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How to use ChatGPT to build your resume
Graduation season is here, which means students will be in a frenzy of applying for jobs to secure their first role out of college. Whether you're seeking to launch your career or have been in the labor market for decades, there's one thing we can all agree on -- creating a resume that attracts the eye of recruiters is a tough challenge.
How to use ChatGPT to write: Cover letters | Code | Excel formulas | Essays
As if landing a job that aligns with your qualifications and expectations wasn't difficult enough, you also have to sum up all of your professional experiences and strengths in one application -- the heart of which is the CV or resume.
The resume is meant to be a concise one-page document highlighting your academic, professional, and leadership achievements, which is just as difficult as it sounds. Finding the right words to summarize what you have done in a role for an extended period in three bullets is difficult, but Open AI's ChatGPT can make the resume-building process a breeze.
How ChatGPT can help build your resume
You can use ChatGPT to generate ideas and bullet points for your role from scratch or to refine and optimize your current points that are not hitting the mark. Beyond bullet points, the AI tool can help you answer questions about putting together your resume. Here is how to get started.
Side note: We are using ChatGPT, but you can use the AI chatbot of your choice because there are plenty of capable AI chatbots to choose from.
1. Choose a resume template
ChatGPT will help you with the text in your resume, but you'll need to pick a template before you get started. The program you're using to write the resume -- such as Google Docs, Microsoft Word, and Canva -- will likely have a resume template already.
Also: What is ChatGPT and why does it matter? Here's what you need to know
A quick Google search for resume templates will also bring hundreds of editable templates you can import into your program of choice. I recommend picking one that best represents you and your needs.
2. Sign in to ChatGPT (optional)
On April 1, 2024, OpenAI stopped requiring you to log in to ChatGPT. Now, you can access ChatGPT simply by visiting ChatGPT's website. However, if you want to take advantage of certain perks, such as being able to revisit the chat later, you will need to sign in. I recommend signing up for this task because if you want to tweak your bullets again at a later date, you won't have to start from scratch, and rather, you could pick up the same conversation.
Also: How to save a ChatGPT conversation to revisit later
Signing up is easy. All you have to do is go to OpenAI's ChatGPT homepage and create an account by creating an OpenAI login or using your existing Google or Microsoft account. ChatGPT is free, so the sign-up process is simple, requiring no credit cards or obscure information.
3. Add text
If you want ChatGPT to generate text for your resume from scratch, all you have to do is ask.
Whether you want it to generate your professional summary or an individual bullet, ask it directly. For example, I asked ChatGPT, "Can you write a short, professional resume summary about my role as a tech reporter?" Within seconds, it created the results, as seen in the photo above.
Also: 6 helpful ways to use ChatGPT's Custom Instructions
Although ChatGPT can create content ready to be copied and pasted into a resume, you should tweak the text so it is personalized to your experiences and doesn't look like a robot wrote it.
Employers want to learn about what makes you unique. Without your assistance, the chatbot will only have access to generic prompts about your role. You could also use the "Custom Instructions" feature to share with the chatbot some details about your role and interests that ChatGPT can reference to output the text.
4. Use ChatGPT to revamp your text
Whether you fill out the template yourself before using ChatGPT's assistance or have an existing resume you want to enhance, ChatGPT is a great resource for polishing up text.
All you have to do is copy and paste your text and ask ChatGPT to make it better.
Also: The best AI chatbots: ChatGPT and other interesting alternatives to try
For example, I asked ChatGPT, "Can you make this resume bullet sound better: I write stories about technology". Within seconds, it pushed out an elaborate bullet point that incorporated a professional tone and made that simple sentence more complex, as seen in the photo above.
Once you get your result, you can always tell ChatGPT to tweak it further with prompts like, "Make it shorter" or "Can you include [additional details]?".
FAQs
How much does it cost for ChatGPT to write my resume?
ChatGPT is currently free to use regardless of what you use it for, which includes resume-building assistance.
How can ChatGPT help me with my resume?
ChatGPT can generate text for different parts of your resume, including your professional summary and individual bullet points for each experience.
Also: How to nail the 'Do you have any questions for me?' part of the interview
The chatbot can also help enhance your current resume by optimizing your text. If you have any questions about how to format your resume and what to include, ChatGPT can give you some answers.
What should I put in my resume?
Ideally, you want a resume to highlight all your career accomplishments. This can include any educational, professional, and leadership experiences that are meaningful to you. You should also include as much detail about your unique experiences to make you stand out from other applicants.