Generative AI for Career Preparation
Using Generative AI for Career Preparation and Life Design
Generative AI, a form of artificial intelligence that can generate text, images and other content, can be a valuable tool in your career journey.
Tools like ChatGPT can be helpful resources, but they are not a substitute for the skillbuilding and self-development that comes from drafting and editing career-related documents and profiles.
Also, while AI can provide valuable suggestions and insights, it is important to remember that these recommendations should not be taken as definitive advice. Generative AI should complement—not replace—human judgment.
Privacy and Generative AI
When interacting with chatbots or AI, exercise caution when sharing personal information. Always review the content generated by AI for accuracy, bias and authenticity. To protect your privacy, remove personal details (i.e., name, address, phone number and email) from any documents you upload. Additionally, you can configure your settings to ensure that ChatGPT does not save your chat history or use it to train its model.
Pros and Cons of ChatGPT
Pros
Wide range of knowledge: ChatGPT has been trained on a large amount of text data from the internet, which enables it to answer a wide range of questions on various topics.
Quick and efficient: ChatGPT can process and respond to queries very quickly, making it a convenient tool for getting instant answers.
24/7 availability: Since ChatGPT is an AI language model, it can be available 24/7, making it a reliable resource for getting answers at any time.
Multilingual support: ChatGPT supports multiple languages, which makes it a useful tool for communication across different cultures and regions.
Cons
Limited understanding: While ChatGPT is capable of answering a wide range of questions, it still has limitations in terms of understanding context and nuance.
Bias and inaccuracy: ChatGPT's responses are based on the data it has been trained on, which means it may have inherent biases and inaccuracies in its responses.
Lack of human touch: As an AI language model, ChatGPT may lack the empathy and emotional intelligence that a human conversation partner can provide.
Limited creativity: ChatGPT is designed to provide factual and informative responses, but may not be able to offer creative or imaginative responses like a human conversation partner.
*Pros and cons provided by ChatGPT
Dos, Don't and Advice for Using Generative AI
Career Awareness:
Do: Use Generative AI to explore different career paths and industries based on your interests and skills.
- Example Prompt: "Generate a list of career options that align with my interest in biology, and (insert descriptors from your PathwayU assessment)."
- Example Prompt: “I have interests in philosophy and computers [or insert interests]. What are five career paths that match my interests?
Don't: Rely solely on Generative AI for career decisions. Use it as a supplement to other resources and your own research.
Advice: Use Generative AI to generate job descriptions for roles you're interested in to get a better understanding of the responsibilities and qualifications required.
Creating a LinkedIn Profile
Do: Use Generative AI to draft sections of your LinkedIn profile, such as the summary, experience and skills.
- Example: Use AI to generate a draft summary that highlights your key skills and career aspirations.
Don't: Rely solely on AI-generated content for your LinkedIn profile. Ensure that the information is accurate and reflects your authentic self.
Advice: Customize the content generated by AI to match your personal brand and career goals. Add personal anecdotes or examples to make your profile more engaging.
- Example: Use AI to create a list of skills and then select and personalize the most relevant ones for your profile.
- Use AI to generate a draft of your work experience section, then edit it to include specific accomplishments and results from your previous roles.
Internship and Job Searching:
Do: Use Generative AI to search for internship and job opportunities based on your criteria.
Don't: Rely solely on AI-generated job listings. Use multiple sources to find opportunities.
Advice: Use Generative AI to create personalized job search pitches or elevator pitches for networking events.
Interviewing:
Do: Use Generative AI to practice common interview questions and responses.
Don't: Use AI to generate false information or exaggerate your qualifications.
Advice: Use Generative AI to analyze job descriptions and company information to prepare thoughtful questions to ask during interviews.
- Example Prompt: "Generate interview questions for a marketing coordinator position and provide sample responses."
Life Design Ideas:
Visioning and Goal Setting
Use Generative AI to generate possible future scenarios based on a person's interests, values and aspirations. This can help individuals visualize different paths and set meaningful goals.
- Prompt: "Create a vision board or roadmap for someone who wants to work in [type of industry/field/position], incorporating their interests in [XXXX], values of [YYYY], and aspirations [ZZZZ]. Use a mix of images, quotes, and descriptions to visualize their ideal life in [specific timeframe, e.g., 5 years]. Include both short-term and long-term goals related to [specific areas of focus, e.g., career, relationships, personal growth]."
Personal Development Planning
GAI can generate personalized learning plans based on an individual's goals, interests and learning style. This can help individuals develop new skills and knowledge to achieve their objectives.
- Prompt: "Generate a personalized learning plan for based on a goal to [XXXX], interests in [YYYY], and [ZZZZ] learning style . Consider incorporating a mix of formal education, online courses, workshops, and self-directed learning activities. The plan should be tailored to help this person develop the skills and knowledge needed to achieve their objectives in [specific area or field]."
Networking:
Do: Use Generative AI to draft professional networking emails or messages.
- Example Prompt: "Generate a networking email to introduce myself to a professional in the healthcare industry."
- Based on my resume, generate a short but captivating 30-Second Spot I can use for networking: [insert resume].”
Don't: Use Generative AI to impersonate someone else in your networking efforts.
Advice: Personalize the messages generated by AI to make them more authentic and relevant to the recipient.
Position and Industry Research:
Do: Utilize Generative AI to gather information about specific companies, industries and trends.
- Example Prompt: "Summarize recent trends in the biotechnology industry based on articles from the past year."
Don't: Assume all information generated by AI is accurate. Verify information from reliable sources.
Advice: Use Generative AI to summarize lengthy reports or articles related to your industry research.
Resume and Cover Letter Writing:
Do: Use Generative AI to generate initial drafts of your resume and cover letter.
- Example Prompt: "Create a draft of a cover letter for a marketing position highlighting my experience with social media marketing."
- Example Prompt: “Provide suggestions on strong action verbs that can make my resume bullets more dynamic and impactful.”
Don't: Submit resumes or cover letters without reviewing and editing them for accuracy and relevance. Recruiters state they are seeing more AI generated cover letters and they can tell!
Advice: Tailor the content generated by AI to match the job description and company culture you're applying to.
Use Big Interview’s Resume AI feature to get feedback on your resume.
Recommended Readings and Activities
- Artificial Intelligence for Teaching and Learning at UD
- UD Library, Museums and Press AI Literacy Tutorial
Provides an overview of how large language models (LLM) like ChatGPT work, the limitations of their use, and ethical considerations for the appropriate use; approx 30 mins). - Lerner Career Center Generative AI and Professional Development Prompts and Best Practices
- 10 Ways to Use ChatGPT to Land a Great Job
- 3 Ways to Upskill Yourself and Adapt in the Age of A.I.
The UD Career Center is part of the Division of Student Life, which advances equity and inclusion, deepens student learning and drives holistic development through education, experiences and communities.
