Looking for work online has never exactly been a graceful experience. It usually involves opening far too many tabs, tweaking the same resume over and over again, and spending an uncomfortable amount of time trying to decide whether a job description actually means what it says.
Now, OpenAI has augmented ChatGPT to help. The AI chatbot can look online for jobs and freelance listings, personalizing them to your interests and experience. The company has also upgraded ChatGPT’s resume writing and editing ability to better help users actually secure those positions.
Having spent more time and effort searching for positions, revising my resume, and writing cover letters than I care to remember, I can certainly see the appeal of the new features. Still, Companies using AI to screen resumes have been a particular nightmare for me, so I’m also a little skeptical of anything connecting AI and the search for employment. On the other hand, I’ve experimented with using ChatGPT to prepare for job interviews, and it performed reasonably well.
I tried to keep an open mind when trying out the new ChatGPT features. I uploaded my resume, described my background in writing and editing, and asked for help to improve the document before looking for opportunities.
Fresh eyes on the resume
The first thing ChatGPT did was examine my existing resume and point out areas that could be stronger. It suggested that some accomplishments seemed buried beneath job descriptions and that outcomes should be emphasized rather than responsibilities.
“You have extensive experience across reporting, editing, and content strategy. The resume should make that breadth obvious within the first few seconds of reading,” the AI explained. “Several achievements are strong but difficult to spot quickly. Recruiters often scan before they read, so important results should be easier to find.”
It offered a revised format that was hardly a revolution in resume writing, but wasn’t bad by any means. More helpfully, ChatGPT provided multiple versions tailored to different roles and responsibilities. It even managed to avoid any hallucinations, something I was watching for particularly closely. I was happy with the results, though I still feel my own version is the better. But it’s hard to tell what is best anymore, when every position is deluged with applications, with or without AI involvement.
Finding the job
With the resume tidied up, I moved on to the job search itself. I told ChatGPT I was interested in freelance writing, editing, and journaling. Within seconds, it began surfacing opportunities that matched those interests, pulling together listings from across the web and explaining why they might be worth a closer look.
“This editing role appears well aligned with your background because it emphasizes editorial judgment, content quality, and managing complex projects.”
Another suggested opportunity focused on long-form content, explaining that my “experience producing in-depth reporting and feature writing appears highly relevant to the requirements described here.”
Each had a short description and a button to open a tab where I could apply, whether on the company website or a centralized website such as Indeed. ChatGPT did have more of a personalized touch than the usual giant warehouse of a job board website. Of course, not every suggestion was perfect, but the overall hit rate was better than I expected.
The experience also highlighted how much friction exists in a traditional job search. Normally, I would bounce between LinkedIn, freelance marketplaces, company websites, and whatever other results caught my attention.
Instead of searching, filtering, comparing, and repeating, I was having a conversation. The process felt more focused because ChatGPT already knew what kind of work I was looking for and what experience I brought to the table.
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ESchwartzwrites@gmail.com (Eric Hal Schwartz)
