Courtesy of Jasmine Cheng
- Jasmine Cheng launched a boutique recruiting firm in December 2022.
- She started using ChatGPT to complete tasks and said it saves her at least 10 hours a week.
- Cheng said the way she uses ChatGPT doesn't take over her role, it just makes her more efficient.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jasmine Cheng, a recruiter from the San Francisco Bay Area, who uses ChatGPT for HR and hiring at her recruiting firm, TopKnack. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
I started my recruiting career at Amazon as a technical recruiter, but I left in November 2022. A month later, I founded a boutique recruiting firm, TopKnack. I quickly started using ChatGPT for my agency, which specializes in hiring top engineering and healthcare talent.
In my role at Amazon, I focused 100% of my time on hiring the best software engineers for the company. I worked closely with hiring managers to understand exactly which kind of candidates Amazon wanted, and sent them profiles to ensure that managers approved of candidates before putting them through the interview process.
I also sourced passive candidates and convinced them to join our team at Amazon. Then, I'd do the first screening call and update them on their interview status throughout every step of the process.
At my agency, my clients are companies that have job openings, and I work with them to fill those roles. Here's how I started using ChatGPT to find job candidates.
I asked ChatGPT to give me a list of companies
I was searching for startups with employees that could be ideal job candidates for my clients. To save time, I asked ChatGPT to give me a list of companies with my desired criteria, including companies in niche industries that have a certain employee size or are based in certain locations. Then, I put those companies into my Boolean search string — an advanced keyword-searching strategy — to help me find specific job candidates.
Boolean strings are a type of search query that recruiters often use to find candidate profiles on LinkedIn and other sites. Creating Boolean strings is often time-consuming, especially when there are many requirements for the candidate. Still, ChatGPT makes my job much easier by creating these Boolean search strings so I can find the right candidates more quickly.
I tried ChatGPT to research schools and organizations
I used ChatGPT to create a list of specific schools and organizations. From there, I kept going back to put together even more Boolean searches. Before using ChatGPT, it took me a long time — around 15 hours a week — to manually put together lists that matched my criteria. Now, I only spend roughly five hours a week making lists of items for my Boolean search strings.
I copy and pasted job descriptions into ChatGPT
When I copy and paste job descriptions into ChatGPT, it instantly outputs a Boolean search string. Then I manually add more criteria to the string to refine my search. It's important to ensure the Boolean string is written correctly because a small mistake could cause the Boolean to break and not show any results. ChatGPT is amazing at making sure the format is correct.
I used ChatGPT to create interview questions and job descriptions
In addition to Boolean strings, I use ChatGPT for two other purposes that are huge time savers. First, I ask ChatGPT to send me interview questions that can help me analyze how well the candidates' technical and non-technical skills are. Second, I use it to output a very bare-bones job description. Then, I easily add more information to the job description and use it to attract more candidates.
ChatGPT saves me a minimum of 10 hours a week
Previously, I did the research and writing for my Boolean search string manually. Now, I just ask ChatGPT and it'll output a list for me to work from. With those hours back, I can reach more candidates, network, and even conduct more business development to get more clients, which leads to making more money.
It's hard to quantify the amount of money I'm making using ChatGPT because there are a lot of other moving parts that go into making a job placement — but for each candidate I place, I make 20% to 30% of their first-year salary.
The way I'm using ChatGPT doesn't take over my role as a recruiter at all
People who are against artificial intelligence are usually afraid that ChatGPT might take over certain jobs or that it might present inaccurate information, but it can be a good thing if we can find a way for it to help our jobs and not take over them. The way I use ChatGPT helps me become more efficient and I always fact-check each piece of information before using it to make sure it's accurate.
I still swear by ChatGPT as my workflow would be much slower without it. I use it daily to create Boolean strings, research company information, reword job descriptions, and generate interview questions.