Can ChatGPT Help You Land Your Dream Job?

Recently, I came across a post on LinkedIn laying out 100 different ways a candidate can land a dream job. It laid out a mistakeless utopia for job seekers, informing them how best to use their prompting skills to let AI write cover letters and solve recruitment assessments for them. With over 2000 likes, 63 comments, and 21 reshares, the post was a viral hit. But it made me wonder — Can you really land a job using ChatGPT?

Now, picture this: You’ve applied for a job, and you have to work on an assignment as a part of the hiring process. You aren’t nervous at all. In fact, you are confident you’ll do a fantastic job because you’ve outsourced your job assessment to ChatGPT. After all, even if you don’t know everything, ChatGPT surely does, doesn’t it? And it’s more likely to get you hired than pure hard work.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but it won’t.

Contrary to popular belief (read: internet fads), ChatGPT is not the panacea of the decade. ChatGPT is anything but perfect. Content written by AI generators is rife with plagiarism, inaccuracies, and contradictions.

Imagine if multiple candidates are using ChatGPT to write their assessments for them; they will all sound the same. And it is expected because they will all likely use the same job description and assessment question as the prompt!

Now, put yourself in the shoes of a hiring manager who receives dozens of job applications written by bots. And imagine just how painstakingly tedious the recruitment process is going to be.

ChatGPT in recruitment is a serious concern

In some instances, the candidate is too lucky to clear all the stages of selection because the hiring manager couldn’t catch the AI elements in the candidate’s assessment. For example, let’s say the candidate has a perfect cover letter and a resume and gets the job over other candidates who have not used AI. A tad bit unfair, isn’t it?

The real problem starts after the candidate has been hired. Since AI has proven to be an unreliable tool, how long will he be able to survive in his job? His lack of required job skills will make sure he gets fired sooner than the company gets setbacks because of him.

Of course, it will be a loss for the company in terms of repeating the hiring process. But keeping a bad hire would cost them even more.

At the same time, the candidate will lose time, credibility, self-respect, and confidence.

“Use ChatGPT to Land a Job” — You Can’t!

The internet is well past the debate of whether or not AI is going to replace humans and found a new target in the debate around the ethicality of AI-generated content. This means even written assessments for recruitment are under intense scrutiny.

Many companies have already built AI detection into their recruitment processes. But those who haven’t are already turning to free AI detection tools and keen observations to draw a line.

It’s easy for an observant recruiter to distinguish between human-written and AI-written content. This is because there are always some tell-tale signs in AI written answers. It can be a typical tone and vocabulary, factual mistakes, answers without context, and the absence of human elements.

Content written using a chatbot is near perfect regarding grammar, typos, spelling, and language. So, AI-generated resumes and cover letters have similar patterns and phrasing that match the keywords recruiters have used in their job descriptions.

After sifting through so many applications in a day, recruiters can identify such frauds at the drop of a hat.

Recruitment at the Time of ChatGPT

Nowadays, smart recruiters use AI content detection software/tools like ZeroGPT, GLTR, GPTZero, Sapling, and Smodin, which check if AI has written the content.

For assessments, recruiters use anti-cheating tools that don’t let the candidate use any other software or sites during the evaluation. They use secure browsers, which disable other browsers, external ports, tabs during the exam, and online interview platforms to ensure the integrity of the assessment.

Moreover, companies are now moving towards psychometric and aptitude tests where AI is not helpful. They are also focusing on assessment center exercises, which provide better assessment results than text-based assessments.

Companies are inventing new methods of chatbot-resistant assessment where the candidate has no chance to use chatbot-type AI tools. They are developing gamified assessments and AI-based tools that assess candidates’ skills more efficiently and accurately. Some of these new assessment practices are:

● Pre-employment assessment: These tools measure a candidate’s personality traits, skills related to the job profile, and cognitive abilities. They help identify candidates who fit the job and company well.

● Gamified Assessments: Companies have made the assessment process more engaging and interactive through gamification. They evaluate candidates for the role, problem-solving, logical, and analytical skills. The game results and assessment provide critical data for hiring decisions. There is no scope for using AI tools in gamified evaluations.

AI tools are great resources for improving skills. But if you use it to deceive your future employer, they will catch you sooner or later. Future will bring new AI tools along with their counter-tools to keep a check on their misuse. It is, therefore, crucial to realize where you should draw the line.

And remember — if AI can do your job, it can replace it as well.

Are you using ChatGPT while applying for a job?

Let me know in the comments!