ChatGPT for your CV: 7 prompts that actually work

ChatGPT can dramatically improve your CV — if you treat it as an editor, not a ghostwriter. Below are seven prompts you can copy, paste and adapt. Always sanity-check the output: ChatGPT happily invents experience you don't have.

1. Extract skills from a job ad

Prompt: 'Here is a job ad. List the 10 most important hard skills and 5 soft skills the company seems to care about, ranked by how often they appear. [paste ad]'

2. Gap analysis against your CV

Prompt: 'Compare this CV against this job ad. List skills and keywords that appear in the ad but are missing from the CV. Be specific. [paste CV] [paste ad]'

3. Rewrite a weak bullet point

Prompt: 'Rewrite this CV bullet to be specific, results-oriented and quantifiable. Keep it under 25 words and don't invent numbers — leave [X] where I should fill in data. Bullet: ...'

4. Surface ATS keywords

Prompt: 'From this job ad, list the exact phrases an ATS would likely index. Group them into: must-have skills, tools, certifications, soft skills.'

5. Tighten tone

Prompt: 'Rewrite the following CV section in a tone that is confident but plain, without buzzwords like "synergy", "dynamic", "go-getter". Keep the meaning, shorten by 20%.'

6. Self-check

Prompt: 'Act as a hiring manager for [role]. Read this CV and tell me the three weakest points and the three strongest, with one improvement suggestion each.'

7. Cover letter draft

Prompt: 'Write a 150-word cover letter using only facts from this CV, addressed to the company in this job ad. Plain, specific, no clichés.'