Can Claude be my new career coach?

Synthesis 

I am graduating from Georgia State University in May 2024 with a bachelor’s degree in biomedical science and enterprise. I want advice on searching for entry-level positions in either industry science or the industry of wellness. The position will ideally be client-facing with the ability to advance to a management position and future leadership positions after that. I have specific skills that are transferrable across industries that are specified in my resume, and will I tailor each cover letter needed to fit the job description I am applying for. I have utilized my university career center for advice on getting ahead. I have networked with my academic and real-world peers. On top of that, I utilize social media platforms like LinkedIn so I can professionally present my brand and achievements. In an attempt to be the best candidate for a job I “show by doing” highlighting my achievements and skills through examples and explanations, not adjectives. To find the best fit for my career I explore opportunities both in and out of the industries I am interested in. This way I can take advantage of any opportunity that may provide a gateway into the sector I truly want to be in. I search for open positions on a variety of job posting sites. 

Thanks, Claude and Bard ..the more you know

All suggestions between Bard and Claude were specific to my field and essentially what I would find in a resume writing guide – good content but very generic; so I asked for specific examples to coax out a response of value. Again I was offered the usual advice – sites like Glassdoor and Indeed, GSU career center, company websites, and industry-specific job boards. This wasn’t surprising so I wanted to see how creative Bard could get. Turns out not very creative the content focused on encouragement and finished with “Good luck with your job search!”. So I dabbled in the use of Claude software and had a slightly more positive experience. I have highlighted below some of the impactful threads and the reflections I have on those threads. K annotates where I asked questions. B or C are responses from Bard or Claude and [ ] hold my thoughts on the process. 

K: When looking for job postings what position titles do I search that will get me the most accurate listings for my qualifications and interests?

B: Get specific: Gradually refine your search by combining [biomedical science and wellness] broad terms with specific industry areas or roles that align with your skills and interests. For example, “clinical research associate in wellness technology,” “biomedical data analyst for personalized medicine,” or “project manager for health apps.”

[This I found helpful – I haven’t thought to utilize this strategy before]

B: Utilize Boolean operators: Use operators like “AND,” “OR,” and “NOT” to further refine your search. For example, “(biomedical science OR biotechnology) AND data analysis NOT clinical research.”

K: Are there industries outside of biomedical science looking to hire employees with my degree or skills?

[This was helpful but not surprising I got the advice that I did – I have searched outside of the specific industry and come across these same results so at least I am on the right track with my searches.]

B: (Paraphrased)

  • Health and wellness industry
  • Biotechnology
  • Public health
  • Medical sales
  • Environmental regulations

[Finally, as a last effort to get some novel advice I ask for additional steps to take.]

K: Any other steps I should take to find the best careers available and get ahead of my peers?

B: (synthesis)

  • Self-discovery/ introspection
  • Proactive preparation
  • Take initiative and stand out

[I found this advice to be like that of professors’ and mentors’ advice given in career development courses at GSU or seminars.]

 

This was my first time using Bard and it felt familiar like I was using Google to search the web for answers. I didn’t find it exceptionally insightful, so I went on to choose another AI. I settled on Claude because I found that Bing, copilot, and perplexity are all companions with Bing, and I wanted to see if AI software independent of a search engine generated more unique answers. I have used both Claude and chatGPT in the past – neither at length but Claude appeals to me more with its user interface.

[I began more general this time; I was curious to see how much data it pulled from my past questionaries with Claude.]

K: Hey Claude, I have a question about finding job opportunities for myself once I graduate from college in May.

[The results were as expected and exactly what I wanted to quickly rule out before getting specific with my questions. Wasn’t clear or not if it was using previous data but I had used Claude for insights into writing copy for my wellness branding startup called Coral Branding.]

I proceeded to ask initial questions on finding a position post graduate similar to my first question asked to Barb but with some additional specifics to fine-tune the question. The answers were similar if not the same as what was initially generated so I chose to go another direction with my job search and ask about the wellness industry since that is another space I was interested in.

Claude offered general tips my a few helpful ones stood out to me:

  • Consider informational interviews with professionals in your desired fields.
  • Check niche job boards: Welltodo Careers, and wellness-related start-ups on sites like AngelList and VentureLoop.
  • Get certified in relevant skills: personal training, health coaching, meditation, etc to become more of an asset/ more marketable in the industry.

K: What are the best position titles to search to find the right job for me?

[This was a better way of asking the question I previously tried with Bard and I got more specific job titles – most I have been using already and didn’t stand out as significant. They do reaffirm that my job search techniques are on the right track and I have the skills to find what I am looking for it will just take patience.]

I was curious so I went back to Bard and asked the exact same question: What are the best position titles to search to find the right job for me?

B: Instead of relying solely on specific job titles, which can be limiting and may miss hidden opportunities, consider using a combination of strategies to find the right job for you:

[Again, no specific job titles were suggested, and the answer to the previous version of this question: When looking for job postings what position titles do I search that will get me the most accurate listings for my qualifications and interests?]

I wonder if Google is more worried about data collection than generating the best AI content.

 

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