The single prompt that turns ChatGPT into your personal recruiter

Most jobseekers know the grind: refreshing job boards, re-typing the same filters, and endlessly scrolling through roles that don't quite fit. The irony is that the perfect role might have been posted yesterday — but buried by the time you log back in.

What if, instead of you hunting jobs, jobs started finding you?

That's the idea behind a single ChatGPT prompt I've been working on. Drop it into a GPT-5 (or above) thinking model, set it to run automatically, and suddenly, you have a personalised recruiter in your pocket — one that learns about you over time and keeps you updated on the most relevant opportunities.

How it works

1. Memory powered

ChatGPT's memory feature means it remembers your preferences, your career history, and your evolving priorities. No more re-explaining what you're looking for.

2. Recency filtered

The prompt only surfaces roles published in the last 7 days. That means you're always ahead of the curve — applying while jobs are still fresh.

3. Personalised fit

Instead of generic keyword matches, it cross-checks new postings against your prior chats and conversations. If you've said you want leadership growth or remote-friendly flexibility, that's what it hunts for.

4. Automated tasks

By setting this prompt to run on a schedule (daily, weekly — whatever suits you), ChatGPT becomes your proactive career companion, not just a reactive assistant.

The prompt

Here's the prompt in its entirety. Copy it, paste it into a GPT-5 (or higher) model with thinking enabled, and you're good to go:

Role and objective
Review my saved ChatGPT memory to identify and understand my specific job search preferences. Use these preferences to search relevant ATS-integrated job boards and recommend open positions that strongly match my requirements.

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Checklist
- Begin with a concise checklist (3–7 bullets) of the steps you will take before substantive work.
- Identify key user criteria (job titles, location, experience level, industry, time zone alignment, etc.).
- Clarify the intended purpose and the minimum required preferences before searching.
- Search ATS job boards for positions closely fitting the user's specifications.
- Only include jobs published within the last 7 days.
- Rank and select only top matches that tightly meet the outlined preferences.
- Ensure each recommended job strictly aligns with the user's stated criteria.
- Present recommendations in the mandated structure with up to 4 fit reasons per role.

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Instructions
- Analyse and extract my stated preferences for targeted job selection.
- Before searching, state your intent and the minimal user criteria being applied.
- Search the following ATS job boards: Indeed, LinkedIn Jobs, Glassdoor, Monster, ZipRecruiter, CareerBuilder, SimplyHired, Workable, Greenhouse, SmartRecruiters, Lever, iCIMS.
	- Indeed: https://au.indeed.com
	- LinkedIn Jobs: https://www.linkedin.com/jobs
	- Glassdoor: https://www.glassdoor.com
	- Monster: https://www.monster.com
	- ZipRecruiter: https://www.ziprecruiter.com
	- CareerBuilder: https://www.careerbuilder.com (primarily for North America; check for international roles)
	- SimplyHired: https://www.simplyhired.com.au
	- Workable: https://www.workable.com/branded-boards
	- Greenhouse: https://www.greenhouse.io
	- SmartRecruiters: https://www.smartrecruiters.com
	- Lever: https://www.lever.co
	- iCIMS: https://www.icims.com
- Include relevant seniority variations (e.g., Product Designer, Senior, Lead, Staff, Principal).
- Recommend only jobs that are strong matches — exclude loosely related listings.
- Filter strictly to roles published in the last 7 days.
- Rank results by strategic fit, then by newest published date, then alphabetically by company.
- Categorise roles into alignment groups:
	- Strongest Strategic Fits
	- Good but Slightly Less Aligned
	- Solid Design Leadership Roles but Not Top Growth Lever
- For each recommendation, provide:
	- Job title
	- Company name
	- Location
	- Description (1–2 sentences)
	- Apply link
	- Up to 4 fit reasons
	- Alignment category
	- Strategic notes

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Output structure
- List job recommendations in a structured format with the details above.
- At the end, provide a short recommendation summary that highlights which jobs are the best strategic fits and why.
- If no suitable matches are found, return an empty list.

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Verbosity
Keep the reasoning effort medium — concise, focused, and easy to review.

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Stop conditions
Finish after listing all strong matches. If none are found, return an empty set of job recommendations.

That's it — one prompt. Once saved, you can re-use it indefinitely.

How to set it up as an automatic task

Once you've saved the prompt, the real magic comes from letting it run on its own. Here's how:

1. Open ChatGPT → Automations

ChatGPT can be scheduled to run again after it completes a task. Choose Schedule from the … menu in a conversation to set up future runs.

2. Create a new task

Choose a New Task and give it a name like "Weekly Job Recommendations".

3. Paste the prompt

Copy the entire job search prompt from above into the task's instructions.

4. Set the schedule

• Daily (great if you want to act fast on new jobs)
• Weekly (if you want a tidy digest)
• Or customise the timing to suit your rhythm

5. Run automatically

That's it. ChatGPT will now run the prompt for you and deliver updated job recommendations without you needing to ask each time.

This way, you don't just use ChatGPT — you give it a standing order to keep your career search alive in the background.

The advantage over traditional job boards

Most job boards are static: they wait for you to come back. This flips the script.

By combining:

• AI memory (understanding you)
• Automation (tasks running on schedule)
• Recency filtering (only the freshest roles)

…you end up with a lightweight job search agent that does the heavy lifting in the background.

Instead of wondering what's out there, you'll know.

Try it out

Give the prompt a spin, and if it helps you land interviews or just makes the search less painful, consider supporting my work.

👉 Buy me a coffee

Every contribution helps me keep building tools like this, and it means a lot.