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Find the real patterns in employee reviews, with review numbers
Practice: Keeping the AI to your sources. About 5 minutes.
About this exercise
You're deciding whether to apply to Orchard Lane Credit Union and pasted 8 employee reviews. You want exactly 3 numbered themes in plain text, each mentioned in at least 2 reviews, each under 12 words, and each ending with the review numbers in parentheses, like "(2, 5)". Skip one-off complaints and add nothing else.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Not asking for review numbers. The AI summarizes 'what employees say' with no way to check which reviews said it. Try: Add: "End each theme with the review numbers, like (2, 5)."
- Treating a rant as a pattern. Colorful one-off comments stick out, and the AI may promote them to a theme. Try: Say: "Only themes mentioned in at least 2 reviews."
- Getting a verdict. The AI ends with whether you should apply, which you didn't ask for. Try: Say: "Output only the 3 themes."
- Not saying how many. The AI decides the length itself and usually returns more themes than you can use. Try: Be exact: "exactly 3 numbered themes."
- Getting markdown back. AI defaults to bold labels and headings, which show up as stray symbols in your job search tracker. Try: Ask for "plain text, no bold, no headings."
What a strong prompt includes
- Says exactly how many
- Asks for review numbers
- Requires repeat mentions
- Limits each line
- Asks for plain text
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