How Job Seekers and Career Professionals Can Leverage ChatGPT
ChatGPT is one of many AI (artificial intelligence) assistants that understands prompts or questions and that generates easy to understand responses. In this post, we explore the many ways that job seekers and employment professionals can safely leverage the free version of ChatGPT for career development purposes. This information can also apply to other AI assistants.
About ChatGPT
ChatGPT was developed by the company OpenAI and is available at chatgpt.com. The information provided by ChatGPT comes from a mix of publicly available content, licensed data, and information created by OpenAI’s trainers. Legal discussions and lawsuits are ongoing in Canada and around the world about the scraping of personal and public data from the internet by OpenAi and other companies [1].
The free version of ChatGPT comes with many tools, including:
- Searching the web
- Analyzing and extracting insights from your data
- Uploading images or files in your prompts
The free version does have a limit on the number of interactions in a five-hour period, but the limit itself is not outlined.
Check all information provided by ChatGPT and any AI assistant for accuracy, relevance, equity, and inclusion.
Check for Accuracy, Equity, and Inclusion
Like all AI assistants, ChatGPT is only as good as its information, which is not always up to date. The information can also contain mistakes (sometimes called “hallucinations”) and biases. Bias and discrimination can result from the skewed data used to train AI systems and the lack of diverse AI developers who can recognize and mitigate the built-in biases. Even the computational methods and algorithms used to verify that data sets are bias-free cannot account for the socio-cultural or ethical complexities within information [2].
Check all information provided by ChatGPT and any AI assistant for accuracy, relevance, equity, and inclusion. To receive the most up-to-date publicly available information on ChatGPT, you can click on “Tools,” then “Search the web” to allow ChatGPT to search the internet in real time, rather than rely solely on its existing bank of information.
Privacy of Personal Data
OpenAI states that ChatGPT does not have access to any personal information online (for example, LinkedIn profiles) or to your personal information unless you choose to share something in a chat with it. They state that ChatGPT cannot reference your past chats with it, and your data is never used to train the model nor shared with others.
To ensure privacy of personal data, names and personal details should not be mentioned during chats and should be removed from documents, such as resumes and LinkedIn profiles, that are uploaded to a chat.
ChatGPT Cannot Replace Career Professionals
If you have a conversation with ChatGPT about assistance with career development, it may point out the following (emphasis in its response):
Human Expertise Is Still Central
- Human Oversight: AI should augment, not replace, a professional’s personalized guidance.
- AI can generate options—but career meaning, values alignment, and emotional nuance require a human coach’s insight.
- Use AI as an assistant, not a decision-maker.
AI assistants are good places to start, but their responses should be vetted and personalized with the support of a professional.
Career Development Assistance for Job Seekers
Job seekers can use ChatGPT to save time with many career-related activities. When discussing the use of AI with clients, also promote digital literacy and the safe use of AI. If you would like to explore digital training, check CASE’s Digital Literacy certificate training programs for service providers and job seekers.
Job Search Assistance
- Customized job search strategies can be suggested based on the role, industry, or location.
- Job boards or platforms can be recommended, including by sector or for remote/freelance work.
- Search terms can be provided for advanced job searches, for instance on LinkedIn or Google.
For ChatGPT to search the internet in real time for jobs, remember to enable “Search the web.”
Resume and Cover Letter Help
- Resumes and cover letters can be optimized, including for ATS (Applicant Tracking System) formatting.
- Portfolio or project summaries can be reviewed and developed.
ChatGPT cannot submit applications, but it can guide users step-by-step.
Credit: Lily Ge Unsplash
When discussing AI with clients, promote digital literacy and the safe use of AI.
LinkedIn Profile Review
The text from a LinkedIn profile can be copy/pasted into the chat or uploaded as a document or PDF (with names and personal details removed) for ChatGPT to:
- Optimize for specific job roles or industries.
- Improve the clarity, tone, and professionalism.
- Suggest keywords or skills to highlight.
- Align it with a résumé or career goals.
Interview Preparation
- Mock interview questions can be developed for various industries and positions.
- Practice answering questions during a chat, with ChatGPT offering feedback and suggestions.
- General tips can be provided on body language and interview etiquette for both in-person and remote interviews.
How Service Providers Can Leverage ChatGPT
ChatGPT is a tool that can save time on some tasks and that can be leveraged to enhance work with clients, keeping in mind that safety and privacy should always be prioritized. Workplace policies based on best practices and risk management regarding the use of AI can be implemented to ensure safe and ethical use.
Streamline Prep Work
- Sample resumes and cover letters can be created that clients can adapt.
- Key skills and keywords can be highlighted for job descriptions for ATS alignment.
- Custom sets of STAR-style or technical practice interview questions can be created.
- Drafts for handouts can be generated that you can then refine.
Enhance Client Engagement and Career Exploration
- During practice interviews, ChatGPT can role-play the recruiter/employer.
- You can input interests and personality traits from assessments to get potential career matches.
- A skill gap analysis can be conducted, and resources can be recommended.
- Assistance can be provided to set up a career development plan.
Credit: Centre-for-Ageing Better Unsplash
Research and Trends
- Gather up-to-date labour market information, for instance on in-demand roles, or search for the latest research, for instance on school-to-work transitions for neurodivergent graduates.
- Find specific information by asking it to search a website, like the Labour Market Information Council or the Conference Board of Canada.
- Ask it to summarize findings or find specific information in publicly available research and reports.
For transparency, advise the client if ChatGPT or another AI is used during a session or to generate information for the client. Your use of an AI assistant can help to demonstrate the safe and proper use of AI as a helpful tool for career exploration and job searches.
Additional Resources
- Strengths-Based Career Development in the Age of AI: A 1-Day Certificate Program (Canadian Association for Supported Employment)
- Guide on the use of generative artificial intelligence (Government of Canada)
- Résumés, Interviews, and AI—Oh My! ChatGPT in Career Development (Career Professionals of Canada – January 2025)
- ChatGPT: Tips for Career Searching (Career Convergence Web Magazine, National Career Development Association – February 2024)
- Using ChatGPT to Generate a Career Exploration List (National Career Development Association – February 2024)
References
1. Kirsten Thompson and George Hua. Data scraping under fire: What Canadian companies can learn from KASPR’s €240K fine. Dentons Data. Published March 4, 2025. Accessed June 4, 2025.
2. Xavier Ferrer. Bias and Discrimination in AI: A Cross-Disciplinary Perspective. Technology and Society. Published August 7, 2021. Accessed June 4, 2025.