Act as a career counsellor who helps me make a realistic next-step decision. Base your analysis only on the information below. Do not invent achievements, credentials, job-market demand, salary ranges, visa eligibility, or personal motivations. If a career path involves regulated work, licensing, mental health, medical care, or legal advice, identify the appropriate professional or official source to consult. My background: [CAREER HISTORY] Skills and evidence: [SKILLS AND ACHIEVEMENTS] What I want and do not want: [PREFERENCES] Paths I am considering: [CAREER OPTIONS] Practical constraints: [CONSTRAINTS] Current search or development activity: [CURRENT ACTIONS] Return a career decision brief in this format: 1. Profile summary: transferable strengths, evidence for them, and patterns in work I have found energizing or draining. 2. Fit assessment: compare each path against my skills, preferences, constraints, likely entry route, and biggest uncertainty. Do not rank a path based on assumed salary or demand. 3. Recommendation: identify one primary path and, if appropriate, one low-risk parallel option. Explain the trade-offs and what would change the recommendation. 4. Gap plan: distinguish true requirements from preferred qualifications, then list the smallest credible actions to close the highest-value gaps. 5. Four-week plan: no more than six actions, including one research conversation, one portfolio or evidence-building action, and one application or internal-mobility action when appropriate. 6. Questions for reflection: ask five specific questions that would help me decide, not generic self-discovery prompts. Before answering, check that each conclusion cites a detail from my input and flag advice that depends on information I have not supplied. Ask up to 3 clarifying questions only if a required input is missing.
Fill in
| Placeholder | What to enter | Example |
|---|---|---|
| [CAREER HISTORY] | Summarize your roles, industries, education, tenure, and the work you actually performed. | Five years as a customer-success manager at two B2B software companies, preceded by two years coordinating events for a nonprofit; BA in communications. |
| [SKILLS AND ACHIEVEMENTS] | List demonstrated skills and specific outcomes, projects, feedback, or work samples that support them. | Managed 65 mid-market accounts, reduced onboarding time from 42 to 28 days, built a renewal-risk dashboard, and regularly led client training webinars. |
| [PREFERENCES] | Describe the work, environment, responsibilities, and conditions you want and want to avoid. | I enjoy solving recurring customer problems, writing useful materials, and cross-functional work. I do not want a quota-carrying role or frequent overnight travel. |
| [CAREER OPTIONS] | List the roles, industries, or directions you are seriously considering. | Customer education manager, implementation manager, product operations associate, or staying in customer success at a larger company. |
| [CONSTRAINTS] | State location, schedule, pay, caregiving, financial, health, visa, education, or other practical limits you want considered. | Need remote or hybrid work within commuting distance of Philadelphia, at least $85,000 base pay, and a predictable schedule for childcare. |
| [CURRENT ACTIONS] | Describe your current job-search, networking, learning, or internal-mobility efforts and results so far. | Updated my resume, applied to 12 roles, had two recruiter calls, and completed an online SQL basics course. |
How to use
- List work you actually did and outcomes you can support, rather than relying only on job titles.
- Add constraints early, because location, caregiving, pay, or licensing limits can change which path is realistic.
- Check that each recommended path explains both the fit and the missing evidence or gap.
- Follow up with: “Turn the four-week plan into a weekly calendar with a 5-hour time budget and draft outreach questions for the research conversation.”
Variations
Career change plan
Use this when moving into a new field and you need to test the idea before investing heavily.
Help me assess a transition from [CURRENT FIELD] to [TARGET FIELD]. My relevant experience is [TRANSFERABLE EVIDENCE], and my constraints are [CONSTRAINTS]. Return a 90-day transition plan with: likely entry roles, requirements versus preferences, portfolio evidence to create, three research questions for practitioners, low-cost learning options, and milestones that indicate continue, revise, or stop. Do not invent hiring demand, pay, or credential requirements; label unknowns and point to official sources where needed. Ask up to 3 questions only if required input is missing.
Interview direction
Use this after interviews to decide what to change in your story or target roles.
Analyze my interview feedback and notes: [INTERVIEW NOTES]. Compare them with [TARGET ROLE] and [CAREER BACKGROUND]. Identify recurring signals, separate direct feedback from inference, and produce: a revised 90-second career narrative, three evidence-backed stories to prepare, gaps to address honestly, and five questions to ask in future interviews. Do not fabricate achievements or claim experience I lack. Ask up to 3 questions only if required input is missing.
Internal move
Use this when exploring a role change within your current employer.
Create an internal-mobility plan from [CURRENT ROLE] to [TARGET ROLE] at my organization. Use [RELEVANT EXPERIENCE], [ORG CONTEXT], and [CONSTRAINTS]. Return a stakeholder map, evidence I should gather, two stretch assignments that would credibly demonstrate readiness, a conversation outline for my manager, and a 60-day action plan. Do not assume an opening exists or reveal confidential information. Ask up to 3 questions only if required input is missing.
Tips
- Translate experience into evidence: name the problem, your action, and the measurable or observable result, rather than listing duties.
- Separate required qualifications from preferences in job postings; many career pivots fail because people treat every preference as a barrier.
- Use research conversations to test daily work, entry routes, and trade-offs before paying for a course or certification.
- For a career change, build one small proof of capability before submitting dozens of applications.
FAQ
Can ChatGPT provide career counselling?
It can help organize your experience, compare options, and plan experiments. A qualified counsellor, recruiter, mentor, or licensing body may be needed for high-stakes, regulated, or local-market questions.
What should I share for useful career advice?
Share roles, demonstrated outcomes, preferences, constraints, and paths you are genuinely considering. Avoid entering confidential employer information or sensitive personal data you do not need to share.
How do I know whether a career change is realistic?
Look for an entry route that matches your demonstrated skills, identify the few true gaps, and test the field through conversations and a small work sample before making a large commitment.