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Turn a week of recruiter emails into a status board
Practice: Asking for a format you can use. About 5 minutes.
About this exercise
You've applied to four companies and this week's emails are piling up. You want exactly 4 numbered lines, one per company, each as Company - status - next step by date, under 60 words, plain text. When a company sent two emails, use the latest one, and mark any rejection as Closed with no next step. Write a prompt that gets you exactly that.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Using the first email. The AI reports Harbor Lane's first email and asks you to pick a time you already picked. Try: Add: "When a company sent two emails, use the latest."
- Missing the rejection. The AI lists Quillfeather as 'under review' from the first email. Try: Add: "Mark rejections as Closed with no next step."
- Dropping the dates. The AI writes next steps without deadlines. Try: Add: "Every next step ends with its date."
- Letting the AI pick the layout. The AI writes a table or long summary by day. Try: Be exact: "Exactly 4 numbered lines, one per company. Plain text."
- Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for "under 60 words" and it often lands well over. Try: Cap each part instead: "each line under 10 words."
What a strong prompt includes
- Says how many lines
- Uses the latest email
- Marks rejections
- Asks for next step dates
- One line per company
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