Ryan Morrison, former AI editor at Tom’s Guide once said, “AI won’t take your job, those who know how to use AI will take your job.” He was full of wise words, but that piece of advice is something I have shared a lot recently with friends who are unemployed or looking for their next role. As industries shift and companies restructure, employees are often left wondering where to begin after a layoff. Anyone who has sent out dozens of resumes only to be turned away or perhaps worse, gotten no response at all, knows the sting of job uncertainty.
Believe it or not, utilizing AI can actually make job hunting easier and help add structure to nail down your talents and yes, even your weaknesses. Instead of hitting ‘Easy Apply’ one more time in hopes of getting noticed or spending hours on the perfect cover letter only to never get a response, ChatGPT’s o3-mini (it’s free!) could assist you in your search. In my previous tests, I've used it to write cover letters and build resumes, but it's also good at personalized job recommendations, career pivots, and my personal favorite, pep talks. So, stop searching alone and let ChatGPT guide you to your next big thing.
1. Personalized job recommendations
Example Prompt: "I have five years of experience in digital marketing with a focus on social media strategy. What roles should I consider?"
By providing ChatGPT o3-mini with details about your skills, experience, and interests, it can suggest job roles that align with your profile. Its advanced reasoning allows for nuanced matches, even identifying positions you might not have considered.
Attachments aren’t available for o3-mini, but you can manually highlight, copy, and paste your resume into ChatGPT. Be sure to leave out all the sensitive information like your phone number and email address, and include your past positions, what you did in your roles, and how long you worked there. Here’s where you can also add the positions you may not usually put on a resume. For example, if you were a producer at a radio station in college, add that. If you have a side business on Etsy or are play the saxophone at weddings, throw it in!
This is also where you might want to add the stuff you wouldn’t normally say in an interview. Hate public speaking, open office spaces, and like to get 10,000 steps in each day? Tell ChatGPT. Think of the chatbot as your personal assistant who is on your side no matter what and won’t judge your weird quirks. The more you can tell it about yourself, the better it will be able to craft the perfect job for you.
In this case, the prompt offered some obvious suggestions like Digital Marketing Manager and Social Media Manager. If you have had five years of experience in those roles, of course you’ve been applying to those. But what’s interesting is what ChatGPT suggests beyond the obvious, in this case it suggested pivoting to consulting. It suggests “Consider what aspects of your current role you most enjoy — be it creative strategy, data analysis, or team leadership — to determine which role aligns best with your career goals.” Once you nail those aspects down, you may want to include those in a new prompt.
2. Identifying skill gaps
Example Prompt: "What skills do I need to develop to transition from a sales role to a business analyst position, and where can I learn them?"
After ChatGPT responds with potential ideas for your career, as with the example above, you might wonder if you have all the skills it takes to pivot. For instance, you might not have ever considered consulting work before and wonder if there are new skills you need to learn. ChatGPT can help by suggesting not only the skills you need, but also the classes or courses you might want to consider to up your game and the chances of being hired. It’s always a good idea to never stop learning and to always increase your skill level at every level of your career.
If you are currently unemployed and looking for a job, you might not have extra to spend on courses. Luckily, ChatGPT has a plethora of resources that are available at low or not cost to you. From watching YouTube tutorials to auditing courses on platforms like Coursera, there are numerous ways to develop new skills without spending a dime.
3. Staying informed about industry trends
Example Prompt: "What are the latest trends in the renewable energy sector?"
Depending on how long you’ve been out of work or if you’re considering pivoting your role, you’ll want to stay informed about all the latest news and updates within your industry. ChatGPT o3-mini can summarize the latest trends in your field, ensuring you're well-informed and can discuss current topics during interviews. With live web search capabilities, you can craft the prompts to fit your needs, so all your bases are covered.
In our original example of digital marketing expert, staying abreast of the current state of TikTok, and other platforms such as Bluesky are important— and ChatGPT can ensure you stay informed. Or, in this case of energy consultant, you won’t miss a beat when it comes to trends. One of the best aspects of o3-mini is that it pulls from several information basis, so you get everything you need in one place. You can even ask it to summarize or include bullet points, so you get what you need in digestible points.
4. Researching potential employers
Example Prompt: "Tell me about the company culture and recent news of [Company Name]."
What’s great about o3-mini is that you can get real-time news about the companies you’re interested in. Asking ChatGPT about a company’s culture, values, and recent developments can give you the edge over other candidates. ChatGPT can provide detailed insights into potential employers to help you prepare for interviews and tailor your applications accordingly.
For this example, I used Wegmans grocery store because I’m already thinking about lunch, but you can put in nearly any company and have ChatGPT take a look to help you better understand the employer.
5. Crafting tailored resumes and cover letters
Example Prompt: "Here's a job description for a content strategist position. How should I tailor my resume and cover letter to match this role?"
Once you find a role you want, you’re going to use ChatGPT o3-mini to assist in customizing your resume and cover letter for specific job applications. You can do this by copy/pasting the job description into ChatGPT and asking the chatbot to help you highlight your own relevant experiences and skills, which will increase your chance of standing out. Now, if you’ve been a sous chef your entire career and are eyeing a job at NASA, this might not be the best strategy. However, tailoring your resume to a job that fits within your talents and experience is something you should certainly do.
AI can help translate what you’ve done in past roles to demonstrate how you can be a good candidate at the role in the job description. From strategic thinking and leadership skills to communication, adaptability and analytical expertise, ChatGPT will shape your resume to highlight your strengths so you can present the best version of you.
6. Preparing for interviews
Example Prompt: "What are common interview questions for a project manager role, and how should I respond?"
Once you score an interview with your stellar resume and awesome cover letter, you’re going to want to use ChatGPT to help you prepare for the interview. By anticipating potential interview questions and formulating thoughtful responses, you’ll feel more confident during the actual interview. You can practice your responses by typing back and forth with ChatGPT o3-mini and the chatbot can critique your response.
If you don’t know the answer, you can even ask ChatGPT for the best way to say “I don’t know” so you can save face in an interview. No matter how experienced you are, you may not know how to answer every question a potential interview throws at you. Instead of sweating and stumbling over your words (we’ve all been there), ask ChatGPT what to do. It doesn’t judge and the AI assistant can steer you so you’re totally prepared with effective answers.
7. Networking strategies
Example Prompt: "How can I effectively network in the tech industry to uncover job opportunities?"
Sometimes finding the right job is all about who you know. So, what if you don’t know anyone or your network isn’t very big? Let ChatGPT o3-mini offer strategies for effective networking, including how to approach industry professionals and craft compelling outreach messages. You can even “introduce” ChatGPT o3-mini to someone in the industry by sharing their LinkedIn profile with the chatbot and asking how to craft a note to them.
If you’ve gotten an interview and you feel as though you’re being ghosted, talk to ChatGPT. Tell if you interviewed for the job and ask what the average response time is – and how to reach out when it’s taken longer. Being eager to get back into the workforce is okay, reaching out every day to recruiters is not. Lean on ChatGPT to help you stay focused without overdoing it. When you’re feeling down about your search ask o3-mini to help keep you motivated. It’s surprisingly good at it!
Bonus: tell ChatGPT your perfect day at your dream job
Job searching can feel like a full-time job without any reward. Instead of letting yourself get down or defeated after every “we’re going with a different candidate” response, focus on what having a job looks like. Tell ChatGPT what your dream job looks like and how your day at that job looks. Be as detailed as you can right down to the way you take your coffee at your desk, and then prompt ChatGPT to help you plan a 30-, 60-, or 90-day plan to get there. You’ll be blown away when you see how that day unfolds.
ChatGPT is the ultimate AI job search assistant because it doesn’t judge, it gives you honest answers and doesn’t have any skin in the game. It doesn’t have any emotions so it will help you think practically yet remain a hype machine when you need that extra push. Give it a try and remember, you got this!
More from Tom's Guide
- I tested ChatGPT o3-mini vs Gemini 2.0 Flash with 7 prompts — here’s the winner
- Google Gemini will now watch YouTube videos for you — here's how it works
- Pika launches 'Pikadditions' to add anything and anyone to any video — here's how
