Prompt Engineering for Job Search

Transcript

1. PROMPT ENGINEERING FOR JOB SEARCH
2. Meet? Name What do you do? What got you excited about prompt engineering One fun thing about you
3. Meet? Name What do you do? What got you excited about prompt engineering One fun thing about you
4. Session objective This session will show you how to use AI and prompt engineering to supercharge your job search from writing better resumes and cover letters to prepping for interviews and finding the right roles faster.
5. House Keeping Chat & Q&A Upcoming Events Engage & Share Resources & Slides Feedback Form Recording Networking Opportunity
6. Icebreaker Poll Have you used ChatGPT or any other AI model to optimize your resume or write cover letters before?
7. Why prompt engineering matters in job search today
8. The job market has changed. Recruiters are using AI tools and so should you.
9. Write tailored CVs that match job descriptions line-by-line Draft cover letters that sound like you (but better) Get instant feedback on interview answers Create a job search plan in minutes, not weeks With strong prompts, you can:
10. If you can write better prompts, you can stand out.
11. It’s like working with a smart assistant who’s fast, but a bit clueless unless you’re clear. Prompt Engineering = Knowing what to say to AI to get exactly what you need. What is prompt engineering?
12. Clarity – Be specific. What do you want the AI to create? Context – Who is it for? What’s the purpose? (e.g. “for a Nigerian recruiter at a fintech company”) Tone – Professional, warm, ambitious? Say it. Constraints – Word count? Format? Keywords? Key Concepts of Good Prompting
13. Live Demo: Practical Prompting for Job Search
14. Resume
15. Meet Bella. She is a senior-level community manager with 6 years of experience. She is applying for a Community Management Role at RZLT | REZOLUT. Bella has found the job opening on LinkedIn and wants to: Write a compelling cover letter. 1. Prepare for a third-stage interview. 2. Get feedback on her resume and tips on how to optimize her LinkedIn profile 3. Live Demo Cover Letter and Preparing for an Interview
16. Have the Job Description available Have the company's info available Relax - recruiters are also human beings and were once like you interviewing with someone else. How I’d Approach This
17. Have a Job pitch available - components of a job pitch Who are you: Name, role, and a quick intro. What you do: Your relevant skills and experience. What makes you unique: Your edge, specialty, or values. What you’re looking for: The role you’re targeting or the problem you want to solve. Why them: Why you’re excited about this specific company or opportunity. Where Job Pitches Are Used: At the beginning of interviews ("Tell me about yourself") In cover letters or email introductions On LinkedIn bios or Twitter profiles In portfolio websites When networking or DM-ing someone about an opportunity How I’d Approach This
18. Always tell AI what you’ve done that is related to the role: e.g., I have 3 years of experience, improved email engagement by 45%, and want to highlight my storytelling skills Always give the AI a role: e.g., You’re a hiring manager at Google After each output, as AI to rate you on a scale for the job you’re applying to. Pro Tips for Better Results
19. Common Mistakes to Avoid Being Too Vague ❌ Bad Prompt: “Help me with my job search.” ✅ Better Prompt: “Suggest 5 job titles I can apply for based on my 4 years of experience as a backend developer with Python and Django skills.” Why it matters: The more context you provide, the more relevant and actionable the response will be.
20. Common Mistakes to Avoid Not Including the Goal or Outcome ❌ Bad Prompt: “Rewrite this sentence.” ✅ Better Prompt: “Rewrite this sentence to sound more confident and tailored to a hiring manager at a startup.” Why it matters: Without direction, AI may rewrite things in a generic or mismatched tone.
21. Common Mistakes to Avoid Ignoring the Audience or Context ❌ Bad Prompt: “Write a cover letter.” ✅ Better Prompt: “Write a cover letter for a customer support role at a remote- first SaaS company. Emphasize my empathy, experience handling support tickets, and ability to work independently.” Why it matters: Tailoring to the job or company culture is key. AI can only reflect the audience if you specify it.
22. Common Mistakes to Avoid Trying to Get It All in One Prompt ❌ Bad Prompt: “Write me a cover letter, optimize my resume, prepare me for interviews, and give job suggestions.” ✅ Better Prompt Strategy: Break it down: Prompt 1: “Help me write a cover letter for [job role]...” Prompt 2: “Review this resume summary and suggest improvements...” Prompt 3: “List common interview questions for this role...” Why it matters: Chunking prompts keeps results more accurate and manageable.
23. Common Mistakes to Avoid Not Iterating ❌ Mistake: Accepting the first output as final. ✅ Tip: Follow up! “Can you make this cover letter more concise?” “Add a stronger opening line.” “Use more action verbs.” Why it matters: Prompting is a dialogue, not a one-and-done task.
24. Common Mistakes to Avoid Missing Personal Voice ❌ Mistake: Letting AI sound too robotic or generic. ✅ Fix: “Make this sound more like me, friendly but professional. I’m enthusiastic about learning and enjoy teamwork.” Why it matters: Cover letters and interviews are personal. Inject your own voice into the prompts.
25. AI will enable job seekers to create tailored resumes, cover letters, and portfolios at scale, aligned with specific job descriptions, company values, and even recruiter preferences. AI job platforms will go beyond keyword matching to understand a candidate's skills, goals, values, and growth potential, and match them with roles that fit. AI will act as virtual career coaches that will give real-time interview feedback, coach you on salary negotiation, suggest career pivots based on industry trends etc. Future of AI in Job Searching
26. Recruiters will increasingly rely on AI tools to sift resumes, but the next wave will focus on ethical, bias-reducing AI that ensures fairer, more inclusive hiring. AI-Enhanced Networking. This includes writing cold outreach messages, suggesting talking points for virtual coffee chats, and even analyzing a person’s online presence to recommend shared interests or tips for optimization. Interview Simulators, scoring, based on the STAR method, or role expectations, etc.
27. Why prompt engineering matters for job seekers today What is prompt engineering Key Concepts of Good Prompting Live Demo on writing a resume, cover letters, and preparing for interviews Pro Tips for Better Results Common Mistakes to Avoid Future of AI in Job Searching Recap of the session
28. Upcoming Livestream Session on “Prompting LLMs to Debug Your Code” next week, Friday by 5:00 PM WAT, 9th May 2025, with a special guest - Ayodele Aransiola. Access my Prompt Library: nestuge.com/promptlibrary + 1:1 sessions Subscribe to the Friday Extra - a newsletter for creatives. Announcements
29. S e s s i o n
30. w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m / @ m f o n o b o n g Videos every Monday and Friday by 2:30 PM WAT