Free Resource
Twelve copy and paste prompts that tailor your resume to any posting, prepare you for the interview, and open doors that were never posted publicly.
From the Hired by AI workshop by Ken Henderson, founder of Buttered Business, Google and Yelp Certified Partner, and MBARK instructor.
Enter your details and it opens right here. No waiting on an email.
Run this on every single posting. It is the highest value prompt on this sheet.
You are a senior recruiter with 15 years of experience hiring for [ROLE]. Below is my resume and the job description I am applying to. 1. List the top 10 skills and keywords this employer is screening for. 2. Tell me which of those I already have real evidence for in my resume. 3. Rewrite my experience bullets so the strongest matches appear first. 4. Keep every claim factually true to my original. Do not invent tools, titles, metrics, employers, or certifications. 5. Flag every requirement where I am genuinely weak so I can address it. Write in plain language. Short sentences. Active verbs. Specific numbers. No em dashes. No corporate buzzwords. Vary the sentence length. RESUME: [paste your master resume] JOB DESCRIPTION: [paste the entire posting]
Do not let it rewrite cold. Make it interview you first, or it will invent your numbers.
Here are my job duties, written the boring way: [paste] For each duty, ask me the questions you need in order to turn it into an achievement bullet with a measurable result. Ask one question at a time. Do not write anything until you have my answers. Then use this shape: action verb + what I did + measurable result + how.
Naming your own gap in paragraph three reads as confident. Hiding it never works.
Write a 4 paragraph cover letter for this role. Use only facts from my resume. Invent nothing. Paragraph 1: why this company, using this research: [paste 2 real facts] Paragraph 2: my strongest match to their top requirement Paragraph 3: address that I am light on [gap], and what I bring instead Paragraph 4: a confident close asking for a conversation Under 250 words. Write it the way I would say it to a person across a table. No em dashes. No "I am writing to express my interest." Do not thank them for their time. RESUME: [paste] JOB: [paste]
Your headline is what recruiters actually search. Make it the job you want, not the one you have.
HEADLINE: Write 8 LinkedIn headlines under 220 characters for someone targeting [ROLE]. Include the keywords a recruiter would search, plus what I actually deliver. No buzzwords, no em dashes. ABOUT: Write a first person About section, 3 short paragraphs, under 200 words. Open with a real problem I solve. Use my experience below. Sound conversational, not corporate. [paste resume] SKILLS: Based on 5 job postings for [ROLE] pasted below, list the 25 skills that appear most often, ranked. Mark which ones I already have evidence for in my resume. [paste 5 postings + resume]
Not wrong. Just overused by machines. Swap each for the plain word you would say to a friend.
Use Gemini or Perplexity so you get live sources. Verify item 5 before you say it out loud.
Research [COMPANY] and give me a one page interview briefing:
1. What they sell and how they actually make money
2. Their three biggest competitors and what makes them different
3. News in the last 12 months: funding, layoffs, launches, acquisitions,
leadership changes
4. Their stated values, and what current and former employees say on
Glassdoor, Indeed, and Reddit
5. Two problems they are likely facing right now that someone in [ROLE]
could help solve
6. Five questions I can ask that prove I did this homework
Cite your sources. Flag anything you are not confident about.Public professional information only. This is preparation, not surveillance.
I am interviewing with [NAME], [TITLE] at [COMPANY]. Here is their LinkedIn profile and recent posts: [paste] Based only on this, tell me: 1. Their likely communication style: fast and direct, analytical and data driven, warm and relational, or big picture 2. What they probably care most about in this hire, given their own background and career path 3. Three questions they are likely to ask me, and why 4. Two questions I should ask that would genuinely interest them 5. How to adjust my pacing, detail level, and tone for this person 6. Any real common ground between their background and mine Label anything speculative. Do not guess at personal details.
Turn on voice mode and speak your answers out loud. Record it. Run it three times.
You are the hiring manager for this role: [paste job description] Interview me for 20 minutes. Ask one question at a time and wait for my answer before continuing. Start easy. Get progressively harder. Include at least two behavioral questions and one direct question about the weakest part of my background. Do not coach me between questions. Just ask the next one. At the end, score me out of 10 on clarity, specificity, and confidence. Then show me the three answers that need the most work and rewrite them in my voice. MY RESUME: [paste]
Six stories cover almost every behavioral question you will ever be asked.
Here are my six stories in rough form: [paste] For each one, tell me what is missing, what is vague, and what a skeptical hiring manager would push back on. Then tighten each to 2 minutes spoken, in my own words. The six: a time you fixed something broken / handled a difficult person / failed and what changed after / led without the title / learned something fast / made or saved money.
Verify any pay figure against a live source. AI compensation numbers go stale fast.
Role play a salary negotiation. You are the hiring manager and you just
offered me [X].
I am going to counter. Push back on me the way a real manager would,
including saying it is the top of the band.
Do not go easy on me. After three rounds, tell me where I gave up ground
too quickly and what I should have said instead.Paste your notes exactly as you scribbled them. The raw detail is what makes it sound human.
Write a thank you email to [NAME] after my interview for [ROLE].
Here is what we actually talked about: [paste your messy notes]
Under 150 words. Reference one specific moment from the conversation.
Add two sentences that strengthen my answer to [the question I fumbled].
Write it the way I would talk. Warm, not formal. No em dashes.
Do not thank them for their time twice.Ten of these a week beats a hundred cold applications. It feels worse and it works better.
TARGET LIST: List 30 companies within 25 miles of [CITY] that employ people in [ROLE]. Include company size and what they do. Skip staffing agencies. OUTREACH: Write a 90 word LinkedIn message to [NAME], [TITLE] at [COMPANY]. I am not asking for a job. I am asking for 15 minutes to understand how they got into this field and what they look for. Reference this specific thing about them: [paste]. Sound like a real person, not a template. No flattery. No em dashes.
"Be blunt" is the most valuable phrase on this entire sheet. Left alone, AI is agreeable to a fault.
Here are 10 job postings for roles I want. Here is my resume. [paste both] 1. What skills appear in most postings that I am missing? 2. Rank them by how much each one would improve my odds 3. For the top three, what is the fastest free or low cost way to get real, demonstrable proof I can do it? 4. What could I build or volunteer for in 30 days that would let me put this on my resume honestly? Be blunt. Do not tell me what I want to hear.