Well, the time is upon us. After months of hype, the latest version of the popular AI tool ChatGPT (ChatGPT 5) has arrived and while I’m sure it represents a huge leap forward for certain complex kinds of searches, I’ll confess I haven’t yet noticed a lot of difference in terms of day-to-day usage — at least, in terms of the typical manner in which I use the tool.
Still, without question, AI is transforming almost every professional field out there — including my own — so for those who still haven’t dabbled with some of the basic AI tools, I’d highly recommend you take some time to do so. While far from infallible, tools like ChatGPT can provide detailed answers to almost any general query (including career or job search questions) in a fast, free, and comprehensive way that’s unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.
For example, let’s say you’ve just been caught up in a layoff and are curious how long it might take you to find a new job. If you go to www.chatgpt.com and enter the prompt “How long does it take to get a job in the U.S. right now?” you’ll get the following response:
Are these results accurate? Well, that’s the tricky part. Anecdotally, they feel pretty on target, to me, and I like the distinction the tool is drawing between definitions such as “median length” of job searches versus “how many weeks people typically receive unemployment” and the like. These nuances are important since as this response suggests, it’s virtually impossible to come up with a set figure that would apply to everybody. People seeking higher salaries generally take a lot longer to find work than people with lower salaries — just as individuals open to a long commute will generally transition faster than people who will only work close to home or who will only consider remote jobs as an option. As always, the devil is in the details.
Of course, you also have to consider the origin of the data tools like ChatGPT are compiling and how legitimate it might be. The site isn’t pulling this information out of thin air, after all. It scrapes data off the web at large and some of the sources it consults can be heavily biased and/or inaccurate. For example, in the case above, you’ll notice that the primary sources the tool says it pulls from are places like Indeed, Reddit, and the like. For those familar with these sites, I don’t think anybody would consider them impartial actors in any regard or assume the data they put out is scientically valid. Indeed, for example, has a vested interest in promoting the idea of a turbulent job market, since higher unemployment leads to more traffic and advertising on their site. And Reddit? As a diehard Reddit reader, myself, I fully realize that most of the commentary on that site comes down to people basically verbalizing out of their hindquarters. So as always, as powerful as these AI tools might be, continue to apply a hefty dose of critical thinking and don’t treat their responses automatically as gospel.
These cautions aside, however, AI is truly capable of some amazing things and I feel that the vast majority of job seekers truly haven’t tapped into it to the extent possible for helping with aspects of their employment search. So give it a go, if you haven’t already, and if helpful at all you’ll find an earlier post I wrote up here with some representative AI “prompts” one can try related to the topic of career change.
As for those of you out there who are already well-acquainted with AI and using it heavily, any prompt suggestions or ways of using these tools you’d recommend to others who are just getting familiar with them?
