AI - What does it mean for our careers?

The increasing role that tech and artificial intelligence has in our working lives has taken to warp factor with the emergence of ChatGBT.?Some will be already using and experimenting with it whilst others won’t even know what it is.?So, what is it for us unawarers.

It’s an AI language model developed by OpenAI launched only eight months ago and has Mircosoft as one of its investors. It is platform that uses a chatbot to respond to questions generating responses from very large data sets available giving text specific to the question asked. There is no denying it’s super quick, taking mere seconds to compile meaningful responses to complex requests.?And yes, I did ask ChatGBT to write a response to this very question and its pace and detail of response was startling. But did I merely cut and paste, press post…..no I did not and here is the reason. I wanted to ask what and why are both the potential benefits and challenges when it comes to considering careers.

For candidates, often the lens is pointing at you through the filter of the employer so let’s twist that round. How could you harness the technical capability of AI to support you when searching and applying for jobs. Despite there being a reported 24% drop since 2022 in job postings, it can feel like swimming in an ocean, making job searching alone feel relentless.?At the search point there are new players on the market such as LoopCV and Simplify , that go some way to bring searches and applications into one place, but with either need for a plug in or cost after a free trial. So free it isn’t. And that is where it could be revolutionary to aid those least able to fuel their job searches. It remains to be seen if the business model of subscriptions will change in the future and create almost a job tracking system.?

Where it is more accessible is in creating the content, a candidate uses in their applications; CV, covering letters, Bio’s, personal statements online question responses.?You can argue that using a machine to aid your application is unfair, your work should be your own but how does that differ from seeking help from others, a CV writer or career coach. We as humans seem to have a problem with this. Actually, for those the established recruitment experience has often excluded, take for example the non-neurotypcial this can level the very uneven playing field. This is where tech can be harnessed, getting those that would have given up early on, aiding them to application and beyond. I am really interested to see candidate’s reviews of such providers as ResumeAI , Ramped and Hiration .

That leads to interesting questions of the authenicity of an individual’s CV and does this either both or affect the employer assessing the application, could they even spot the difference between an ChatGBT and human generated application.

For those at the receiving end of applications, who also are implimenting the systems candidates apply through what does this language tool mean?

Theoretically, it should mean both efficiency and reduced bias in the initial screening stages that have come to be automated over the recent years for those companies with big enough budgets to have ATS (applicant tracking systems).?Therefore, giving teams more time for personal engagement with candidates, but yet this isn’t what I hear from clients. I am not sure we are at a place where the systems being used to assess candidates have this in-built tech that we perceive them to. Because it presumes that the code written to create the algorithims are unbiased & objective.

The vast amount of data that is included in the applications companies receive is vast and the ability of ChatGBT to process large volumes of data and match them against previous successful hires is a valid one. As long as those data sets and measures are themselves based on accurate matching of skills. I don’t believe we are anyway near that yet.?Maybe the game changer here is using this tech in tandom with those experts that shape the competencies in businesses that candidates are being measured against. To essentially shape the things that job adverts and applications are responding to.

One thing for sure is that it will impact the recruitment landscape for all just as its being seen to do so in other industries. It is key that those in the industry to address this both responsbily and ethically and keep on doing so, in order to attract and retain the amazing diverse talent that our future jobs require.

If you are curious and willing to give it a try, here are my tips:

Pick one thing you find tricky in job searching – hate writing your CV’s profile summary, can’t understand optimised keywords for LinkedIn or keeping track of applications

Take a look – you can use ChatGBT for free initally, OpenAI is one place to start

Experiment – use the platform to ask the questions that are pertiment to you to see what it comes up with and work out what heavy lifting it can do for you. If you procrastinate over writing your profile summary, can it do the job quicker

Edit – Become your own career editor and be the second pair of eyes to review, check and ehance what is produced.

Be mindful – Of the personal data you share as ultimately this is a product that collects data, our data

Our work lives like many other aspects have become increasingly complex, so there is no singular solution that we have come to seek.?However, the one thing that can bring all this tech together is you the careermaker tasting from the smorgebord that is the job market.?Dare I say have some fun, to see what works for you.