You’ve seen the news. ChatGPT can write basically anything. I’ve seen posts about it writing papers for students and even physicians to write insurance documentation (courtesy of The Daily, 12/16/22). Obviously, you’re here because you wonder if ChatCPT can write your resume? Well – I tried it out and uploaded an actual client’s career information (scrubbed, of course). This consisted of both the “before” resume and well-organized notes from my client interview. It contained all his best accomplishments and qualifications.
Wow, was it fast! It generated copy within probably 30 seconds. But, here’s the thing…
Fast does not translate to good. Do NOT use ChatGPT to write your resume.
Here’s why.
ChatGPT can only create a resume from what you input. If you need help with resume organization or resume strategy, the technology is not there yet. If you are unsure what to write, it isn’t some magical divination tool and cannot get this information out of you. It might someday, but today? Not so much.
Please don’t take my word for it. Read for yourself.
ChatGPT’s “Bio Overview” – As a Sr. IT Administrator with 5 years of leadership experience, I have a strong track record of developing and managing infrastructure, providing application support, and optimizing security. My focus is on meeting customer needs through innovative and forward-thinking solutions. I have a proven ability to be an operational leader, excellent communicator, and effective influencer. I have a talent for building solid business solutions based on engineering principles and methodologies, and I am skilled at collaborating across functions to achieve project goals. I am currently seeking a Technical Account Manager role where I can utilize my strong customer-facing skills and technical expertise in the cloud. Additionally, I hold an Amazon Cloud Practitioner Certification and am halfway through a Solutions Architecture certification. Prior to my IT career, I served as a first responder, giving me excellent de-escalation skills and the ability to handle high-pressure situations.
- I would never write an executive summary for an IT professional in the first person. For a creative, yes. IT? No.
- This doesn’t meet the 7-second rule and is long, long, long. Much too long. A recruiter will be out the door before even reading this.
- It’s too general and is missing the “wow” factor.
Where else did ChatGPT miss the mark in writing the resume?
Every resume needs a great header followed by a compelling introduction.
Here is the one I wrote – 4 Years of Experience Managing Information Technology Infrastructure for a $13M Healthcare Company | AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
Known as the go-to enterprise infrastructure and technical architecture expert for internal stakeholders. Bring broad knowledge encompassing network administration in a cloud-hosted environment and extensive experience translating technical information to non-technical audiences as current company’s sole enterprise technology and IT professional. Spent past 4 years implementing new software, streamlining Active Directory, and planning a full cloud migration.
Seeking to translate hands-on technical experience and ability to influence / persuade non-technical stakeholders into a technology consulting role.
ChatGPT’s professional history section was confusing, reiterated the existing bullet points, and entirely omitted three jobs.
Obviously, the resume content under each position needs to be strategic and compelling. ChatGPT’s version was simply a list of job duties.
- Provided technical support and system administration for active directory, Citrix, Windows server, RingCentral, Zoom Phone, AWS IAM, and virtualization
- Implemented and maintained Google Workspace for the organization, improving productivity and collaboration
- Completed thorough risk assessments based on NIST principles and deployed management and response strategies for tools/business processes, resulting in successful risk mitigation and streamlined security deployment
- Oversaw the development and management of the company’s infrastructure and applications, ensuring smooth operation and customer satisfaction
- Led a team of IT professionals in the implementation and maintenance of security protocols and practices
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to outline and achieve project targets
- Developed and applied strategies to help clients leverage enterprise technologies and maximize return on investment, mitigate risks, streamline processes, and find operational inefficiencies
BORING. I can find these exact bullets anywhere online. I strongly recommend specific, strategic content that can only be tied to you. Here are a few of the actual bullets I used for this client.
- Managed 3-tier application architecture hosted in AWS on behalf of 700+ end-users; directly connected to supporting over $13M in annual revenue as internal consultant to the CEO
- Supported all critical enterprise functions (scheduling, allocations, billing, invoicing, accounting, certifications, etc.) in addition to 16 site-to-site VPN locations and all EHR/data storage
- Identified several opportunities for continuous improvement, implementation of best practices, and reduction of technical debt
- Cleaned Active Directory and dramatically improved data management
- Corrected architecture and transformed entire network infrastructure, VoIP, shared files, and data locations
- Overhauled cybersecurity policies and established compliance with NIST principles; convinced CEO to invest in email encryption, fully implemented in 2022, after authoring a compelling business case
- Enabled capture of information on a single pane of glass (device agnostic) backed by AI-driven automation and anomaly detection, which displayed users, data stamps, IP addresses, and immediately quarantined breaches
ChatGPT’s resume design was out-of-date and included “Personal Interests.”
1980 called, and they want their resume back. Please, please, please do NOT include personal interests on your resume. No one cares. That might be harsh, but it’s 100% true.
