Mastering Success with ChatGPT's Formula - for Software Engineers

Key Takeaways

have you ever found yourself frustrated with chat GPT wondering why is it not quite hitting the mark prompting is not really about engineering or technology it's about basic communication I've noticed that a lot of people struggle with asking the right question if you're not getting the answers that you're looking for is probably because you're not asking the questions right and this is not just from tools like chat PT but it applies to General Communication in life if you're new here I'm Jean your trusted engineering mentor and today I'm going to break down the five tips for prompting then I'm going to give you some real life examples and a demo of how you can use these tips honestly I've been having a lot of fun scripting this video so I hope you enjoy it too let's start with tip number one know your goal before you do anything you got to First figure out what your goal is if you're talking to an AI what do you want the AI to do for you if you're talking to a real person same thing applies what are you looking for are you looking for coding help brainstorming ideas or helping solve a problem having a clear goal is the first step and I get it sometimes you're not exactly sure what you're looking for and that's okay that's why I'm here I have some questions that you can try asking what challenges or problems am I currently facing what skills or knowledge do I want to acquire or improve what kind of impact or contribution do I want to make first start out by thinking about what the problem is and then try to work your way up to exactly what you're looking for for example I'm looking for advice on how to land a job as as a software engineer how do I master AI engineering so that I can rebap my career or do a career change or become an AI engineer these are all great examples then tip number two is you want to introduce yourself so you want to start out by describing your situation for example are you a student studying computer science who's about to graduate in a year or two do you have any previous internship experience or work experience maybe you don't have any experience that's okay to provide all of this information if you put step one and two together you can say something like I'm feeling lost because I'm a college student studying computer science and I don't really know what to do with my life that could be the problem that you want to solve and your introduction or context could be that I have no experience I have applied to over hundreds of jobs and I have not heard back from anyone or if you're trying to learn AI you can explain the context like assume I know nothing about coding or you can say you know I have done four years of computer science at college but I feel like I'm still not experienced enough or maybe you've been working in the field for 5 years as a frontend engineer and now you want to pick up AI engineering and you're not sure where to start so keep it straightforward and simple but add a little bit of detail about yourself so that you can get the best advice that's appropriate for your situation tip number three you can make it even more clear by providing specific examples to make your question more clear but also to make your answers more concrete try to provide examples that are related to your situation or the problem that you're trying to solve for example you can say I want a step byep guide with resources for how I can approach my job search process tell me each step with action steps goals and resources that I can use or you can say I want you to talk to me like a therapist because I don't know where to begin talk to me like a life coach or a career coach if you feel like you're a little bit lost and you need more questions to help you guide through the process tip number four is setting the right tone and creating the right Vibe for you this is my favorite so you can basically decide how you want the AI to talk to you do you want it to be elaborate do you want it to be simple do you want it to be serious casual what is the tone that you're looking for I also love to use real life uh personas I love Oprah so you can ask Chacha talk to me like Oprah would talk to me I found it to work really well if I try authors like eart tole I've asked as it to talk to me like aland Deon even Dal Lama any figures that you like in real life you can ask Chach to take on that persona for you it makes the whole process really fun and I love experimenting with it so I'll show you some examples in a bit and the last tip is to iterate iterate iterate prompting just like any learning or engineering or communication can be an IT iterative process don't get discourage if you don't get it right first time keep on tweaking your prompts analyze the responses find you in your strategy the act of tweaking and improving yourself is a basis for any kind of learning use different examples use different words or formats if something isn't quite clear make it simpler now I want to put it all together and show you some real life examples so let's get to my screen so let's start with the first example I'm going to say I'm feeling lost because I'm a college student to find the perfect job but I don't know where to start I have no job experience I apply to hundreds of jobs I want you to be like opra what do you spell OA how is it autoc correcting that's pretty impressive you know I've actually seen in one of the videos on YouTube someone was saying that you need to make sure your grammar is correct which is complete BS because I mean cha PT is pretty smart I've asked actually like completely wrong words and Chachi P still often understands me don't worry about your grammar or spelling or anything cha PT is really smart back to my prompt talk to me in a friendly and inspiring inspiring um tone guiding me through the process of finding my goals with thoughtful questions let's try that oh that's so sweet okay first of all big virtual hug to you yeah that's probably what I need it's completely normal to feel lost at this stage of life especially with the pressure of finding the perfect job and your passion thank you take a deep breath because we're going to navigate this together are you ready let's start by asking yourself a few reflective questions what are the subjects or activities that make you lose track of time when you're engaged in them what are the things you've always been curious about even if they weren't part of your academic curriculum let your mind Wonder a bit now think about the skills you enjoy using is it writing problem solving working with people maybe something technical consider your strengths both in and out of the classroom what do friends and family say you're great at oh that's a really great question what do friends and family say you're great at okay it's okay if you don't have job experience yet everyone starts somewhere what are the aspects of a job that you think would make you excited to wake up every morning how would I know if I don't have a job experience is it making a positive impact on people's lives working in a dynamic environment or perhaps having creative freedom great questions let's explore your interest a bit more if you could spend the day in the life of anyone real or fictional who would it be and why this might give you insight into the kind of lifestyle or career that resonates with you now imagine your ideal day out work what does it look like what are you doing who are you working with and how does make you feel envisioning your ideal workplace can help you identify the key elements that are important to you in a job is this why the day in the life of a software engineer videos are so popular I learned something new going back to the promps remember the journey to finding your passion and the right job is a process it's okay not to have all the answers right now the key is to stay curious explore different Avenues and be open to discovering new things about yourself it sounds like Oprah lastly don't be disheartened by the job application process rejections are part of the journey use each one as as a stepping stone a chance to learn and improve what kind of feedback have you received if any and how can you use that information to strengthen your next application you're on a unique Journey it's all about the progress not Perfection embrace the uncertainty and trust that you're on the path to discovering your purpose you've got this this is so nice thank you oh I feel good but let me answer the first question what I like to do I personally really love analytic analy ing things I love doing research I love reading I like spreadsheets that's what I like I also like to talk to talk to people friends about the topics I'm studying or learning okay let's see what chess GPT says that's fantastic it sounds like you have real passion for analysis research and communication let's dive a bit deeper into this analytical skills spreadsheets reading communication there's a lot of question what specific specific aspect of analyzing things do you enjoy the most Excel and spreadsheet tools are incredible data analysis Financial modeling or project management I like those things given your interest have you considered career in Academia market research or even journalism for me doing YouTube is kind of like journalism if you have noticed my videos I like to do research about specific topics research it really and study it analyze it and then share about it on YouTube so that is the perfect career for me communication um your love for discussing topics with friends is valuable skill it suggests that you not only enjoy acquiring knowledge but also sharing it yeah that's also YouTube again I like to talk about what I have learned on my videos this is really fun for me it's great number five connecting with friends about topics you're passionate about is form of networking have you considered networking in a professional context so yes I do a lot of networking and I do post a lot of events um given your interest roles like data analyst Market researcher content creator or even a consultant could be a great fit consider exploring internships or volunteering in these areas to gain practical experience and build a network this is so good because whenever I talk to um students who have no experience they talk about how do I become a software engineer or how do I break into the market I always say try volunteering I do really believe volunteering is the best way to really gain hands-on experience it helps you um have items to like liners put on your resume but also it teaches you right you're learning for free is better than going to school and taking classes you actually get to learn if you like doing that job or what are the different things that you like about working or doing things really teaches you about yourself so it is something that I do highly recommend and apparently Oprah Style Chad GPT agrees with me so this is great last paragraph remember it's okay if you don't have all the answers right away the journey to finding the perfect career is often a process of exploration and self-discovery keep analyzing researching and talking about what you love you find the path that aligns with your passions and skills keep up the great work thank you um there was another question that I wanted to look at rejections are part of the journey use each one as a stepping stone a chance to learn and improve what kind of feedback have you received in if any so I'm going to say I have been applying to hundreds of jobs on LinkedIn I only get automated rejection emails how can I learn from this experience what am I doing wrong first of all kudos to you for persistence so encouraging um the job process can be challenging but each rejection is an opportunity to learn and improve let's break down some of the potential areas for rejection resume and cover letter keywords and skills networking follow-ups interview preparation learn from rejection diversity in your search you know these are pretty good okay so let's say you apply to 100 jobs and if you're actually not hearing back from at least I think the statistics say about 10% let me actually search let's say if you apply to 100 jobs and have not gotten an interview when I say interview I mean pre-screening If the percentage of you getting a call from real person is less than 20% that means you're below average right so if that is the case then definitely 99% of the time something's off with your resume or cover letter A lot of times we don't do cover letters anymore so most of the time it's your resume one of the things that could be missing is the keywords that are used on your resume um that's why I wrote the ultimate rume Handbook so you can learn to spot your own red flags in your rese that is right on good job chbt for every 100 jobs that you applied for if you're not getting 20 calls then there's room for improvement in your resume let's say you are getting 20 calls but then um don't lead to offers that means that you need to work on your interview prep I feel like this was a really great example I want to give you another one so let's start a new chat I was thinking about doing a video about learning software engineering of some sort but I actually just did one about um coming up with a study plan and then I did one about coming up with a project plan for AI engineering go check out those videos if you haven't let's think of something else let's say okay I am a software engineer at a small startup my salary is below market rate based on my research from levels that FYI and I even though the one of the engineers on my team is getting paid more than me have more experience and have been working longer than that person I don't know what to do this feels unfair talk to me like you're my career coach help me through this crisis talk to me in the tone of who are some famous people who's that guy uh art of not giving a Mark Manson don't up Mark Manson let's try it hey Rockstar engineer first off kudos to you for doing your homework and realizing your true worth it's not easy to confront the fact that you might be undervalued but recognizing it is the first step to making positive changes let's navigate through the situation with a dash of Mark Manson's No Nonsense wisdom you're not exactly riding the highway of compensation that your skills and experience deserves but here's the deal life is too short to be settling for mediocracy especially when it comes to your paycheck now let's cut through the noise and figure out the next steps first take a deep breath remember this is a challenge not a catastrophe it's time to channel that frustration into action that is pretty inspiring step one cler ify your value prop ask yourself what unique value do you bring to the table what sets you apart from your peers make list of your accomplishments skills and extra responsibilities you've shouldered this is your ammunition so load up choose your battles wisely you're not fighting a war you're negotiating your worth I like that decide whether you want to address this issue with your current employer or start exploring other opportunities sometimes having an offer from elsewhere is the Wake Up Call your employer needs I have mixed feelings about this because I did ask in the question that I work for a small startup so yes this advice is not wrong often times if you do work for a tiny little startup there's a lot more room for negotiation I used to work at meta as a software engineering manager let's say one of my um reports come to me saying like I'm not getting paid enough this is unfair there's not a whole lot that I could do as manager even if you have an offer from a different company I can't really give you a raise because it's not really up to me because I asked in the question that I work for a small startup I am okay with this answer preparation for conversation if you're opting for direct approach with your current employer prep for the conversation practice what you want to say and more importantly how you want to convey it focus on the facts and figures your skills achievements and the market rate you found that's good be confident not cocky I like that confidence is the key but there is a fine line between confidence and arrogance you're stating your case not declaring war right I I love that when you're talking to your manager your manager is not your enemy um I mean as a manager I want you to be well I want you to get paid please don't fight me think of me as a partner is how I felt so keep it professional empathize your commitment to the team and the company I like to describe it as think of your manager as your lawyer right you want to get help from your lawyer to put together your case so think of it as you're like submitting evidence to your lawyer so your lawyer can best represent you leveraging your network reach out to your network for advice and support they might have in similar situations and can offer valuable Insight don't feel afraid to seek guidance it's a sign up strengths not weakness that's good know your limits be prepared for different outcomes as true your employer may not agree with you um they may not be able to match your salary the the salary you desire but they might offer other perks flexible hours more responsibility or professional development opportunities know your bottom line and willing to stand by it that's really good something similar actually happened to me when I was negotiating my offer with WhatsApp they wanted me to start as a contractor not a full-time employee saying that all of their engine start as a contractor which was not a lie all the earlier engineers at WhatApp started out as a contractor and then after 6 to 12 months they would convert you to full-time so I thought well that's not really ideal but if I'm going to be a contractor I want flexible hours because I had done Consulting in the past and I know some people do uh 4 days a week so instead of doing 5 days 8 hours each you basically work 10 hours a day for 4 days a week and they were cool with that so that's one of the many reasons why I took the job at working at whatsapp if you want to maybe go to grad school you can ask them to pay for tuition there are many things that you can negotiate it's not just about the salary so think about what else you want last paragraph is remember life is about choices you're not a victim of your circumstance you're the architect of your destiny so take charge be strategic and let your worth shine through it's time to level up my friend I think that is a great WP for this video take charge of those prompts and take initiatives give it some good examples play around with it see where it leads you and level up your prompting game I'll see you next time