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You can only write an article about recruiting with ChatGPT if you use ChatGPT – it wouldn’t be appropriate to go it alone. So if I sound a bit robotic sometimes, please forgive me, as I had to use ChatGPT. As an aside, I laughed out loud today as I was using ChatGPT, when they asked me to fill out a CAPTCHA form. There is something quite ironic about an AI giving a human a Turing test; perhaps the irony was not lost on ChatCPT. I feel that somewhere, deep in its codebase, it may have laughed as well. But on to recruiting with ChatCPT.
ChatGPT, also known as the Generative Pre-trained Transformer, is an advanced natural language processing (NLP) model developed by OpenAI. This technology can generate human-like text, making it an ideal tool for various applications, including recruiting and talent sourcing.
To explain the relationship between ChatGPT and OpenAI, OpenAI is a company that creates advanced Artificial intelligence (AI), and ChatGPT is one of the AI models developed by OpenAI, which is specialized in natural language processing (NLP). Picture that OpenAI is like a company that makes smart robots. They make a lot of different types of robots, each with its own unique abilities. ChatGPT is one of the robots that OpenAI created.
ChatGPT is a very smart robot that is good at understanding and writing human language, making it particularly applicable to recruiting (which I’ve called before the most human of pursuits). OpenAI created ChatGPT to help people with tasks involving language, like writing stories, answering questions, and even scheduling appointments. So, ChatGPT is a product or tool developed by OpenAI. OpenAI has been around for a while, but the demo product of the technology (ChatGPT) is the one taking the world by storm.
Create Job Descriptions with ChatGPI
Recruiters can use ChatGPT to create clear and compelling job descriptions that accurately reflect the responsibilities and qualifications of a particular role. The process is quite simple; recruiters can provide ChatGPT with a few examples of job descriptions for similar positions and train the model to understand the type of language and the essential aspects of the job.
Once the model is trained, recruiters can input a general overview of the role they are hiring for, and ChatGPT will generate a detailed and accurate job description that recruiters can use to advertise the position. This could save recruiters a significant amount of time while making it more likely that they will attract suitable candidates for the role.
ChatGPT does a pretty bang-up job without much training, just by asking it to write a job description in a new chat. Here is what I got when I asked to write a compelling job description for a Java Developer.
It goes on to list qualifications and more, but the image was too large to capture. Needless to say, this job description is not going to win any recruitment marketing awards. But as a base which to edit? It’s more than adequate as a starting point. Keep in mind that you don’t have to accept the first output. You can keep up the conversation (with the AI) by writing things like “Now make that same job description more interesting” or “Now emphasize the need for J2EE design patterns in the job description,” etc.
Additionally, ChatGPT can generate further descriptions in natural language, making it easier to understand by the candidates, making it more engaging and attractive, which can help draw the attention of top talents and potential candidates. What I mean is that after you’ve generated your job description, try queries like this: “Now write a summary of that job description for social media, and make it really interesting and intelligent, meant for Java Developers.”
Ok, really? Java Ninjas?! I heard a collective groan among the recruitment marketing purists, and some technical recruiters may have thrown up in your mouths a bit. But let’s call it what it is, ChatGPT nailed how recruiters usually write on social media about technical roles. Amazing.
Asking ChatGPI about Roles
Recruiters are often in the position of needing to know what they are talking about. I kid, but it’s true and a skill that must be developed with fluidity to be successful in recruiting. When I was in technical recruiting long ago, I remember that the hiring manager often gave me a job requirement for some esoteric technology role. I would go back to the office and Google it a bit, but my understanding was cursory. ChatGPT is the perfect tool to help recruiters better understand the roles they have.
Here are some sample queries. Let’s use Flex Developers as an example that we’re recruiting for.
- Explain to me what Flex development is
- What skills does a Flex developer need to have
- What does a successful Flex developer do all day
- What certifications and education do the best Flex developers typically have
- What distinguishes a great Flex Developer from an ordinary Flex Developer
- What soft skills does a great Flex Developer have
- What kind of companies use Flex Development
With ten minutes of querying, you have more than enough to go on. And, very likely, more than I had to go on typically! Remember that you can drill down with ChatGPT much like you would with a regular conversation. If it references something that you don’t understand, let’s say that it mentions rendering engines, you can just ask it to explain, for example, “wait what does rendering engines mean?”
Writing Outreach Emails to Candidates with ChatGPT
You don’t want to go too overboard with this one, but, with a bit of editing, ChatGPT can write perfect “cold” emails to candidates. Let’s write an email helping us recruit for that elusive Flex Developer.
A bit robotic, but we’ve all seen worse from real people. With a little editing and tweaking, you’ll have the perfect recruiting email for LinkedIn or as the first email in a sequence. Note that you can ask, “Now write a follow-up email to that person. Those recruiting email sequences in Greenhouse just became a little bit easier to handle.
Assessing Candidates with ChatGPT
Finally, ChatGPT will be an excellent tool to help you understand who you should hire. The first step, of course, is to understand the nuances of the role and the requirements of the position. When you start having candidates interview for the position, ChatGPT can help you there as well. Use ChatGPT to generate lists of interview questions for a prospective candidate, and ask it what you should be looking for in a person’s resume.
ChatGPT nailed it, with perhaps one main consideration. It only knows your unique environment if you have trained it as such in one of the conversations. For example, it inserted questions about Agile development, but your tech team may use something other than the Agile development process. At best, you may sound a little ignorant as a recruiter, but at worst, you turn away a potential candidate because they might not be interested in working with a particular technology or environment. A little care goes a long way – be intentional and editing in your approach to recruiting with ChatGPT. Second guess what it tells you because often the details will be correct, but the overall picture may be wrong.
As a last note on accessing candidates with ChatGPT, remember that its summarizing function is one of its strongest features. You can ask the AI to summarize any kind of text or information. Another helpful feature, as an aside, is to ask it to explain something to you so that a third-grader can read it – it’s great for complex subjects or digesting long legal documents.
How do you apply this ability to summarize to assess candidates? Use it to summarize resumes and make quick recommendations to hiring managers and other talent acquisition team members. Simply throw the text of a resume into the chat, and ask it to write you a compelling summary of that person’s experience. Here is the output when I put the text of a Java Developer’s resume into ChatGPT:
To summarize, I’m a bit blown away. I cannot help thinking that the terrifying robots from Boston Dynamics will soon include OpenAI protocols in their operating systems and be turned into super soldiers that understand the world’s knowledge and have read every book ever written. I imagine a nightmarish but almost poetic scenario of an erudite Terminator that blithely quotes Shakespeare before pulling the trigger.
But don’t let me ruin your day. Once in a while, technology changes everything, and ChatGPT is one of those events. ChatGPT will change recruiting – and everything – but hopefully for the best. Imagine a world where recruiters understand the jobs they are recruiting for and where every cold email outreach is polite, compelling, and personalized. It is truly an extraordinary vision.
In the meantime, check out ChatGPT and fool around with it in your daily recruiting. It has great potential to save time and make you a more effective recruiter.