Can ChatGPT help me apply for an engineering role?

With the press stuffed full of stories about ChatGPT, it seems the new artificial intelligence tool can do just about anything short of washing your clothes. But can it help you land the perfect building engineer job? Read on to find out.     

ChatGPT was developed by OpenAI, an artificial intelligence research organisation. Its team designed and trained the model using a combination of techniques including deep learning, natural language processing, and reinforcement learning, to create an advanced conversational AI system.

History of AI

The ‘first artificial intelligence program’ called the ‘Logic Theorist’ was created in 1955 by Allen Newell and Herbert A. Simon.

In 1956, the term ‘artificial intelligence’ was coined as an academic field by American computer scientist John McCarthy at the Dartmouth Conference. 

ChatGPT in action..

If you paste a job description into ChatGPT and ask it to write a covering letter for your application, the AI tool will not take into consideration your actual skills and experience but will instead write what it considers will make you the perfect candidate. If the job calls for 10 years’ experience it will say that’s what you have. 

So ChatGPT must always be checked and checked again, but it can provide a good framework for covering letters. 

I asked ChatGPT what the cons of using it to write building engineering job applications were, and here’s what it said:

• First, it lacks human intuition and empathy, making it less adept at understanding complex emotions and personal situations.

• Second, it may produce inaccurate or biased responses, as it is trained on existing data that can contain societal biases. 

• Third, there is a potential for over-reliance, leading to a lack of critical thinking and independent decision-making skills. 

• Finally, ChatGPT's responses might not align with company values or cultural norms, creating potential miscommunication or misunderstanding. 

Next, I asked it to summarise the benefits of using AI when applying for jobs. Here’s what it said:

First, it provides an efficient and scalable way to handle a large volume of applications, saving time for recruiters. 

• Second, it can offer consistent and standardised responses, ensuring fairness in the application process. 

• Third, it allows candidates to receive instant feedback and guidance, enhancing their understanding of the company and job requirements. Additionally, ChatGPT can assist in screening initial qualifications, freeing up human resources for more strategic tasks.

• Finally, it enables applicants to practise interview scenarios and refine their answers, improving their overall preparedness.

As you can see, it does a pretty good job of telling you what you want to know. But use it as a template in your building engineer job application and fill in gaps because it might make up some random stuff about you that is not true and then you might have to explain this at the interview stage. 

Final thoughts

Use ChatGPT as part of your workflow, but remember to check through your application before sending it off for errors as AI isn't foolproof and humans are better!