Good morning!
Today, we’re continuing the conversation about ChatGPT’s impact on HR. Last week, Coins2Day’ s Paolo Confino dove into how the technology could take over some of the most menial HR tasks, like writing job descriptions or running compensation audits. How job candidates might use the tool, and the employer impact, provides another interesting viewpoint.
The most obvious use case for applicants is executing odious tasks like résumé writing. So I took it upon myself to experiment with that.
The bottom line is that while employers almost certainly won’t encourage or want candidates to use ChatGPT to create a résumé, applicants likely will due to the sheer ease and access of the platform. It took me less than five minutes to answer a few automated prompts from the chatbot, which then spit out a sample résumé. Here’s how it works.
Once a person signs up for a free ChatGPT account via the OpenAI site, they can ask any question their heart desires. I tapped out a simple query: “Can you write my job résumé?” The response was instantaneous. The chatbot agreed that it could help me, but much like a stern tutor, it made it clear that it would not do all the work for me.
After I agreed with the recommendations, the chatbot asked me to provide some basic information such as work experience, education, skills, and other relevant details I would like to include on my résumé. “Please provide me with that information, and I’ll do my best to help you create a strong and effective résumé,” responded my new bot friend. I responded with seven basic lines about myself:
B.A. In English and Journalism from Wake Forest University
M.S. In Strategic Communications from Columbia University
Reporter at the Wall Street Journal
Reporter at Protocol
Senior Writer at Coins2Day
Pulitzer Prize Finalist
Charlotte, N.C.
Seconds later, I received a fully drafted résumé. The A.I. Intuited my skill set and years of work based on my listed experience. But what surprised me most was that the technology took several creative liberties, embellishing and padding my résumé to provide examples of what else I could add to my curriculum vitae. After all, the résumé it produced is only supposed to be a sample, providing suggestions for language and structure based on the information I input. Now, let me answer the question you all want to know: How well-written is the résumé? It would be difficult for most HR leaders to know an A.I. Chatbot authored it and even harder to prove.
Though some have criticized the technology for providing stilted or robotic-sounding language, it was almost imperceptible that a robot had written my résumé. What that means for HR leaders is they’ll have to scrutinize provided résumés as the technology becomes more widespread. Or, they’ll have to place less emphasis on the résumé to determine an applicant’s potential to succeed in a given role.
In a matter of minutes, I had a shiny new résumé that displayed my journalistic chops while falsely stating that I had been named among Forbes 30 Under 30 in Journalism in 2020. It also stated I was the winner of the George Polk Award for Business Reporting in 2018, and according to ChatGPT, I’m fluent in Spanish. While I found the results to be both awe-inspiring and slightly comedic, for employers, there’s a more sober takeaway.
ChatGPT might help reduce the time it takes applicants to apply for jobs in the future, but HR professionals will need to spend more time reviewing and vetting résumés as technology grows more advanced.
Amber Burton
[email protected]
@amberbburton
Reporter's Notebook
The most compelling data, quotes, and insights from the field.
The race will go to those who master change management this year, says Brandi Galvin Morandi, chief legal and human resources officer at data infrastructure company Equinix.
“These last few years have reconfirmed that no company is perfectly guarded against the general ups and downs of business cycles and the potential impact of global events, no matter how strong their business fundamentals may be. The best way to strengthen a company’s position and future-proof its business is to ensure its people are equipped for business transformation."
Around the Table
A round-up of the most important HR headlines, studies, podcasts, and long-reads.
- The National Labor Relations Board found that Apple's extreme confidentiality rules violated federal labor laws. New York Times
- Employees at Meta and Snap are in a state of “paranoia” about more layoffs as the companies look to cut costs. Insider
- Spotify lost €270 million (about $293 million) last quarter as operating costs increased due to its pandemic-era hiring spree. Financial Times
- Groupon announced it would lay off about 500 employees by the end of the second quarter after already doing so last August. CBS News
- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis proposed a new policy to eliminate funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at the state’s universities. Washington Post
Watercooler
Everything you need to know from Coins2Day.
Gay glass ceiling. Feminine gay men often get overlooked for leadership roles, according to research from the University of Sydney. —Orianna Rosa Royle
Commonplace toxicity. Nearly two-thirds of U.S. Workers say they’ve experienced a toxic work environment, according to a survey from online job board The Muse. Respondents said company leaders are most at fault for creating harmful cultures. —Megan Leonhardt
Late night layoff. A former Google employee found out the company laid her off while breastfeeding her newborn at 4:30 a.m., once again bringing into question the sensitivity of the company’s layoff procedures. —Chloe Taylor
Blue-collar boomerang. Labor experts believe the job market may right-size as low-level white-collar workers fill blue-collar positions left open since the pandemic. —Megan Leonhardt
This is the web version of CHRO Daily, a newsletter focusing on helping HR executives navigate the needs of the workplace. Today’s edition was curated by Paolo Confino. Sign up to get it delivered free to your inbox.
