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Check a job posting against your must-haves with exact labels

Practice: Catching mistakes and made-up facts. About 5 minutes.

About this exercise

Before applying, you're checking a posting against your 4 must-haves. Write exactly 4 numbered lines in the form "Must-have: Yes, No or Not stated - evidence", using only those three labels, plain text, under 80 words. The evidence must quote or point to the posting, and anything the posting doesn't mention is Not stated, not a guess. Write a prompt that gets you exactly that.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • No fixed shape. The AI writes a pros-and-cons essay about the job. Try: Be exact: "Exactly 4 numbered lines: Must-have: label - evidence."
  • Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for "under 80 words" and it often lands well over. Try: Cap each part instead: "each line under 18 words."
  • Mushy labels. The AI writes Maybe or Partially, which doesn't help you decide. Try: Add: "Use only Yes, No or Not stated."
  • Filling gaps with rumors. The AI uses your friend's guess for the insurance start date. Try: Add: "If the posting doesn't say, write Not stated."
  • No evidence. A label without the posting's words can't be checked. Try: Add: "Quote the posting as evidence on each line."

What a strong prompt includes

  • Uses exact labels
  • Quotes the posting
  • Rules out guesses
  • Sets the number of lines
  • Sets a word limit

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