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• Job Application Documents

How to Write a Job Application Essay

Last Updated: April 9, 2024 References

This article was co-authored by Shannon O'Brien, MA, EdM and by wikiHow staff writer, Jennifer Mueller, JD . Shannon O'Brien is the Founder and Principal Advisor of Whole U. (a career and life strategy consultancy based in Boston, MA). Through advising, workshops and e-learning Whole U. empowers people to pursue their life's work and live a balanced, purposeful life. Shannon has been ranked as the #1 Career Coach and #1 Life Coach in Boston, MA by Yelp reviewers. She has been featured on Boston.com, Boldfacers, and the UR Business Network. She received a Master's of Technology, Innovation, & Education from Harvard University. There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 198,066 times.

Many employers now require a writing sample, or job application essay , to accompany all applications or résumés — even if writing is not a significant part of the position. The goal of the job application essay is to ensure that applicants have the right communication skills for the position offered. Sometimes, potential employers will provide a specific topic or series of questions for your essay to respond to. However, you may also be asked to provide an essay with no guidance whatsoever. Either way, approach the essay seriously so that it highlights the skills and assets you could bring to the company. [1] X Research source

Outlining Your Essay

• If you don't know much about the company, do a little research on it before you start writing. You might look at their website or do a general internet search with the name of the company to see if any news articles or other reports come up. Go beyond the four corners of the job listing so that you understand who will likely be reading your essay.
• If there's anything in the job listing or essay requirements that you don't understand, contact the employer and ask about them. Employers are often impressed by applicants who clarify the employer's intent rather than making assumptions.

• For example, if you're applying for a position in sales, you might want to write an essay about your ability to tailor your pitch to specific clients and close the deal. If you have the ability to be more creative, you might tailor your essay to "sell" yourself directly to the employer.

• For each of your points, think of a specific example you can relate briefly that illustrates the point. For example, if you've described yourself as a "team player," you might include an example of how you came in on your day off to complete some of the more monotonous tasks that no one else wanted to do so a project could be completed ahead of schedule.
• It's a good idea to have more than one example in your outline for each point, even if you only end up using one. That way, if you start writing something and it ends up not working as well as you thought it would, you'll have a back-up handy.
• Brainstorming can be difficult. If you find yourself churning over the same thoughts, stand up and take a break for a few minutes. Step outside or go for a walk to clear your head, then come back to it.

• For example, if you want to describe how you increased sales in a specific quarter, you would want to state specifically how much you increased sales. Your former employer may have sales figures that you could ask them for. You might also have that information in your records.
• Wherever possible, use specific numbers and dates rather than making general statements. It's okay to estimate, but make sure your estimate is conservative. Saying you led your sales team to the highest sales in a quarter is impressive — but only if it's true.

Completing Your Rough Draft

• Think of this paragraph as telling the hiring manager what you're going to tell them in the essay. Outline the points you're going to elaborate on in the essay that back up your theme or thesis statement.
• Sometimes it's best to go back and write your introduction after you've written the body of your essay. That way, you can make sure the introduction provides an outline that matches the body.

• If the employer listed specifically what should be included in your essay, follow their order, since that's what they'll be looking for when they read the essay.
• Write in the first person and make yourself the star of any anecdote you include as an example. Use action verbs to focus on what you did rather than focusing on what happened and how you reacted to it. [7] X Trustworthy Source University of North Carolina Writing Center UNC's on-campus and online instructional service that provides assistance to students, faculty, and others during the writing process Go to source

• For example, if you're writing about your skills as a team player, you might note that you discuss doing routine work that others found monotonous so they had time to work on other parts of a project. You could use that detail to move on to a section describing how you're detail-oriented.

• For example, you might write "My business school education, skills as a team player, and focus on detail make me the best candidate to lead your sales team."

Finalizing Your Essay

• For example, you might start by looking solely at punctuation, then read through again focusing on spelling.
• If you find that you tend to repeat a particular error, go through your essay looking for that error specifically.
• If your grammar isn't particularly strong or you're writing in a language other than your native language, have someone else read over your essay as well.

• If you find that you stumble over a sentence while reading aloud, that's a sign that your writing could be clearer. Work with your text until you have something that you can read aloud with ease.

• If the prospective employer did not specify a length, try to keep your essay under 2 double-spaced pages. Remember that hiring managers are busy and don't have a lot of time to read a long, rambling essay.
• Eliminate all unnecessary words or sentences that aren't relevant to the subject of your essay. The majority of your sentences should be short, declarative sentences with action verbs.
• Apps such as Hemingway ( http://www.hemingwayapp.com/ ) or Grammarly ( https://app.grammarly.com/ ) can help you identify portions of your essay that are more difficult to read. Both of these apps have a free version that you can use to edit your text.

• Working backward is particularly helpful for noticing spelling mistakes, especially hard-to-catch homophone errors, because you're seeing the word out of context.

• It may also help to print your essay in a different font or font size than what you used to type it. This breaks your brain's familiarity with the text, which can make typos and other errors more noticeable. Just remember to change the font back after you print it.

Job Application Essay

Expert Q&A

• Give yourself plenty of time to work on your essay. Ideally, you should plan to work on it over the course of at least two days, so you have the time to set it aside after writing before you move to the editing and proofreading stage. [15] X Research source Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

• Unless you're applying for a position in a political or religious organization, avoid including anything in your essay that identifies your political or religious preferences or beliefs. [16] X Research source Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• Avoid using humor, especially sarcasm or ironic humor, as it can be misconstrued in text. Additionally, humor may lead the hiring manager to believe that you aren't serious about the position. [17] X Research source Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.monster.com/career-advice/article/writing-sample-job-application
• ↑ https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2012/04/30/essay-how-write-good-applications-jobs-or-grants
• ↑ Shannon O'Brien, MA, EdM. Life & Career Coach. Expert Interview. 25 May 2021.
• ↑ https://www.govloop.com/community/blog/government-job-application-essays-made-easy/
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/application-essays/
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/editing-and-proofreading/
• ↑ https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/proofreading-tips
• ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/career-transitions/200906/the-dreaded-writing-sample

About This Article

Job application essays can seem scary, but they’re really just an opportunity for you to highlight your skills and explain why you’re suitable for the role. Read the job listing to find out what traits and skills the company is looking for, like time management, working under pressure, and leadership. If you don’t know much about the company, read through its website and do an online search to find articles about its work. In your introduction, you’ll want to to describe yourself and introduce the main points you’ll be making. Then, write a paragraph for each trait or skill. Use real life examples from previous jobs, your recent studies, or extracurricular activities to support your points. For example, you could highlight your leadership skills by talking about a time you led a group project that exceeded your targets. For more tips, including how to write a compelling conclusion for your job application essay, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How to Job Hunt (When You’re Already Exhausted)

• Marlo Lyons

Five strategies to help you muster up the energy.

When you’re already worn out from working full time, caring for family, and managing this new way of “Covid being,” it’s hard to muster up the energy to jump into a job hunt or consider changing careers. Incorporating these five coaching and change management principles into your job search will help you stay motivated throughout what can feel like a grueling process even at the best of times. First, give some thought to why you actually want a new job, and why you want it now. Next, use visualization techniques when exhaustion or false narratives take over. Then, create a plan and follow it methodically. Next, let go of the things you can’t control. Finally, prepare for the inevitable emotional ups and downs.

When Fred, a client of mine, realized he wasn’t feeling fulfilled in his job, he wanted to find something more meaningful. So he started a job search. Within days, he was interviewing multiple times a week for multiple companies, and each interview required hours of preparation while he was also spearheading major projects at his full-time job. As his workload became more frenetic, he said many times, “This is exhausting,” and at times thought he would give up for a while if the roles he was interviewing for didn’t come through.

• Marlo Lyons is a career, executive, and team coach, as well as the award-winning author of Wanted – A New Career: The Definitive Playbook for Transitioning to a New Career or Finding Your Dream Job . You can reach her at marlolyonscoaching.com .

Partner Center

Labor Economics: Job Search Essay

Job search: external and internal, the distribution of personal earnings, labor productivity: wages, prices, and employment, employment and unemployment.

There are two major ways available for job seekers when they hunt for jobs. They either hunt for jobs externally, meaning they search for jobs outside the company that they currently work for, or they look for jobs within the said company. The external job search could occur while they are still working in the said organization. They could also conduct an external job search after they resigned or after they were fired from their current job. The internal job search, on the other hand, is only available to current employees in the said company.

The external job search process has been radically altered after the emergence of Information Technology. In the past, job hunters had to pound the pavement, personally submit their resumes, or deliver them through the mail. In recent decades, job applicants could send their applications electronically, making job-hunting a much easier task. The accelerated process provides economic benefits for employees and employers as unemployment rates could be reduced at a faster rate. In the case of employers, increased productivity is the result of creating a better match of available jobs for job seekers.

Aside from major changes in the job-hunting process, there is also another phenomenon that businessmen and corporate leaders must carefully monitor. It is the phenomenon described as shortened job tenure. This emerging trend could be partially explained by the shift from manufacturing jobs to service sector jobs. It is not clear why there is a lower tenure for jobs in the service sector. But there is a reason why there is reduced job tenure in manufacturing jobs. It is due to the replacement of unskilled laborers with computers and precision machines.

There is another element that affects job tenure and job hunting; it is the internal labor market. Two things characterize the internal labor market. First, a worker joins a company and is assigned to work in the least skilled port-of-entry job. Second, the said employee is positioned in the lowest rung of the job ladder or mobility chain. As a result, there is the incentive to move up and vacate the current position occupied. However, the movement of the workers up and down the job ladder is based on administrative rules and procedures. In other words, the worker cannot apply for that position like an outsider. In most cases, he or she must be promoted to a higher position in order to move up the mobility chain.

The internal job market is perpetuated by two factors: the need for specific skills and the need to retain skilled workers. In order to train workers, employers must make a substantial investment. Therefore, it is prudent to protect the said investment.

When the employer succeeds in retaining the service of a skilled worker, the employer experiences greater returns on investment. At the same time, savings are realized because there is no need to train a new batch of workers. Furthermore, employers could benefit from an internal labor market because they have a clear understanding of what their workers are capable of. Therefore, there is no need to go through the trial and error process of hiring people without an idea of what they know or if they are a perfect fit for the company.

The workers also benefit from such an arrangement because they are able to enjoy job security. There is also the added advantage of built-in training and promotion opportunities. It can be argued that an employee takes a risk if he resigns from his current position in order to pursue a higher paying job. Thus, if there is an opportunity to increase income level without having to leave the current employer, then that would be an advantage.

There is one major issue with the internal labor market, and it is on the question of efficiency. The issue stems from the argument that workers are promoted based on seniority and administrative rules but not on the productivity of the employee. At the same time, the workers are shielded from competition, and their salaries may not be commensurate to the contribution they make to the company. Those who believe in the efficiency of the internal labor market pointed out that qualified workers are retained, and they become the senior employers. Furthermore, senior workers usually receive more than their marginal revenue products while younger workers are paid less than their marginal revenue products. They made the counterargument that this serves as a motivational tool for younger workers to work harder so that the firm will retain their services.

There are two ways to illustrate the degree of inequality in personal earnings among full-time workers in the United States. The first method that could be utilized to illustrate inequality is through the use of a histogram wherein one could see an absolute frequency distribution. The second method is through a Lorenz curve.

With regards to the histogram, it is important to focus on the mean, median, and mode. The mean represents the average value after dividing the total earnings by the number of workers. The mode represents the value that occurred with the greatest frequency. The median is the value at the midpoint level.

It is therefore important to point out that the median value indicated that fifty percent of the full-time workers received more than the median amount of $35,000 in 2007, while the rest earned less. At the same time, it was revealed that most of the workers earned $20,000 to $24,999 in the same year. However, the mean was pegged at $46,179. Based on these figures, it could be argued that there were a smaller number of full-time workers that earned significantly higher than the average worker.

It has been pointed out that human characteristics such as intelligence, physical strength, motivation, and determination are the prerequisites to higher income. However, it was also made clear that these characteristics are evenly distributed. Therefore, there should be a great number of people with higher income potential. But the reality is that there are many people who struggle because of inequality in earning capability. There were two major reasons given why inequality exists in society. The first major reason is formal education. The second major reason is on-the-job training.

There is no need to elaborate on the fact that those with doctorate degrees earn more than those with bachelor’s degrees. The same thing can be said about the fact that those with a high school diploma have higher earning potential compared to those who have less than 12 years of basic education.

The second major factor that influenced income distribution is on-the-job training. There are certain firms that requireth their top employees to work on special projects. Therefore, it is important to get the necessary training needed for the job. There are many firms that require workers to study and implement specific procedures based on the nature of the work environment.

Aside from training and education, there are certain things that people must consider in order to increase their earning potential. For example, workers must realize that when a person is much older, they enjoy a higher income rate. There are also other factors that could explain the rise of income inequality among full-time workers in the United States. The first reason is deindustrialization because there was a shift towards the service sector.

The second major reason for pay inequality was the decline of unionism. Therefore, workers would have a hard time negotiating with management when it is time to increase their wages. The decline of unionism means that workers possess little leverage in order to triumph at the negotiation table.

The third major factor was an increase in the demand for skilled workers. The ability to acquire a particular skill requires a great deal of training and apprenticeship. The fourth major factor is demographic changes. It was important to point out that there is no single and simplified explanation as to why there are those who live in palatial mansions while there are others who had to be contented with limited resources due to earning capability.

Productivity is based on a simple framework – it is a measure of the outcome, the unit of output that was obtained after a unit of input was introduced to the system. With regards to the U.S. economy, the Bureau of Labor Statistics provides information on labor productivity.

It was made clear that the U.S. economy experienced improved levels of labor productivity. There were several reasons that could explain the upward trend in productivity. The primary explanation as to the positive results of labor productivity was linked to improving labor quality.

There were several factors that contributed to improvements in the labor quality, and these are listed as follows: 1) Education; 2) Training; 3) health and vitality; and 4) age-gender composition. Therefore, a highly educated workforce is more productive than those with lower educational attainment. In the same manner, a well-equipped and highly trained worker is more efficient than those who did not make investments in any self-improvement task.

In order to increase productivity, workers must also have access to capital. The manager must continually analyze the implications of the capital-labor ratio. In the case of the U.S. economy, the workers have greater access to capital goods and used them to produce different types of output.

It is not only the quality of the workers and access to capital goods that could explain the increased productivity in this country. The third reason was attributed to increased efficiency in the use of labor and capital. The efficient use of labor and capital was also linked to 1) technological progress; 2) a greater degree of specialization; 3) reallocation of labor to more productive use, and 4) changes in a society’s institutional, cultural and environmental setting.

Progress in technology was not only limited to improvements in equipment design but also improvements when it comes to the development of systems. Thus, the improvements made on organizational management, as well as the more effective use of human resources and capital, contributed to the significant increase in productivity. For example, many companies were able to use automated systems to minimize waste while increasing the output capabilities of the firm.

Production was made more efficient by economies of scale. In other words, business leaders were able to capitalize on the realization that the more products that were produced, the lower the cost of production.

The reallocation of labor was also a major factor in increased labor productivity. The best example would be the reallocation of labor from agriculture to the manufacturing sector. In agriculture, a farmhand could only expect an average gain no matter how many hours were spent on the farm. But when it comes to the application of manufacturing technology, it was discovered that people produce more goods per hour compared to the inefficient output in most farms. When farmworkers were reallocated to an efficient environment, it did not take long before the workers were able to produce a higher level of productivity.

Aside from internal changes and controls, there are external factors that contributed to labor productivity. These are the cultural values of the society as well as the nature of its institutions. In other words, politicians and business leaders could collaborate in order to improve business processes.

It has to be pointed out that productivity increase does not always occur on a regular basis. Labor productivity behaves in a cyclical pattern. There is also a phenomenon called a recession or economic downturn. When the economy is in a recession, the efficient systems described a while ago could not be utilized because of one primary driving force, and that is the law of supply and demand. In a recession, people are not buying goods. Thus, even if the manufacturing process has been radically altered to demonstrate efficient production, the factory remains closed because there is no demand for the product. Nevertheless, the overall trend points to higher labor productivity because the rate of productivity picks up after a recession.

Another area that requires examination is the relationship between productivity and employment. There are those who contend that workers are not encouraged to increase productivity because success in this area could endanger their job security. The basis for such thinking is rooted in the defective analysis of the implications of increased productivity.

The error in thinking could also be attributed to the success of automated systems wherein machines had replaced humans. However, there are areas of production that robots and machines are unable to accomplish. Going back to the relationship between productivity and employment, it must be pointed out that the company would not reduce the number of workers after experiencing significant levels of productivity because increased labor productivity translates to greater demand for the product. The increased demand for the product could be due to availability and reduced price.

It is important to highlight once again the impact of Information Technology on the improvement in labor productivity. Technological advancements enabled businessmen to utilize resources more efficiently. At the same time, companies were able to reduce waste and improve the quality of the goods manufactured.

It is imperative to constantly monitor the unemployment rate of a country. The unemployment rate could easily indicate that an economic recession has impacted the region. Unemployment is always considered a negative force within a national economy. There is no need to elaborate on the sufferings caused by parents who are unable to provide for their children because they are unemployed. Therefore, it is the duty of public servants, national leaders, and businessmen to work together in order to counteract the impact of a recession.

Nobody wants to be unemployed. However, unemployment is not always a bad thing. Voluntary unemployment could boost the value of the job seeker. However, national leaders and businessmen must work hard to prevent the occurrence of structural unemployment. Frictional unemployment could last for only a few weeks or months, but structural unemployment may last for many years, and in many cases, the workers may never be able to work again.

Structural unemployment is an important subject matter to discuss, and therefore, it is best to point out the root cause of the problem. It was revealed that the unemployment rate rises when there is a mismatch between the skills needed and the skills possessed by job seekers. An essential cause of structural unemployment that has to be investigated could be attributed to the mismatch of geographic location between job openings and job seeking.

In the decade of the 90s, American workers in the textile industry were unemployed when their respective companies needed machines to remain competitive. These workers need an upgrade because there are other job openings. However, these new positions require a different skill set. Since the workers did not invest in self-improvement initiatives, they could not be transferred to a different position.

Declining industries and the impact of imports are two serious forces to consider when it comes to structural unemployment. Another problematic area was outsourcing jobs abroad. In the past, outsourcing jobs to India and Asia were only limited to mundane and inefficient task structures. However, companies have learned to use the cost-efficient system of outsourcing.

Imports and outsourcing are two significant forces that continue to impact the U.S. labor market. There is no use in complaining against the negative impact of corporate strategies that leads to outsourcing and importation. The best thing to do is to prepare for the predictable outcomes of the said economic forces. For example, there are jobs that could never be outsourced. It is therefore critical to focus on those jobs. Workers must focus on jobs that could not be outsourced. If there is a need to make a significant investment in higher education, then money must be spent wisely on careers that could not be affected by outsourcing.

It is interesting to point out that the factors that enabled job seekers to find the ideal job were also the same factors that would have prevented structural unemployment. These factors are higher education and flexibility. Higher education does not only enable workers to land a job that they like; education also ensures that there are plenty of options available to the job seeker. Nevertheless, higher education is not enough to stave off unemployment. The job applicant must be flexible and accept job opportunities that may have been less ideal a few years ago.

The most important thing that the U.S. government could do is to reduce unemployment. The first thing that the government must do is to exercise prudent fiscal policy management. It is imperative that the government must work hard to lessen the negative impact of certain tax policies and other laws that could affect the unemployment rate.

If the government increases its drive to collect more taxes, the move could be interpreted as a major blow to the company’s productivity, and therefore the corporate leaders may issue a moratorium on hiring new employees. Government actions could also lead to adjustments that could affect the morale of the workers. For example, the decision not to increase wages may compel workers to resign and look for alternative sources of income.

On the other hand, the government may manipulate other aspects of the monetary policies, and the end result could be additional access to more funds. As a result, the company could afford to expand business operations, and therefore, it could lead to the hiring of additional workers.

Productivity is tied to demand. If the government could help establish more ideal scenarios for growth, then the companies may experience greater demand from the market. For example, a low tax rate may affect the prices of goods. The lower-priced goods could lead to increase demand. The implication is that the need for more products requires the expansion of the workforce.

The need to increase efficiency and productivity must be sustained. It is not prudent to simply create ideal scenarios that could lead to greater demand for goods and services. It is also imperative that the government lay down policies and invests in infrastructure that could help sustain the upward trend in productivity. Therefore, the government must be mindful of cash reserves and their ability to pay obligations. Therefore, the government must be mindful of striking the correct balance between the need to assist companies in reaching high levels of productivity and at the same time maintain the correct environment so that efficiency and productivity could be sustained. It is also important to point out that the government must focus on the impact of fiscal policies. It is imperative that the positive outcome must not lead to inflation.

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IvyPanda. (2021, May 24). Labor Economics: Job Search. https://ivypanda.com/essays/labor-economics-job-search/

"Labor Economics: Job Search." IvyPanda , 24 May 2021, ivypanda.com/essays/labor-economics-job-search/.

IvyPanda . (2021) 'Labor Economics: Job Search'. 24 May.

IvyPanda . 2021. "Labor Economics: Job Search." May 24, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/labor-economics-job-search/.

1. IvyPanda . "Labor Economics: Job Search." May 24, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/labor-economics-job-search/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Labor Economics: Job Search." May 24, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/labor-economics-job-search/.

Job Search Advice for a Tough Market: Think Broadly and Stay Flexible

New graduates entering the job market will face a very different landscape from even a year ago, with a murky economy and potentially more limited career prospects.

Though unemployment figures in the US remain near historically low levels, the pace of hiring in April slowed, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. US employers added 175,000 jobs, seasonally adjusted, far fewer than the more than 300,000 in March and below the 240,000 analysts expected.

For those seeking business careers, success might mean searching beyond traditional first jobs like consulting or large firms. Slowdowns can be the best time to explore an unexpected path, professionally or geographically.

Harvard Business School faculty share their viewpoints on the ever-changing job market, with a sharp eye on what it means for corporate careers from consulting to private equity.

Paul Gompers: All it takes is one ‘yes’

The venture capital and startup job market is particularly slow this year. I am reaching into my network more than in prior years to put students in touch with people in the industry.

Down rounds and layoffs in tech have been in the headlines for the past 18 months as startups adjust to the need to get to breakeven and to deal with unreasonable valuation expectations of the last several years.

That being said, my research and research by others has shown that venture capital and startup market slowdowns are opportune times to enter the industry.

“Prospects are likely to improve over the short run and perseverance is rewarded.”

Returns and attractive exits are higher for startups formed during these periods in history. Overall, I emphasize that students need to be patient.

Good jobs are out there to be had. All it takes is one yes.

My own view is that the public markets and venture capital fundraising markets are slowly improving. Prospects are likely to improve over the short run and perseverance is rewarded.

Paul Gompers is the Eugune Holman Professor of Business Administration at HBS.

David Fubini: Brace for tough conditions

There’s no sugarcoating it: students looking to start careers in consulting are facing some of the toughest market conditions we’ve seen since 2007 and 2008. Just a few years ago, as a derivative of the COVID-19 pandemic, firms experienced a dramatic and sudden increase in demand, which led to a sharp increase in hiring. Contrary to many firms’ expectations, things soon settled back down, and project volumes decreased.

At the same time, adjacent industries like tech, venture capital and private equity also experienced slowdowns, which meant fewer consultants left their firms for other tech and PE/VC opportunities. As many recent grads have come to learn firsthand, firms have not only slashed hiring overall, but also pushed back start dates for those who have been hired.

They have also adopted a stance of “firm first” rather than “accommodating” when dealing with new consultants as they work to, in their view, get supply in balance with demand.

“When openings are so scarce, remember that there are a huge array of consulting firms with different strengths and specialties.”

Given these challenges, students hoping to go into consulting need to fundamentally rethink their approach along three dimensions:

Broaden your search. Too often, MBA students concentrate their efforts on the large strategic consulting firms such as McKinsey, Bain, and BCG. This approach severely limits opportunities. When openings are so scarce, remember that there are a huge array of consulting firms with different strengths and specialties. Some are industry- or function-specific in focus, while other firms concentrate on small or family businesses, the public sector, and even private equity. By limiting your focus to the major strategic firms, you will significantly decrease the probability of your success.

Focus on your unique strengths. You must focus your search based on your personal value proposition: What is it that you’re uniquely able to contribute? In periods of oversupply, personal intelligence, drive, and leadership qualities alone will not attract an array of offers. Firms are looking for associates they know they can easily deploy with experience that suits client needs.

In this increasingly complex world, there is no shortage of client demands for digital transformation, emerging artificial intelligence (AI) applications, renewable energy, risk mitigation, pricing/yield management, climate change, and supply-chain realignment, to name but a few. As an applicant, you need to be able to articulate how your background and experience will help the firms fulfill specific client needs.

Be flexible. You’re going to have to show a willingness to accept different roles, geographies, and work-life balance demands. In the past, advisory firms increasingly accommodated applicants’ personal circumstances in a drive to “win the war for talent.” Today, this is, unfortunately, not as critical.

A desire to relocate geographically for personal reasons or to work at a pace and in a manner that benefits your personal situation will create barriers at a time when many firms are actively seeking to trim their workforce. Flexibility and willingness to be available for opportunities as they arise will be a differentiator given the few offers they will be making.

David G. Fubini is a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School and a former senior partner at McKinsey.

Letian Zhang: Collaborative skills are increasingly important

The labor market is changing in a lot of ways. Some of my recent work looks at changing skill requirements from employers. In this paper, for example, I find that the role expectation for managers has shifted. Instead of expecting managers to supervise and command, employers increasingly expect managers to play the role of collaborator. This is consistent with other findings that social and collaborative skills are becoming increasingly relevant in today’s labor market.

Despite shifts in the job market, some considerations remain constant:

Analytical and technical skills are still important. In other research, I find that more employers are looking for what I call foundational skills. These not only include social skills, but also analytical thinking and math. One possible reason for this is that the types of skills needed are constantly evolving, so many employers prefer workers with a strong foundation in a variety of skills. This allows them to learn quickly and adapt to whatever new skills are required of them.

Country and context matter. Another of my recent papers shows that employers' skill expectations vary significantly from country to country. For example, not every country places the same value on basic skills. We show that a country's level of trust can shape the types of skills employers seek.

In higher-trust societies, employers are more willing to make long-term investments in their employees and place a higher value on candidates' foundational skills. In lower-trust societies, however, employers perceive the employer-employee relationship as more of a short-term transaction and prefer to select candidates who already have the relevant skills to hit the ground running.

Letian (LT) Zhang is an Assistant Professor of Business Administration in the Organizational Behavior Unit at HBS.

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What is ChatGPT and why does it matter? Here's what you need to know

What is ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is an AI chatbot with natural language processing (NLP) that allows you to have human-like conversations to complete various tasks. The  generative AI  tool can answer questions and assist you with tasks such as composing emails, essays, code, and more.

Also :  How to use ChatGPT: What you need to know now

It's currently  open to use for free . A paid subscription version called ChatGPT Plus launched in February 2023 with access to priority access to OpenAI's latest models and updates.

Who made ChatGPT?

AI startup OpenAI launched ChatGPT on November 30, 2022. OpenAI has also developed  DALL-E 2  and DALL-E 3 , popular  AI image generators , and Whisper, an automatic speech recognition system. 

Who owns ChatGPT currently?

OpenAI owns ChatGPT. Microsoft is a major investor in OpenAI thanks to multiyear, multi-billion dollar  investments. Elon Musk was an investor when OpenAI was first founded in 2015, but has since completely severed ties with the startup and created his own AI chatbot, Grok .

How can you access ChatGPT?

On April 1, 2024, OpenAI stopped requiring you to log in to use ChatGPT. Now, you can access ChatGPT simply by visiting  chat.openai.com . You can also access ChatGPT  via an app on your iPhone  or  Android  device.

Once you visit the site, you can start chatting away with ChatGPT. A great way to get started is by asking a question, similar to what you would do with Google. You can ask as many questions as you'd like.

Also: ChatGPT no longer requires a login, but you might want one anyway. Here's why

There are still some perks to creating an OpenAI account, such saving and reviewing your chat history and accessing custom instructions. Creating an OpenAI account is entirely free and easy. You can even log in with your Google account.

For step-by-step instructions, check out ZDNET's guide on  how to start using ChatGPT . 

Is there a ChatGPT app?

Yes, an official ChatGPT app is available for both iPhone and Android users. 

Also: ChatGPT dropped a free app for iPhones. Does it live up to the hype?

Make sure to download OpenAI's app, as there are a plethora of copycat fake apps listed on Apple's App Store and the Google Play Store that are not affiliated with the startup.

Is ChatGPT available for free?

ChatGPT is free to use, regardless of what you use it for, including writing, coding, and much more. 

There is a subscription option , ChatGPT Plus, that users can take advantage of that costs $20/month. The paid subscription model guarantees users extra perks, such as priority access to GPT-4o and the latest upgrades. 

Also: ChatGPT vs ChatGPT Plus: Is it worth the subscription fee?

Although the subscription price may seem steep, it is the same amount as Microsoft Copilot Pro and Google One AI, Microsoft's and Google's premium AI offerings. 

The free version is still a solid option as it can access the same model and most of the same perks. One major exception: only subscribers get guaranteed access to GPT-4o when the model is at capacity. 

I tried using ChatGPT and it says it's at capacity. What does that mean?

The ChatGPT website operates using servers. When too many people hop onto these servers, they may overload and can't process your request. If this happens to you, you can visit the site later when fewer people are trying to access the tool. You can also keep the tab open and refresh it periodically. 

Also: The best AI chatbots

If you want to skip the wait and have reliable access, you can subscribe to  ChatGPT Plus  for general access during peak times, faster response times, and priority access to new features and improvements, including priority access to GPT-4o.

You can also try using Bing's AI chatbot, Copilot . This chatbot is free to use, runs on GPT-4, has no wait times, and can access the internet for more accurate information.

What is ChatGPT used for?

ChatGPT has many functions in addition to answering simple questions. ChatGPT can compose essays , have philosophical conversations, do math, and even code for you . 

The tasks ChatGPT can help with also don't have to be so ambitious. For example, my favorite use of ChatGPT is for help creating basic lists for chores, such as packing and grocery shopping, and to-do lists that make my daily life more productive. The possibilities are endless. 

ZDNET has published many ChatGPT how-to guides. Below are some of the most popular ones. 

Use ChatGPT to: 

• Write an essay
• Create an app
• Build your resume
• Write Excel formulas
• Summarize content
• Write a cover letter
• Start an Etsy business
• Create charts and tables
• Write Adruino drivers

Can ChatGPT generate images?

Yes, ChatGPT can generate images, but only for ChatGPT Plus subscribers. Since OpenAI discontinued DALL-E 2 in February 2024, the only way to access its most advanced AI image generator, DALL-E 3, through OpenAI's offerings is via its chatbot and ChatGPT Plus subscription.

Also: DALL-E adds new ways to edit and create AI-generated images. Learn how to use it

Microsoft's Copilot offers image generation, which is also powered by DALL-E 3, in its chatbot for free. This is a great alternative if you don't want to shell out the money for ChatGPT Plus.

How does ChatGPT work?

ChatGPT runs on a large language model (LLM) architecture created by OpenAI called the  Generative Pre-trained Transformer  (GPT). Since its launch, the free version of ChatGPT ran on a fine-tuned model in the GPT-3.5 series until May 2024, when the startup upgraded the model to GPT-4o. 

Also:   Here's a deep dive into how ChatGPT works  

With a subscription to ChatGPT Plus , you can access GPT-3.5, GPT-4, or  GPT-4o . Plus, users also have the added perk of priority access to GPT-4o, even when it is at capacity, while free users get booted down to GPT-3.5. 

Generative AI models of this type are trained on vast amounts of information from the internet, including websites, books, news articles, and more.

What does ChatGPT stand for?

As mentioned above, the last three letters in ChatGPT's namesake stand for Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT), a family of large language models created by OpenAI that uses deep learning to generate human-like, conversational text. 

Also: What does GPT stand for? Understanding GPT 3.5, GPT 4, GPT-4 Turbo, and more

The "Chat" part of the name is simply a callout to its chatting capabilities. 

Is ChatGPT better than a search engine?

ChatGPT is a language model created to converse with the end user. A search engine indexes web pages on the internet to help users find information. One is not better than the other, as each suit different purposes. 

When searching for as much up-to-date, accurate information as you can access, your best bet is a search engine. It will provide you with pages upon pages of sources you can peruse. 

Also: The best AI search engines of 2024: Google, Perplexity, and more

As of May, the free version of ChatGPT can get responses from both the GPT-4o model and the web. It will only pull its answer from, and ultimately list, a handful of sources, as opposed to showing nearly endless search results.

For example, I used GPT-4o to answer, "What is the weather today in San Francisco?" The response told me it searched four sites and provided links to them. 

If you are looking for a platform that can explain complex topics in an easy-to-understand manner, then ChatGPT might be what you want. If you want the best of both worlds, there are plenty of AI search engines on the market that combine both.

What are ChatGPT's limitations?

Despite its impressive capabilities, ChatGPT still has limitations. Users sometimes need to reword questions multiple times for ChatGPT to understand their intent. A bigger limitation is a lack of quality in responses, which can sometimes be plausible-sounding but are verbose or make no practical sense. 

Instead of asking for clarification on ambiguous questions, the model guesses what your question means, which can lead to poor responses. Generative AI models are also subject to hallucinations, which can result in inaccurate responses.

Does ChatGPT give wrong answers?

As mentioned above, ChatGPT, like all language models, has  limitations  and can give nonsensical answers and incorrect information, so it's important to double-check the data it gives you.

Also: 8 ways to reduce ChatGPT hallucinations

OpenAI recommends that you provide feedback on what ChatGPT generates by using the thumbs-up and thumbs-down buttons to improve its underlying model. You can even join the startup's Bug Bounty program , which offers up to $20,000 for reporting security bugs and safety issues.

Can ChatGPT refuse to answer my prompts?

AI systems like ChatGPT can and do reject  inappropriate requests . The AI assistant can identify inappropriate submissions to prevent the generation of unsafe content.

Also:  6 things ChatGPT can't do (and another 20 it refuses to do)

These submissions include questions that violate someone's rights, are offensive, are discriminatory, or involve illegal activities. The ChatGPT model can also challenge incorrect premises, answer follow-up questions, and even admit mistakes when you point them out.

These guardrails are important. AI models can generate advanced, realistic content that can be exploited by bad actors for harm, such as spreading misinformation about public figures and influencing elections .

Can I chat with ChatGPT?

Although some people use ChatGPT for elaborate functions, such as writing code or even malware , you can use ChatGPT for more mundane activities, such as having a friendly conversation. 

Also:  Do you like asking ChatGPT questions? You could get paid (a lot) for it

Some conversation starters could be as simple as, "I am hungry, what food should I get?" or as elaborate as, "What do you think happens in the afterlife?" Either way, ChatGPT is sure to have an answer for you. 

Is ChatGPT safe?

People are expressing concerns about AI chatbots replacing or atrophying human intelligence. For example, a chatbot can write an article on any topic efficiently (though not necessarily accurately) within seconds, potentially eliminating the need for human writers.

Chatbots can also write an entire essay within seconds, making it easier for students to cheat or avoid learning how to write properly. This even led  some school districts to block access  when ChatGPT initially launched. 

Also:  Generative AI can be the academic assistant an underserved student needs

Now, not only have many of those schools decided to unblock the technology, but some higher education institutions have been  catering their academic offerings  to AI-related coursework. 

Another concern with AI chatbots is the possible spread of misinformation. ChatGPT itself says: "My responses are not intended to be taken as fact, and I always encourage people to verify any information they receive from me or any other source." OpenAI also notes that ChatGPT sometimes writes "plausible-sounding but incorrect or nonsensical answers."

Also:  Microsoft and OpenAI detect and disrupt nation-state cyber threats that use AI, report shows

Lastly, there are ethical concerns regarding the information ChatGPT was trained on, since the startup scraped the internet to train the chatbot. 

It also automatically uses people's interactions with the free version of the chatbot to further train its models, raising privacy concerns. OpenAI lets you turn off training in ChatGPT's settings.

Does ChatGPT plagiarize?

Yes, sort of. OpenAI scraped the internet to train ChatGPT. Therefore, the technology's knowledge is influenced by other people's work. Since there is no guarantee that when OpenAI outputs its answers it is entirely original, the chatbot may regurgitate someone else's work in your answer, which is considered plagiarism. 

Is there a ChatGPT detector?

Concerns about students using AI to cheat mean the need for a ChatGPT text detector is becoming more evident. 

In January 2023, OpenAI released a free tool to target this problem. Unfortunately, OpenAI's "classifier" tool could only correctly identify 26% of AI-written text with a "likely AI-written" designation. Furthermore, it provided false positives 9% of the time, incorrectly identifying human-written work as AI-produced. 

The tool performed so poorly  that, six months after being released, OpenAI it shut down "due to its low rate of accuracy." Despite the tool's failure, the startup claims to be researching more effective techniques for AI text identification.

Also: OpenAI unveils text-to-video model and the results are astonishing

Other AI detectors exist on the market, including GPT-2 Output Detector ,  Writer AI Content Detector , and Content at Scale's AI Content Detection  tool. ZDNET put these tools to the test, and the results were underwhelming: all three were found to be unreliable sources for spotting AI, repeatedly giving false negatives. Here are  ZDNET's full test results .

What are the common signs something was written by ChatGPT?

Although tools aren't sufficient for detecting ChatGPT-generated writing, a  study  shows that humans could detect AI-written text by looking for politeness. The study's results indicate that  ChatGPT's writing style is extremely polite . And unlike humans, it cannot produce responses that include metaphors, irony, or sarcasm.

Will my conversations with ChatGPT be used for training?

One of the major risks when using generative AI models is that they become more intelligent by being trained on user inputs. Therefore, when familiarizing yourself with how to use ChatGPT, you might wonder if your specific conversations will be used for training and, if so, who can view your chats.

Also:  This ChatGPT update fixed one of my biggest productivity issues with the AI chatbot

OpenAI will use your conversations with the free chatbot to automatically training data to refine its models. You can opt out of the startup using your data for model training by clicking on the question mark in the bottom left-hand corner, Settings, and turning off "Improve the model for everyone."

What is GPT-4?

GPT-4 is OpenAI's language model that is much more advanced than its predecessor, GPT-3.5. Users can access GPT-4 by subscribing to ChatGPT Plus for $20 per month or using Microsoft's Copilot.

Also: What does GPT stand for? Understanding GPT-3.5, GPT-4, and more

GPT-4 has advanced intellectual capabilities, meaning it outperforms GPT-3.5 in a series of simulated benchmark exams. The newer model also supposedly produces fewer hallucinations. 

What is GPT-4o?

GPT-4o is OpenAI's latest, fastest, and most advanced flagship model. As the name implies, it has the same intelligence as GPT-4. However, the "o" in the title stands for "omni," referring to its multimodal capabilities, which allow it to understand text, audio, image, and video inputs and output text, audio, and image outputs. 

Also:  6 ways OpenAI just supercharged ChatGPT for free users

The model is 50% cheaper in the API than GPT-4 Turbo while still matching its English and coding capabilities and outperforming it in non-English languages, vision, and audio understanding -- a big win for developers.

Are there alternatives to ChatGPT worth considering?

Although ChatGPT gets the most buzz, other options are just as good -- and might even be better suited to your needs. ZDNET has created a list of the best chatbots, which have all been tested by us and show which tool is best for your requirements. 

Also: 4 things Claude AI can do that ChatGPT can't

Despite ChatGPT's extensive abilities, there are major downsides to the AI chatbot. If you want to try the technology, there are plenty of other options: Copilot , Claude , Perplexity ,  Jasper , and more.  

Is ChatGPT smart enough to pass benchmark exams?

Yes, ChatGPT is capable of passing a series of benchmark exams. A professor at Wharton, the University of Pennsylvania's business school, used ChatGPT to take an MBA exam and the results were quite impressive. 

ChatGPT not only passed the exam, but the tool scored between a B- and a B. The professor, Christian Terwiesch, was impressed at its basic operations management, process analysis questions, and explanations.

OpenAI also tested the chatbot's ability to pass benchmark exams. Although ChatGPT could pass many of these benchmark exams, its scores were usually in the lower percentile. However, with GPT-4, ChatGPT can score much higher.

For example, ChatGPT using GPT-3.5 scored in the lower 10th percentile of a simulated Bar Exam, while GPT-4 scored in the top 10th percentile. You can see more examples from OpenAI in the chart below.

Can ChatGPT be used for job application assistance?

Yes, ChatGPT is a great resource to help with job applications. Undertaking a job search can be tedious and difficult, and ChatGPT can help you lighten the load. ChatGPT can build your resume  and write a cover letter .

Also :  How to use ChatGPT to write an essay

If your application has any written supplements, you can use ChatGPT to help you write those essays or personal statements . 

What are the most common ChatGPT plugins, and how do I use them?

Plugins allowed ChatGPT to connect to third-party applications, including access to real-time information on the web. The plugins expanded ChatGPT's abilities , allowing it to assist with many more activities, such as planning a trip or finding a place to eat. 

Also:  My two favorite ChatGPT Plus features and the remarkable things I can do with them

On March 19, 2024, however, OpenAI stopped allowing users to install new plugins or start new conversations with existing ones. Instead, OpenAI replaced plugins with GPTs , which are easier for developers to build. 

Users can find 3 million ChatGPT chatbots, also known as GPTs, on the GPT store. Unfortunately, there is also a lot of spam in the GPT store.

What is Microsoft's involvement with ChatGPT?

Microsoft was an early investor in OpenAI, the AI startup behind ChatGPT, long before ChatGPT was released to the public. Microsoft's first involvement with OpenAI was in 2019, when the company invested $1 billion, and then another $2 billion in the years after. In January 2023, Microsoft extended its partnership with OpenAI through a multiyear, multi-billion dollar investment .

Also: ChatGPT vs. Copilot: Which AI chatbot is better for you?

 Neither company disclosed the investment value, but unnamed sources told Bloomberg that it could total $10 billion over multiple years. In return, OpenAI's exclusive cloud-computing provider is Microsoft Azure, powering all OpenAI workloads across research, products, and API services.

Microsoft has also used its OpenAI partnership to revamp its Bing search engine and improve its browser. 

On February 7, 2023, Microsoft unveiled a new Bing tool , now known as Copilot, that runs on OpenAI's GPT-4, customized specifically for search.

What does Copilot (formerly Bing Chat) have to do with ChatGPT?

In February 2023,  Microsoft unveiled  a new version of Bing -- and its standout feature was its integration with ChatGPT. When it was announced, Microsoft shared that Bing Chat, now Copilot, was powered by a next-generation version of OpenAI's large language model, making it "more powerful than ChatGPT." Five weeks after the launch, Microsoft revealed that Copilot had been running on GPT-4 before the model had even launched. 

How does Copilot compare to ChatGPT?

Copilot uses OpenAI's GPT-4, which means that since its launch, it has been more efficient and capable than the standard, free version of ChatGPT. At the time, Copilot boasted several other features over ChatGPT, such as access to the internet, knowledge of current information, and footnotes.

In May 2024, however, OpenAI supercharged the free version of its chatbot with GPT-4o. The upgrade gave users GPT-4 level intelligence, the ability to get responses from the web via ChatGPT Browse with Bing, analyze data, chat about photos and documents, use GPTs, access the GPT Store, and Voice Mode. Therefore, after the upgrade, ChatGPT reclaimed its crown as the best AI chatbot. 

What is Gemini and how does it relate to ChatGPT?

Gemini is Google's AI chat service, a rival to ChatGPT. On February 6, 2023, Google introduced its experimental AI chat service, which was then called Google Bard. Over a month after the announcement, Google began rolling out  access to Bard first via a waitlist . Now, it is available to the general public. 

Artificial Intelligence

Chatgpt vs. copilot: which ai chatbot is better for you, how to use chatgpt (and how to access gpt-4o), what does gpt stand for understanding gpt-3.5, gpt-4, gpt-4o, and more.

Does Occupational Licensing Reduce Job Loss During Recessions?

Licensed workers could be shielded from unemployment during recession since occupational licensing laws are asymmetric—making unlicensed workers an illegal substitute for licensed workers but not the reverse. We test our hypothesis using a difference-in-differences event study research design that exploits cross-state variation in licensing laws to compare the unemployment rate between licensed and unlicensed workers before and after the COVID-19 recession and the Great Recession. Controlling for worker ability, we find that licensing shields workers from a recession-induced increase in the unemployment rate of 0.82 p.p. during COVID-19 and 1.11 p.p. during the Great Recession.

We are thankful for the comments from Isaiah Andrews, David Autor, Desmond Ang, Michela Carlana, Jay Bhattacharaya, Matthew Gentzkow, Larry Katz, Bill Kerr, Jesse Shapiro, Mark Shepard, Evan Soltas, Eric Taylor, Emiliana Vegas, Ivan Werning and seminar participants at Harvard and the Cleveland Fed. We also received excellent research support from Anne Korte. All errors are ours. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research.

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IGCSE English Literature (0475) tips

Subject: English

Age range: 14-16

Resource type: Assessment and revision

Last updated

28 May 2024

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This powerpoint explains how to go about writing essays for the IGCSE literature examination. It focusses on the structure and progression of the essay writing process in exam conditions! The ppt illustrates how to improve a student’s essay and can be a good revision tool before the final exam

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