By: Andrew Seaman
Senior Managing Editor for Jobs & Career Development at LinkedIn News
The one trend that sticks out from 2023 is the widespread availability of generative AI technology. Anyone with access to the internet can now plug in a few commands into a service like OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google's Bard, or Microsoft's Bing - from LinkedIn's parent company - to spit out starter text, images, and more. I sincerely hope you take the time to interact with some of these services to familiarize yourself with their capabilities. A little experience with AI at this stage of its development will go a long way in your career.
If you don't know where to start, I invite you to listen to the latest episode of my weekly Get Hired podcast. I sat down with The Final Round's AJ Eckstein for a conversation about using AI to enhance your job search.
What are AJ's top takeaways about using AI during a job search?
AI is a Tool: AI isn't just a buzzword; it's like performance-enhancing shoes, boosting your job search efficiency. AJ revealed fascinating statistics from a Forbes study showing that a significant percentage of job seekers leveraging ChatGPT are landing more interviews and job offers.
Effective Use of AI: AJ emphasized that success lies in how AI is used, not just in its usage. It's about blending technology with a human touch to enhance your job application process — from crafting personalized elevator pitches to preparing for interviews.
Exploring AI's Potential: We have dived into specific AI use cases, such as creating memorable elevator pitches, generating unique interview questions, optimizing resumes and cover letters, and even role-playing salary negotiations.
Learning from the AI Experience: It’s vital to interact with AI as a conversation partner, refining prompts and interpreting outputs critically. AI can be a powerful ally, but it requires guidance and fact-checking to avoid inaccuracies.
A Word of Caution: AJ and I discussed the importance of honesty and authenticity in leveraging AI. It's essential to represent your true skills and capabilities to avoid misrepresentations in your job applications.
My main takeaway about AI is similar to any part of a winning job search strategy: Properly using this tool can increase your odds of landing the right job for you. However, it does not guarantee success and — ultimately — it will still take hard work, strategy, determination, and dedication to get your next role.
Understanding generative AI and knowing how to interact with the technology will help you better wield it as a tool in your job search. Additionally, it will help you stay ahead of the workforce learning curve when it comes to AI. Most people's knowledge of generative AI is less than basic at the moment. Investing some time in online courses can make you a valuable candidate to employers looking to enhance their workforce's knowledge about AI.
My colleagues at LinkedIn Learning have compiled a learning path featuring six courses that range from an introduction to AI from Doug Rose to a course by Xavier (Xavi) Amatriain focused on prompt engineering, which will improve the effectiveness of the questions you ask the chatbot.
You can explore the learning path by clicking here.
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