STEP 6 OF 7
Find, understand, and respond to job listings
Start with one listing. Work all the way through it, and you’ll know the process for every one after. The process requires these steps:
- Search a job board for a listing
- Understand the listing and decide if it’s a good fit
- Respond to the listing
- Track what you send
YOUR ASSIGNMENT
Find one job listing to apply to, understand it, and prepare a tailored resume for it.
1. Find a job listing
Start with the companies from Step 3 and check their Careers pages. You can also search job boards such as Indeed or LinkedIn Jobs.
PROMPT
What keywords should I search if I’m looking for work as a [job title] in [city], [full-time or part-time]? Give me 10, plus 3 job titles I might not have thought of.
Watch for scams — A real employer never asks you to pay to apply, buy equipment up front, or send your Social Security or bank details before you have an offer. Be careful with anything that promises easy money or moves the conversation to a messaging app.
2. Understand the listing
Once you’ve found a job listing copy the description, open a new chat in your AI assistant and paste it into the chat.
PROMPT
Here’s a job listing. Can you explain what this role actually does day to day? Keep it to 6 bullets.
Paste the job description into the chat
Job listings often read like a wish list, which can talk you out of roles you’d be great at. This prompt pulls out what really matters, so you can decide whether to apply.
PROMPT
From this listing, separate the must-haves from the nice-to-haves. Then tell me which ones my experience covers and where I have gaps.
Attach your Base Resume
PROMPT
Does this job sound like a good fit for someone with my background? Be honest. Give me 3 reasons for and 3 against.
3. Respond to the listing
Before responding to the listing, try to find a real person to send your resume to, ideally the hiring manager. If you can find that person, download their LinkedIn profile and add it to your Job Search folder.
PROMPT
Here’s the job listing and my base resume. Create a version of my resume for this job. Put the most relevant experience first, use words from the listing only when they are true for me, and keep it to one page. Don’t add anything that isn’t in my base resume. Then list what you changed.
Paste the job description and attach your Base Resume
The strongest cover letters speak to the employer’s problem, then show how you solve it.
PROMPT
Draft a cover letter under 250 words for this job. Start with what this employer needs from the person in this role, then show how my experience solves it using two specific accomplishments. Sound like me.
Attach the hiring manager’s LinkedIn Profile
and your Voice and Tone document
Submitting your resume through a job board is always the last resort. Check LinkedIn to see if you have any connections to people who work at the company, or check a site like Hunter.io to find the hiring manager’s email address.
PROMPT
I’m sending a short email to the hiring manager for this job. Write a professional but friendly message under 120 words that introduces me and asks one clear question.
PROMPT
I applied for this job [number] days ago and haven’t heard back. Write a polite follow-up email under 80 words.
Track the job applications you send
Save each tailored resume with a clear name, such as Company-JobTitle-Resume. Make a simple tracker; a spreadsheet is ideal, but even a paper notebook will work. Log this info:
- Company
- Job title
- Date applied
- Contact
- Status
- Notes
