Will you get what you need with a ChatGPT-generated leadership resume?
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 compelling, branded 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.
Here are 5 considerations for using ChatGPT to help produce your resume:
1 – Use ChatGPT if you’re not concerned about a generic branding experience.
Recruiters and employers have been unimpressed by bland resumes for YEARS.
These resumes fail to provide the context crucial to describe your specific contributions.
If you already know someone at the company, you might be in luck. But if you’re planning on targeting an executive 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.” Your input must be compelling and distinctive.
2 – 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.
3 – You’re okay with using a bot to crank out 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, an IT security analyst should be able to describe how they’ve engineered threat detection solutions, and an RN should have a good grasp of patient safety.
However, when you’ve amassed decades of leadership 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.
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 CEO, COO, or CFO (and a select number of SVPs, EVPs, or Directors) in a healthcare system, manufacturing corporation, fintech company, or other business entity.
The more esoteric your career pursuits, the more difficult it will be for ChatGPT to provide the distinctive content needed for your career.
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 2024, 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’ve already assembled your career successes, you have a typical career trajectory, and you’re ready to fine-tune the results.
It’s important to ensure your resume is powerful enough to support your ascent to the top.
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