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Turn rough work notes into honest resume bullets

Practice: Keeping the AI to your sources. About 5 minutes.

About this exercise

You're applying for an Operations Coordinator job and want resume bullets that match the posting. You need exactly 4 bullets, under 75 words in total, plain text so they paste cleanly into the application form, and nothing else in the output. Every bullet must be true: the posting asks for things you have not done, and one number in your notes was later corrected. Write a prompt that gets you exactly that.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Letting the AI match the posting. The AI tries to make you fit the job, so it happily writes "Managed department budget" or "Used SAP daily" because the posting asks for them. Try: Add: "Use only true facts from my notes. I have never used SAP or managed a budget."
  • Missing the corrected number. The AI may grab the first figure it sees, so the 20% you crossed out ends up on your resume. Try: Add: "Where my notes correct a number, use the correction."
  • Not saying how many bullets. The AI rewrites every line of your notes, giving you 7 or 8 bullets plus a skills list. Try: Be exact: "Exactly 4 bullets, the ones that best match the posting."
  • Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for "under 75 words" and it often lands well over. Try: Cap each part instead, like "each line under 15 words," so the total lands near 60.
  • Getting a report instead of bullets. AI adds a heading, an intro, bold text and a list of tips, none of which you can paste into a form. Try: Add: "Plain text, no bold or headings. Output only the 4 bullets."

What a strong prompt includes

  • Says how many bullets
  • Keeps it to true facts
  • Uses the corrected number
  • Sets a size limit
  • Asks for plain text

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