Pro tips for writing a personal statement with ChatGPT

Many of you are likely using ChatGPT for your personal statements, but if you start by simply asking someone to "write my personal statement," the results are often worse than expected. The sentences are clean, but they all sound very similar, and as you read through them, you keep encountering expressions that feel like they have been seen somewhere before.

In fact, skilled writers don't leave the writing to ChatGPT; instead, they provide the material first. They list the company you are applying to, the job role, your experience, actual anecdotes, achievements, and lessons learned in as much detail as possible, saying, "Absolutely do not make up anything that isn't there; just write it using only the content I provided." This difference is greater than you might think.

Another effective method is not to try to receive the final version right from the start. If you receive the draft first and then revise it step by step—such as asking for feedback like, "Just point out the parts that sound awkward from a hiring manager's perspective," "Find and replace cliché phrases in cover letters," or "Mark the parts likely to be asked about in an interview"—the writing becomes much more natural.

Finally, I highly recommend running it through one more time with the instruction: "Replace any expressions that look like they were written by AI with human-like text. Also, reduce exaggerated or abstract language as much as possible." In many cases, going through this single process makes the final result much easier to read than the initial version.

Ultimately, I found ChatGPT to be much more satisfying when used like someone constantly providing feedback right beside you, rather than as a tool to write your personal statement for you. If you break down the tasks—drawing the initial draft, refining sentences, correcting expressions, and receiving feedback—you can receive more help than you might expect.