How to use ChatGPT for Recruitment (17 practical examples)

ChatGPT is about to change the way we recruit and hire employees. Here’s a collection of practical examples in which ChatGPT can improve the efficiency of the recruitment process:

1. Write an Employer Value Proposition (EVP)
   
2. Support with Recruitment Marketing
3. Content creation for recruitment campaigns
4. Create job ads
5. Explanation of technical jargon
6. Provide a list of relevant job boards to post your vacancies
7. Create Boolean search strings
8. Generate letters for candidates
9. Write custom candidate outreach messages in any language
10. Respond to candidates’ follow-up questions
11. Automatic screening of resumes
12. Compose interview questions and recommended answers
13. Qualifying candidates
14. Create candidate summaries
15. Support communication with unrealistic Hiring Managers
16. Providing interviewers with personalized feedback
17. Solve the problem of unstructured recruitment data

Let’s start with…

1. Write an Employer Value Proposition (EVP)

With little input, ChatGPT can write an EVP.

Example: Write a short employer brand EVP for the National Police

ChatGPT suggestion:

“Join the National Police and be part of a team that is dedicated to serving and protecting our community with integrity, professionalism, and compassion. With us, you will have the opportunity to make a real difference in people’s lives, and be rewarded for your hard work and dedication. We are committed to providing our employees with ongoing training and development opportunities, as well as a work-life balance that allows you to have a fulfilling personal life. Our culture of fairness, respect and accountability, and our transparent communication, makes us a trusted and respected organization. We believe in community-oriented policing and working in partnership with the community to identify and solve problems, enhance the quality of life for all. Be part of a team that is proud to serve, proud to protect and proud to be National Police.”

Job done.

No, not really. This is the same level you get when you hire a marketing agency with zero or limited experience in creating an EVP. But follow up with more information about your organization’s culture, core values, unique characteristics or target groups and the output will be better.

2. Support with Recruitment Marketing

ChatGPT can be used extensively in Recruitment Marketing campaigns to stimulate creativity and innovation. Its immense support to every Recruitment Marketer can be both advisory and practical.

In terms of advice, ChatGPT can be used in different ways. The AI can provide a detailed strategy for creating a website, as well as guidance for driving traffic. Moreover, it can provide valuable suggestions on how to conduct market research. It can write:

• Emails and letters
• Articles
• Summaries
• Landing pages
• Ads for Facebook, LinkedIn or Google
• Youtube descriptions and titles
• Mission statement
• AIDA framework

Here’s an example of the suggestions provided by ChatGPT in order to tackle a common challenge faced by many recruiters: What does it take to attract and hire in-demand professionals?

ChatGPT response:

3. Content creation for recruitment campaigns

ChatGPT’s greatest support is in the field of actual content generation. One of the biggest problems every person has is how to express himself in writing. With ChatGPT this concern is solved forever, as it provides an abundance of ideas in a few clicks. Most importantly, the content ideas created by ChatGPT are engaging and customised to a target audience. Such customized ad copies result from the AI algorithmic capabilities of ChatGPT. These capabilities range from the analysis of vast amounts of data, up to the usage of machine learning techniques. The purpose of these techniques then is the identification of complex patterns and trends.

Can you now imagine the impact that ChatGPT can have on your recruitment marketing campaigns? Not only it is more efficient, it also leads to better outcomes. According to empirical findings, AI-generated content is great in 2 ways. It exhibits both a higher conversion rate, as well as a lower cost-per-click. It definitely deserves an exploration by Recruitment Marketers. Thus, do not hesitate to rip the benefits of artificial intelligence in your (social media) marketing efforts.

4. Create job ads

It is no secret in recruitment that brand image matters. Current employees, as well as new applicants, always perform extensive research about companies. Companies without a strong employer brand, are expected to struggle to attract top candidates. Compelling job ads play an important role in creating this positive image. Let’s examine how ChatGPT can perform in delivering a compelling job post.

We used the following example: Can you write a job ad for a QA analyst with approximately 10 years of experience in QA. Also with 5 years of experience in selenium. This job ad will be for an international scale-up in Amsterdam

This is what ChatGPT came up with:

Job Title: Senior QA Analyst

Company: [Company Name], an international scale-up based in Amsterdam

About the Role:

We are seeking a Senior QA Analyst with a minimum of 10 years of experience in software quality assurance. The successful candidate will have a proven track record of designing and implementing QA processes, as well as at least 5 years of experience working with Selenium.

As a Senior QA Analyst, you will be responsible for leading our QA efforts, working closely with our development team to ensure the highest quality product for our customers. This includes creating and executing test plans and test cases, identifying and reporting bugs, and working with the development team to ensure timely resolution.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design and implement QA processes for our software development cycle
• Create and execute test plans and test cases
• Identify and report bugs, and work with the development team to ensure timely resolution
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including development, product management, and customer support
• Continuously improve our QA processes and tools
• 5 years of experience working with Selenium

Qualifications:

• Minimum of 10 years of experience in software quality assurance
• At least 5 years of experience working with Selenium
• Strong understanding of software development and QA methodologies
• Experience working with agile development process
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills
• Strong attention to detail
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a related field

Why Join Us?

• You will have the opportunity to work with a talented and passionate team
• You will be part of an international scale-up company with a fast-paced, high-energy environment
• You will be part of the company’s growth, with opportunities for career development
• You will be working in one of the most vibrant cities in the world, Amsterdam.

If you are a Senior QA Analyst with a passion for quality assurance and want to be part of an exciting and rapidly growing company, we want to hear from you. Apply now and join us on our journey to change the world!

What ChatGPT created is a decent job profile based on the context provided. All key elements are summarized in an engaging, short, easier-to-read tone.

Let’s have a look at how ChatGPT can improve this job profile when provided with more context.

Example: Their company values are sharing knowledge, challenging ourselves, have fun, embrace feedback, drive innovation. In the above job ad please take into account the following: use maximum 5 job requirements, list the 5 most important tasks and responsibilities and write enthusiastically.

Adjusted vacancy text by ChatGPT:

Senior QA Analyst (10+ years experience) – International Scale-up – Amsterdam

We are an international scale-up company based in Amsterdam, where we believe in sharing knowledge, challenging ourselves, having fun, embracing feedback and driving innovation. We are looking for an experienced QA Analyst who shares our values and can help us continue to push the boundaries of what is possible.

Key Qualifications:

• At least 10 years of experience in software quality assurance
• At least 5 years of experience in Selenium
• Strong understanding of Agile development methodologies
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills
• Excellent communication and teamwork abilities

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop and maintain test plans, test cases, and test scripts
• Identify, report, and track bugs and issues throughout the software development lifecycle
• Participate in the development and implementation of test automation strategies
• Review requirements, specifications, and technical design documents to provide timely and meaningful feedback
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to improve product quality and customer experience

As a QA Analyst at our company, you will have the opportunity to work on cutting-edge technologies and be a key member of a team that is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of what is possible. If you are excited about the opportunity to join a rapidly growing company and make a real impact on the development of our products, please apply today!

Useful but there is still work to do to turn this into a compelling job advert.

Tip: If you have written a job advert yourself, you can ask ChatGPT to improve it i.e. use short sentences (B1-level) or check if it’s neutral written (for D&I purposes).

5. Explanation of technical jargon

Are you a non-technical recruiter who wants to understand what certain technical jargon means? Ask ChatGPT for advice. Or copy a job description and let it explain what it means to a non-technical person!

6. Provide a list of relevant job boards to post your vacancies

Recruiters are an extremely valued asset to an organization when they possess industry-specific knowledge. A very frequent challenge, faced also by experienced recruiters, is where to post their job ads. The example below clearly illustrates that ChatGPT can be a good source of information.

Example: Can you provide me with a list of specialised job boards in which I could post a vacancy for a software engineer in the Netherlands?

Suggestions provided by ChatGPT:

Sure, here are a few specialized job boards in the Netherlands where you can post a vacancy for a software engineer:

1. WerkeninICT.nl
2. ICTerGezocht.nl
3. Techtalent.nl
4. ICTvacaturebank.nl
5. Werk.nl (focus on government jobs)
6. Indeed.nl
7. LinkedIn job search
8. Glassdoor.nl

It’s also worth noting that posting on general job boards such as Indeed and LinkedIn can also be effective, as well as reaching out to recruitment agencies that specialize in the technology sector.

As always, be careful with suggestions from ChatGPT. Sometimes it’s job sites that don’t exist or it doesn’t know of a popular one.

7. Create Boolean search strings

When it comes to Boolean search strings, it is clear that ChatGPT has still some room for improvement. The best search suggestion that ChatGPT could come up with, after several trials, is presented below:

Example: Create a boolean search string to identify Product Managers with experience in international scale-ups. Ideally, the product manager should also have experience in the Edtech domain and be based in Amsterdam. This boolean search string should be created for use in LinkedIn. With the boolean search you create, all the different ways in which people may enter their experience as a product manager in their LinkedIn profiles should be taken into account.

Boolean search string provided by ChatGPT

(Product Manager OR “Product Management” OR “Product Development”) AND (“International scale ups” OR “International startups” OR “Global scale ups” OR “Global startups”) AND (“Edtech” OR “Education technology” OR “Learning technology” OR “Edtech domain”) AND (Amsterdam OR “Based in Amsterdam”)

The outcomes of ChatGPT are of higher quality when the prompt inserted is as simple as possible. Here is an example of the search result provided by ChatGPT when we mistakenly entered a more complex prompt.

Example: Create a boolean search string to identify Product Managers with experience in international scale-ups. Ideally, the product manager should also have experience in the Edtech domain as well and be based in Amsterdam. The Edtech part is not necessary. The Amsterdam part is. Please note that this boolean search string should be created for use in LinkedIn. Please make sure that with the boolean search you create, all the different ways in which people may enter their experience as a product manager in their LinkedIn profiles are taken into account. Include also the dutch version of “Product management” when considering the job title. Do not provide the dutch translation of all the words. Only that of product management. Generally, be creative.

Boolean search string suggestion:

“Product Manager” OR “Productbeheerder” AND “scale up” AND “international” AND (“Edtech” OR “Education technology”) AND location:”Amsterdam”

Here we can immediately spot two mistakes:

-The Dutch version of Product Manager = Productmanager

-Parentheses are wrong this time

8. Generate letters for candidates

This is the result presented when we asked ChatGPT “email to candidates that don’t respond”

Subject: Follow-up on Job Application

Dear [Candidate Name],

I hope this email finds you well. I wanted to follow up with you regarding your job application for the [Position Name] role at our company. We have been reviewing all applications and have been impressed with the qualifications of the candidates who have applied.

We understand that you may be considering other job opportunities, however, we want to remind you of the unique benefits and opportunities that we can offer at our company. We believe that your skills and experience would be a great fit for our team and would love the opportunity to speak with you further about the role.

If you are still interested in the position, please let us know if there is a convenient time for us to schedule a call to discuss this further. If you have already accepted another offer, please let us know, as we will keep your application on file for future opportunities.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Best regards, [Your Name] [Your Title] [Company Name]

 

Yes, ChatGPT started with a superfluous sentence of hoping that the email finds the person well. We also have to admit that the message generated is relatively generic. However, if we take all the parameters into account the end result is impressive. ChatGPT needed just a single sentence to write the content for an email. Needless to say here, a recruiter trained in effective outreach could add his personal touch to this message.

What is striking here though, is that ChatGPT is also capable of providing a better outcome. One of its biggest strengths is its ability to remember things from the conversation with the user. This allows it to adjust the end result as the dialog unfolds. So let’s try to add more context to this message by including information about experience, company, industry, and job.

Example: When writing this message, please take into account that this candidate had 10 years of experience in the telecommunications sector. He also has 5 years of experience in PHP and is applying for a Sr. PHP position in the company called Aerostato in Thrakomakedones.

End outcome provided by ChatGPT:

Subject: Follow-up on Sr. PHP Position Application

Dear [Candidate Name],

I hope this email finds you well. I wanted to follow up with you regarding your job application for the Sr. PHP position at Aerostato in Thrakomakedones. We have been reviewing all applications and have been impressed with the qualifications of the candidates who have applied.

We understand that you may be considering other job opportunities, however, we want to remind you of the unique benefits and opportunities that we can offer at Aerostato. With your 10 years of experience in the telecommunications sector and 5 years of experience in PHP, we believe that your skills and experience would be a great fit for our team. We are looking for a Sr. PHP developer to join our team and help us deliver innovative solutions to our clients.

If you are still interested in the position, please let us know if there is a convenient time for us to schedule a call to discuss this further. We would love to hear more about your experience and how you could contribute to our team. If you have already accepted another offer, please let us know, as we will keep your application on file for future opportunities.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Best regards, [Your Name] [Your Title] Aerostato Thrakomakedones.

Tip: Ask for other variations of the text if you prefer another tone of voice.

9. Write custom candidate outreach messages in any language

Another great feature of ChatGPT is that it can understand and generate text in many different languages, including:

• English
• Spanish
• French
• German
• Chinese (Simplified and Traditional)
• Japanese
• Russian
• Italian
• Dutch
• Portuguese
• Arabic
• Bengali
• Hindi
• Indonesian
• Korean
• Malay
• Polish
• Turkish
• Urdu
• Vietnamese

And many others. Just ask it to write a short message for a candidate you found on LinkedIn in his or her native language. It can even write a custom message when you provide some input about the candidate.

I also love the creativity of this prompt when you need to translate text:

I want you to act as an English translator, spelling corrector and improver. I will write in any language and you will detect the language, translate it and answer in the corrected and improved version of my text, in English. I want you to replace my simplified A0-level words and sentences with more beautiful and elegant, upper-level English words and sentences. Keep the meaning the same, but make them more literary. Do not write explanations.

10. Respond to candidates’ follow-up questions

ChatGPT allows companies to provide fast feedback on candidates’ frequent inquiries. In a sense, it can act as a normal Chatbot. But it is something that differentiates ChatGPT from other Chatbots. ChatGPT is capable of correcting itself, responding to follow-up questions, rejecting all kinds of unsuitable requests, and even refuting false premises.

ChatGPT can also be used to analyze these dialogs that applicants may have with it. This analysis of customer feedback will certainly identify common themes or sentiments. Such insights then can be used to refine recruitment marketing campaigns.

The bigger picture here is that the automation of such tasks helps recruiters free up time. This time can then be well spent on what really matters in recruitment. That is building relationships with candidates.

11. Automatic screening of resumes

Another recruitment process for which ChatGPT is suitable is resume screening. The tasks involved in this process are normally relatively time-consuming. If we couple that with the possibility of human errors, the inefficiencies in the process become apparent.

ChatGPT, on the other hand, offers the possibility of a fully automated process. Its natural language processing capabilities will play again a key role here. Only training in understanding the requirements of a given job is required.

12. Compose interview questions and recommended answers

Do you have an interview and you need inspiration for questions? ChatGPT can always back you up. Let’s see how creative ChatGPT can be when it comes to interviewing questions for a Senior PHP Developer.

Example: Prepare a list of interview questions to ask a Sr. PHP Developer with 10 years of experience in PHP and 5 years in Laravel for an international scale-up in Amsterdam

Suggestions provided by ChatGPT:

1. Can you describe a particularly challenging project you’ve worked on using Laravel, and how you overcame any obstacles?
2. How do you stay up to date with the latest developments in PHP and Laravel?
3. How do you approach debugging and troubleshooting in a Laravel application?
4. Can you give an example of a scalability solution you’ve implemented in a Laravel project?
5. How do you handle database migrations and seeders in Laravel?
6. Can you describe your experience with integrating third-party packages and libraries into a Laravel application?
7. How do you approach testing and maintaining the quality of a Laravel application?
8. Can you explain how you would set up and manage a Laravel project in a team environment?
9. Can you share your experience with setting up and using queues in Laravel?
10. How do you ensure the security of a Laravel application?

That’s a decent list from a relatively generic request. Clearly, ChatGPT can create a list of interview questions that any recruiter could use. You can also follow-up by asking to generate interview questions for beginner, intermediate and strong level candidate. This is the magic of ChatGPT, Discuss the outcome with the hiring manager and the list of questions will reach the desired level of relevance and complexity.

Let’s take this example to the next level with ChatGPT:

1. Add a job description.
2. Ask it to compose interview questions.
3. Ask it to recommend answers to these questions.
4. Next, send selected questions to candidates and let ChatGPT evaluate answers.

Trovinto.com is a tool that’s built with ChatGPT and is doing exactly this. Smart idea but you’ll have to pay $100 per month per user. Look out for more new AI tools that are built with ChatGPT.

13. Qualifying candidates

Use ChatGPT to qualify a candidate against job requirements. Here’s how to do that:

1) Please summarize this job description: [insert full job description]
2) Add the resume of a candidate.
3) Ask GPT if it’s a compelling candidate for this role, with reasons why or why not.
4) Follow up and ask it to recommend interview questions (regarding their possible weaknesses) or suggest other suitable roles.

Try it out. What do you think of the result?

Next steps (thanks to Glenn Gutmatcher):
5) Can you write an email to the HM, using scarcity tactics, to convince them to interview this candidate?
6) Give me other persuasion tactics
7) Rewrite the email using reciprocity to persuade the HM,
8) Instead, use social proof to persuade.

Hat tip to Jim Stroud:

14. Create candidate summaries

For agency recruiters who always write a short summary about a candidate before submitting it to a client will love its capabilities to summarize text. Just ask to summarize a resume and include instructions about the tone of voice or length.

15. Support communication with unrealistic Hiring Managers

There are certain goals that every recruiter must meet. These include improving the quality of the recruitment process, diversity in hiring or a shorter time to hire. Only active engagement of the hiring managers can guarantee that recruiters will attain these targets. But the Recruiter’s and the Hiring Manager’s expectations of the organisation’s recruitment process frequently conflict. Can ChatGPT create a dialog for a Recruiter to deal with Hiring Managers’ unrealistic expectations? Let’s check.

This is the question entered in ChatGPT: Create a dialog to help a recruiter deal with Hiring Managers’ unrealistic expectations

Here is what ChatGPT came up with:

Recruiter: Hi, Hiring Manager. I understand that you have some specific requirements for the job opening you’re looking to fill. Can you tell me a little more about what you’re looking for in a candidate?

Hiring Manager: Well, I need someone with at least 10 years of experience in this field, who is a subject matter expert, and has a proven track record of success.

Recruiter: I see. Those are certainly high standards, but it’s important to keep in mind that finding someone who meets all of those requirements may be difficult, especially within the timeframe that you’ve given me. Are there any specific qualifications or skills that are non-negotiable for this position?

Hiring Manager: Of course. They need to have a deep understanding of our industry and be able to hit the ground running from day one.

Recruiter: I understand. But it’s important to keep in mind that while those qualifications are important, they may not be the only factors to consider when evaluating candidates. For example, a candidate with a strong skill set and a willingness to learn may be able to make up for a lack of experience. Are you open to considering candidates with less experience, but with a strong potential to excel in the role?

Hiring Manager: I suppose that’s possible. But I really need someone who can come in and make an immediate impact.

Recruiter: I understand your concerns, but it’s important to keep in mind that finding a candidate who meets all of your requirements may take some time. In the meantime, would you consider hiring someone on a temporary basis, or bringing on a consultant to help fill the gap until we find the right candidate?

Hiring Manager: Hmm, I’ll have to think about that. But I appreciate your suggestions and I’ll keep an open mind.

Recruiter: Of course. I’ll keep searching for candidates who meet your qualifications and keep you updated on any potential matches. Let’s schedule a follow-up meeting next week to discuss any progress we’ve made.

Hiring Manager: Sounds good. Thank you.

 

As a first note, it would be ideal if Hiring Managers were that easy to persuade. Certainly, though, it is quite impressive that ChatGPT provided an entire dialog from a single sentence. ChatGPT can improve this dialog in the same way that it did with job ads and e-mail outreaches. Let’s again add more context regarding industry, skills, location, etc.

Example: When preparing this dialog please take into account the following: In Athens there are more than 6000 Product Managers. However only 1000 of them are with more than 10 years of experience and only 200 in the Ed Tech industry, which is our focus area. The recruiter should also point out to the hiring manager that the situation becomes very bleak when we also take into account that we need them to have around 2 years of experience in an international scale up with 10+ million user per month.

Adjusted dialog provided by ChatGPT:

Recruiter: Hi, Hiring Manager. I understand that you have some specific requirements for the job opening you’re looking to fill. Can you tell me a little more about what you’re looking for in a candidate?

Hiring Manager: Well, I need someone with at least 10 years of experience in the Ed Tech industry, who is a subject matter expert, and has a proven track record of success.

Recruiter: I see. I just want to remind you that in Athens, we have more than 6000 Product Managers, but only 1000 of them have more than 10 years of experience, and only 200 are specialized in the Ed Tech industry.

Hiring Manager: Yes, I understand that, but those are the qualifications we need for this position.

Recruiter: I understand. But it’s important to keep in mind that finding someone who meets all of those requirements may be difficult, especially when we take into account the additional requirement of having 2 years of experience in an international scale-up with 10+ million users per month. This makes the pool of candidates even smaller.

Hiring Manager: That’s true. What do you suggest we do in this case?

Recruiter: We can consider expanding our search to other cities or even countries, but this may take more time and resources. Alternatively, we can consider hiring someone on a temporary basis, or bringing on a consultant to help fill the gap until we find the right candidate.

Hiring Manager: I see. I’ll have to think about that. But I appreciate your suggestions and I’ll keep an open mind.

Recruiter: Of course. I’ll keep searching for candidates who meet your qualifications and keep you updated on any potential matches. Let’s schedule a follow-up meeting next week to discuss any progress we’ve made.

Hiring Manager: Sounds good. Thank you.

16. Providing interviewers with personalized feedback

The app metaview.ai also uses GPT technology and records, transcribes, and analyzes interviews. It gives interviewers objective insights and personalized feedback. Here’s a demo:

Tip: Eightify is a Chrome Extension that turns Youtube videos into summaries using GPT.

17. Solve the problem of unstructured recruitment data

Undoubtedly we live in an era of speed and technology. Data has played a key role in this so-called revolution. Unstructured data is a by-product of this phenomenon. The main concern is that this data is hard to sort, manage, and organise. ChatGPT offers invaluable solutions to this obstacle. Concerning recruitment, it can go as far as to create python code to retrieve different types of data from the different stages of the recruitment process (source: python-bloggers.com).

About ChatGPT

ChatGPT is a cutting-edge natural language processing technology developed by OpenAI. Its main strength lies in the usage of deep learning algorithms. These algorithms are capable of generating responses that perfectly resemble the ones provided by humans.

In order to arrive at that outcome, they only need natural language as an input. This potential allows it to hold conversations with humans in a natural and intuitive way. The fact that ChatGPT reached 1 million users in under a week, clearly demonstrates its enormous potential. Its impact on the field of recruitment is not an exception.

Conclusion

It is undeniable that ChatGPT has impressive capabilities. However, there are still many tasks and processes in recruitment where human judgement and intuition is insurmountable. These are mainly the tasks that are involved in the creation of deep relationships with candidates. Human recruiters can ask follow-up questions and engage in-depth conversations.

So is ChatGPT intelligent? Or is the output just statistically the best-matching text? The fact is that the full potential of ChatGPT will only be realized when you ask smart questions. Fortunately, we still need savvy human recruiters for that. Savvy recruiters using (Chat)GPT will benefit from valuable support and increased productivity.

More practical examples of ChatGPT for recruitment

We will keep updating this blog. Let us know when you are using ChatGPT for recruitment or have other useful prompt examples to share.

Do you want to learn more about AI tools and recruiting?

Are you getting boring text suggestions or generic job profiles from ChatGPT? Learn how to ask the right questions and prompts to get better results. Don’t miss my training Recruitment Marketing & ChatGPT. This is available as open enrollment (Dutch) or incompany training (English).