Know where AI helps.
Keep the decisions yours.
Move from a career question to a stronger application. At each step, see what to provide, what to ask AI, and what to verify yourself.
Download all six steps and prompts (PDF)
STEP 1 OF 6
Choose a direction
Bring: Your real experience, interests, dependable availability, and working conditions.
Ask AI to help
Ask AI to organize the information into possible role families and questions to investigate.
You lead this part
Choose what fits your life. Read actual job descriptions and talk with people doing the work before committing to a direction.
Leave with: Two or three role hypotheses and one question to investigate for each.
Before you move on: Are these possibilities supported by your experience? Which requirements are still unknown? A suggested role is not a confirmed qualification.
Prompt for this step
Help me explore possible work using [experience], [interests], and [working conditions]. Suggest three role families to investigate. For each, distinguish evidence of fit from assumptions, list requirements I need to verify in real postings, and propose one small next step. Ask about missing context. Do not infer my abilities from my age or promise a hiring outcome.
STEP 2 OF 6
Find and verify opportunities
Bring: One target role, acceptable locations or work arrangements, and the text of an actual posting.
Ask AI to help
Generate alternative search terms and organize a supplied posting into responsibilities, requirements, preferences, and unanswered questions.
You lead this part
Open the employer’s own careers page, confirm the role is still available, and check the application destination yourself.
Leave with: A search-term list and a shortlist of verified opportunities worth considering.
Before you move on: Do the role, location, employer, and application URL match? Treat an AI-generated job listing or contact as unverified until checked at its source.
Prompt for this step
Using [target role and constraints], suggest alternative job titles and search phrases. Then analyze this actual posting: [posting]. Separate stated responsibilities, required qualifications, preferences, and unanswered questions. Do not invent openings, recruiters, links, salary figures, or missing requirements. Mark anything not stated as unknown.
STEP 3 OF 6
Build your evidence bank
Bring: A real project or experience: context, your action, outcome, and what you can substantiate.
Ask AI to help
Ask follow-up questions and organize rough notes into a clear example. Identify unsupported claims rather than filling gaps.
You lead this part
Confirm your contribution, protect confidential details, and decide which evidence is relevant to the role.
Leave with: Three reusable examples you can explain in your own words.
Before you move on: Can you explain every claim and number? Label school, volunteer, personal, or practice projects accurately. A concrete outcome does not require a percentage.
Prompt for this step
Turn these notes into an evidence story: [real notes]. Use context, my specific action, outcome, and learning. Ask me questions where evidence is missing. Do not invent numbers, results, responsibilities, or clients. List statements that need verification and keep unverified claims out of the draft.
STEP 4 OF 6
Tailor one application
Bring: The actual job description and relevant, accurate resume content with unnecessary personal details removed.
Ask AI to help
Compare responsibilities with your evidence and suggest focused edits to improve relevance and clarity.
You lead this part
Check every statement, follow the employer’s instructions, and review and submit the application yourself.
Leave with: A tailored resume and any requested answers, with supported claims.
Before you move on: Have dates, titles, qualifications, and metrics remained accurate? Can you defend the wording? If the employer limits AI use, follow those instructions.
Prompt for this step
Compare [job description] with [my actual experience]. Identify three evidence matches and genuine gaps. Suggest focused resume edits and explain each change. Do not change job titles, invent achievements, add unsupported skills, or provide a fictional ATS score. Keep my voice and mark missing information as a question.
STEP 5 OF 6
Practice and prepare
Bring: The role responsibilities and a few real examples, with confidential details removed.
Ask AI to help
Use AI as a practice interviewer: one question, your answer, one follow-up, then feedback against a clear rubric.
You lead this part
Speak aloud, check the feedback against what actually happened, and keep your answers natural. Prepare questions about the work.
Leave with: A practiced introduction, three stories, and questions for the interviewer.
Before you move on: Did you answer the question and explain your own contribution? AI feedback is practice feedback, not an employer assessment or hiring probability.
Prompt for this step
Practice an interview for [role] using [responsibilities and real examples]. Ask one question and wait for my answer. Then ask one relevant follow-up. Give feedback on clarity, relevance, and evidence, quoting the part you are responding to. Do not invent a better result or predict whether I will get the job.
STEP 6 OF 6
Follow up and learn
Bring: An anonymized summary of applications, replies, interviews, and the next steps you were actually given.
Ask AI to help
Organize the record, suggest questions to investigate, and help draft a short, accurate follow-up.
You lead this part
Choose whether and when to follow up. Review the message before sending and change one part of the search at a time.
Leave with: An accurate follow-up draft and one manageable improvement to test.
Before you move on: Separate observations from explanations. A small number of rejections does not prove a cause. Do not invent employer feedback or assume a referral has been offered.
Prompt for this step
Review this anonymized job-search record: [record]. Separate observations from possible explanations and unknowns. Suggest one manageable change to test next. Draft a brief follow-up only using [actual conversation and instructions]. Do not claim to know why an employer rejected me or invent promises, referrals, or feedback.
FROM THE WAYMAKER FAMILY
Understand your patterns.
Plan your next move.
Builder DNA & your profile
Explore how you think, decide, create, and follow through. Use your Builder DNA profile to reflect on your strengths and the support worth trying. Revisit it as your circumstances change.
Explore Builder DNA ↗Routine builder
Build a repeatable rhythm around your available time and energy. Try a short block for applications, interview practice, or learning, then adjust what does not fit.
Explore Waymaker routines ↗Goals & task planning
Connect a goal to concrete next actions. For example: choose two suitable roles, prepare one evidence story, then review what you learned before planning the next week.
Explore goals and planning ↗Waymaker opens in a new tab. Your JobCoach entries are not transferred; choose what you want to share there.