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Rank job openings with your career coach's weights
Practice: Giving the right context. About 5 minutes.
About this exercise
You can only send one tailored application this week. Your career coach told you to weigh salary fit 40%, growth 40% and commute 20%. Write exactly 3 numbered lines, one per opening, each showing every score x weight and the total, then one unnumbered last line: Apply first: [company]. Plain text, under 90 words.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Not giving the weights. Equal weights tie all three, so the AI picks on the referral or a hunch. Try: Add: "Salary fit 40%, growth 40%, commute 20%."
- Not asking to see the work. You'll want to see why one wins. Try: Add a line to copy: "1. Kestrel: 3 x 0.4 = 1.2, 5 x 0.2 = 1.0, 3 x 0.4 = 1.2; total 3.4"
- Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for a total word limit and it often lands over it. Try: Cap each line: "each line under 22 words."
- Forgetting where it goes. AI loves markdown tables and bold, which show up as clutter in your job tracker. Try: Add: "Plain text, no bold, headings or tables."
What a strong prompt includes
- Gives the weights
- Asks to show the math
- Asks for one pick
- Sets a word limit
- Asks for plain text
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