging the app as a resume-writing framework.
As noted by Cliff Jurkiewicz in “Should you use ChatGPT to apply for Jobs?” on FastCompany, “ChatGPT is just another tool that requires input to create something.”
3 – You have a straight-line career path that needs minimal explanation.
If your career aligns with the typical trajectory in your field, using ChatGPT might help you get started.
If your career has taken a few left turns, however, it’s important to build a writing strategy that describes your penchant for your field, echoes your leadership philosophy, and helps employers realize why you’re a good fit despite some bumps in the road.
ChatGPT won’t automatically produce strategies for a work history with gaps, career detours, or other setbacks, where you might need:
- Your last several jobs to appear on the first page (where they can take center stage). If this is the case, each entry must be short and crisp. ChatGPT does NOT produce tight content (see point #5).
- A strategy for explaining how your career path adds up to a new, high-level role that could be a slight detour from your previous experience.
- Formatting that features some experience over others, especially if you’re aiming for a position reflecting only a segment of your skills.
- Deeper explanations of your expertise in new industry trends.
If you’ve encountered these issues, you already know you need a plan to address them.
So keep in mind you may need a compelling way to craft your STORY, not just assemble the components piece by piece.
4 – You’re pursuing a role commonly found in job descriptions (familiar to ChatGPT).
Targeting an operations manager, chef, or medical technician position? Chat apps can dig up and leverage MILLIONS of related job descriptions before you can even blink.
However, there’s only one Chief Executive Officer in many healthcare systems, manufacturing corporations, yacht design companies, or wholesale golf distributors.
The more esoteric your career pursuits, the more difficult it will be for ChatGPT to train itself to provide the distinguishing content needed for your resume.
In Should You Write Your Own Executive Resume?, you’ll see that the task of setting yourself apart requires some introspective thought about your personal brand and career contributions.
You must answer the tough questions likely to be posed in an interview – and get that compelling story on paper! This is true whether you rely on a professional writer, chatbot, or resume template, and even MORE important when you’re approaching or targeting the C-suite.
5 – You don’t mind taking the time to edit ChatGPT-generated text.
In 2023, your resume must hit the mark quickly – while DIFFERENTIATING you.
Prompting ChatGPT for resume content will produce lengthy, often generic sentences. If you’re unsure how to make each sentence your own, or how to roll up each bullet without losing its meaning, you may need more help than a bot can supply.
The verdict?
Use chatbots like ChatGPT to write your resume if you’re comfortable gathering the detailed and salient information that really answers the tool’s prompts – and if you’re focused on cohesion in your career story.
Then, you’ll need to spend more time fine-tuning the results to fit your target pursuits – ensuring your final resume is powerful enough to support your ascent to the top.