The hottest new job qualification could be how well you work with a chatbot.
ChatGPT is the latest in-demand job skill companies are hiring for, according to recent research from the career site Resume Builder.
Since its public unveiling in late 2022, ChatGPT has been quickly adopted by companies like Microsoft and Slack which are incorporating the chatbot into their products or using it to work more efficiently.
When assessing candidates to hire, 90% of U.S. business leaders say having ChatGPT experience is a plus for jobseekers, a Resume Builder survey of 1,000 bosses found.
Nearly half (49%) of companies are already using ChatGPT, Resume Builder determined, mainly for writing code, creating content, drafting summaries of meetings or internal documents and assisting with customer support.
ChatGPT is “no different” from other in-demand technical skills like coding or using Microsoft Excel, says Andrew Higashi, CEO of ChangeEngine, a software development firm in San Francisco.
“Candidates who are familiar with and comfortable using the latest technological tools, including ChatGPT, will always have a competitive advantage in the job market,” Higashi explains.
As artificial intelligence becomes more integrated into various industries, including retail and marketing, AI skills, he adds, will be “really important for jobseekers to have.”
Which industries are hiring for ChatGPT experience?
Mentions of ChatGPT are rapidly finding their way into job postings. On ZipRecruiter, hundreds of descriptions for open roles mention “ChatGPT” — half of these postings are for technical AI engineering roles, while the other half are for marketing, copywriting and social media roles, says Ian Siegel, ZipRecruiter’s CEO.
The rise of generative AI tools has elicited increased demand for prompt engineers, who test prompts and build user guides to improve chatbots’ responses, Business Insider reports. Some of these jobs, which don’t require an engineering or coding background, can pay as much as $335,000.
Hiring managers are looking for people who are willing to “learn and adapt to new technologies, like ChatGPT” and “be the first to experiment with and understand new ways to reach communities” using apps like TikTok, Web3 and ChatGPT, according to job descriptions on ZipRecruiter.
While ChatGPT has yet to appear in finance job listings on ZipRecruiter, Siegel notes, “that is likely just around the corner.”
As for other industries, Higashi anticipates that the chatbot will be most useful to people in sales and legal professions, too. For sales, the bot can generate text that simulates a conversation with a customer, and edit call scripts and email responses, while in the legal field, it can conduct research for cases as well as automate contracts and forms.
Don’t just list ChatGPT on your resume
Jobseekers need to do more than list ChatGPT as a skill on their resume to stand out from other candidates.
“Hiring managers’ care less about whether or not you use ChatGPT, what’s more important is what you can accomplish with it,” says Juan Pablo Gonzalez, a senior client partner at the global consulting firm Korn Ferry.
If you’re comfortable using generative AI, you should highlight your experience accomplishing specific objectives at work using advanced technology, either on your LinkedIn profile or during an interview, Gonzalez adds.
For example, if you work in financial services, you can explain how you’ve used ChatGPT to “build economic models or conduct cost-benefit analyses based on large data sets,” Gonzalez suggests. Or, if you’re a software developer, you can mention how the chatbot helps you write and debug code, allowing you to do it “with more efficiency and accuracy,” he adds.
If you’re looking to enhance your ChatGPT skills, there are several certification and training courses online, from the University of Michigan, Coursera and other e-learning platforms.
Ultimately, adding ChatGPT to your list of professional skills shows employers that you are someone who is “excited to explore new technologies and find better ways to work,” says Gonzalez, “which is incredibly valuable, no matter what job you’re applying for.”
