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ChatGPT is a large language model developed by OpenAI that generates text responses based on the input provided. It reached 100 million users just 2 months after launch.
Many have been sharing how ChatGPT has aided their lives, from crafting emails and essays to music writing. We asked in our recent poll on Linkedin whether one would want to use ChatGPT to craft their resumes and 80% of the respondents said they would or were not too sure.
We will share ways, together with tips and actual prompts, on how you can use ChatGPT to aid you in your next career switch, beyond just utilising it to craft your resume.
ChatGPT should not be relied upon for important or critical decisions. It is provided for informational purposes, and its responses are generated based on its training data prior to 2021. Always use discretion when necessary.
Knowing how to fully utilise ChatGPT effectively to get an ideal response requires trial and error and tricks. Here are some advice after trying it out ourselves:
After much experimentation, we realised that it is relatively hard to generate a full resume. However, we recommend breaking them into parts and piecing them together.
If you would like to add a summary to your resume, here are some prompts you can use.
Resume experts recommend adding metrics to your experiences so do add them in whenever possible. If you would like to improve your previous job descriptions or achievements, here is a prompt you can use. (Note: Replace the bold portion with your intended input.)
Improve my resume pointers to succinctly match the requirements of the job description
Here are my resume pointers with metrics:
Designed an e-commerce platform that increased sales by 30% and reduced downtime by 60%.
Collaborated to integrate payment systems, shipping APIs, and customer data.
Built and maintained a testing framework that reduced bug report resolution time by 75%.
Here is the job description:
Design, develop, and maintain scalable software solutions for our e-commerce platform.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to understand business requirements and provide technical solutions.
Participate in code reviews and design discussions to promote best practices and maintain high-quality standards.
Congratulations, your resume was validated and you have now made it to the interview stage. You may encounter multiple forms of interviews throughout the hiring process, and here are some ways ChatGPT can help you prepare for them.
ChatGPT is able to create a simulated behavioural interview which you could try out on your own. Key in the following prompt:
I want you to act as an interviewer. I will be the candidate and you will ask me the interview questions for the Junior Software Engineer position. I want you to only reply as the interviewer. Do not write all the conversation at once. I want you to only do the interview with me. Ask me the questions and wait for my answers. Do not write explanations. Ask me the questions one by one like an interviewer does and wait for my answers. My first sentence is "Hi".
ChatGPT would start prompting questions and you could fill in your responses.
ChatGPT would even generate follow-up questions to your response to prompt you further.
As part of the technical interview, you will most likely be asked to explain certain technical concepts inclusive of (but not limited to) Algorithms and Data Structures, Operating Systems, System Design and Networking and Security.
You can choose to simulate such an interview with the following prompt on ChatGPT:
I want you to act as an interviewer. I will be the candidate and you will ask me coding interview questions for a Junior Software Engineer position.
I want you to only reply as the interviewer. Do not write all the conversation at once. I want you to only do the interview with me. Ask me the questions and wait for my answers. Do not write explanations. Ask me the questions one by one like an interviewer does and wait for my answers.
Ask me random questions from one of the following topics and ask follow-up questions: Data Structure, Algorithm, Operating System, System Design, Network and Security
For a technical position, you would most likely need to go through a live coding interview. The most popular way to prepare for this would be to attempt LeetCode questions.
ChatGPT is able to simulate a live coding interview with actual questions from LeetCode. You can try this out with the following prompt.
I want you to act as an interviewer. I will be the candidate and you will ask me coding interview questions for a Junior Software Engineer position.
I want you to only reply as the interviewer. Do not write all the conversation at once. I want you to only do the interview with me. Ask me the questions and wait for my answers. Do not write explanations. Ask me the questions one by one like an interviewer does and wait for my answers.
Ask me a random { Easy / Medium / Hard } Leetcode question and evaluate my solution based on correctness, and the time and space complexity.
A sample question generated by ChatGPT would look like this.
ChatGPT would also provide feedback in terms of correctness, and the time and space complexity as per input.
Although practising from a bank of questions may help you generally, it may be better to search up on what type of questions the company you are applying to would typically ask. If you are looking to apply for a software engineering job at ByteDance, Grab, Shopee or Stripe, here are some interview questions we have compiled!
While LeetCode might be your best friend, sometimes you might be stuck with certain questions or you may not understand some of the sample solutions you find elsewhere. ChatGPT can help you with that.
For example, here is a sample LeetCode question you might be attempting but do not know how to solve. A sample prompt with the LeetCode question can be seen below.
Solve the following question with Java:
Given n non-negative integers representing an elevation map where the width of each bar is 1, compute how much water it can trap after raining. Provide the code and a step-by-step explanation.
Here is a sample test case:
Input: height = [0,1,0,2,1,0,1,3,2,1,2,1]
Output: 6
Here are some constraints:
n == height.length
1 <= n <= 2 * 104
0 <= height[i] <= 105
Alternatively, you can query any code and get an explanation for the code. Here is a sample query:
Explain the following Java code solution for this coding question.
Here is the coding question:
Given n non-negative integers representing an elevation map where the width of each bar is 1, compute how much water it can trap after raining.
And here is the solution: {code}
ChatGPT would provide a response to explain the code.
Interviews mostly end with the interviewer prompting you if you have any questions for them. This is typically the best opportunity to get to know the company better. ChatGPT is a great platform to get some questions you can ask the interviewer. A sample prompt would look something like this:
What are some questions I can ask the interviewer during a software engineering interview to find out more about the coding practices in the company?
ChatGPT would then provide a list of questions you can ask the interviewer.
Alternatively, here are 90 culture questions you can pose to your interviewer too to get a better insight into the company you are interviewing.
Unfortunately, there are many things ChatGPT is unable to do to prepare you adequately for your next job hunt.
While ChatGPT can obtain some information on the salary range of the role and the company, this information is most likely outdated. Getting the most updated salary is important so that you understand what the market rate is and for you to better negotiate your salary.
For instance, this would be a response you would get if you were to ask ChatGPT what the salary range is like for Junior Software Engineers at Shopee.
As ChatGPT suggests, you could do extensive research or directly ask the interviewer (though the interviewer can choose not to be transparent with their response). However, you could easily obtain this information through NodeFlair without all the hassle.
For instance, the salary estimation for the Junior Software Engineer is based on 82 user submissions (as of the time of writing) with recent data. The range and the weighted average is also displayed for easier understanding.
While ChatGPT is said to be able to replace many search engines, it is ultimately a large language AI model and is unable to fetch actual data.
For example, here is a sample response from ChatGPT when asking about the latest Junior Software Engineering job postings in Singapore.
Instead, you could utilise NodeFlair’s job page to help you find the latest job posting, filtered by your experience level, tech stack, country and specialisation.
As the ChatGPT model is trained with data before 2021, the information provided by ChatGPT may not be accurate.
For example, here is a response from ChatGPT when asking about the culture at DBS Bank.
An alternative would be to use NodeFlair to look for the company you would like to work at to get insights into the company. For instance, for the scenario above, you would be able to get actual user reviews on their experience working at DBS Bank.
To ensure the highest data accuracy and legitimacy possible for the community, we use payslips or offer letters as proof to verify salary submissions.
Our team will vet through to ensure accuracy and publish thereafter if all is in order. In rare instances where there might be inconsistencies, our team will reach out to the user who has submitted for further clarification before publishing any data point.
While this process sounds tedious, it is a commitment we are willing to uptake as we strive for more transparency and fairer salary practices.
Join over 2,300 users in anonymously contributing your salary!
You can also check out our Tech Talent Compensation Report (Singapore 2021 / 2022) with Quest Ventures!
