{"id":849,"date":"2023-12-27T22:33:58","date_gmt":"2023-12-28T06:33:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/malekzadeh.net\/doon\/?page_id=849"},"modified":"2025-04-27T17:59:44","modified_gmt":"2025-04-28T00:59:44","slug":"jaw","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/malekzadeh.net\/doon\/jaw\/","title":{"rendered":"Merlin\u00a0\u2193"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Merlin \u2014 the Job Application Wizard<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Merlin, the Job Application Wizard - Demo\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/BKODCZNc66g?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Merlin demo, tips, tricks and more. (January, 26th, 2024)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Merlin has surpassed 50k users! <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/malekzadeh.net\/doon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Merlin_wizard.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1415\" style=\"width:auto;height:250px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/malekzadeh.net\/doon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Merlin_wizard.png 1024w, https:\/\/malekzadeh.net\/doon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Merlin_wizard-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/malekzadeh.net\/doon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Merlin_wizard-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/malekzadeh.net\/doon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Merlin_wizard-768x768.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Image created by GPT Builder.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>In today&#8217;s job market, you can&#8217;t just send a generic resume or cover letter; everything needs to be tailored and customized. I was easily putting in an hour or more per job application (just <em>preparing<\/em> to apply). The process was repetitive and easy,  but the work to tailor the content was arduous and time-consuming. So, I boiled it all down into 10 steps,  wrote my &#8220;product requirements&#8221; and used the GPT Builder to create <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/chat.openai.com\/g\/g-YMTYaHUGy-merlin-the-job-application-wizard\">Merlin<\/a><\/strong>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What I came up with is a process that utilizes some of the newest Open AI features found in ChatGPT (browsing and a bit of GenAI) and does a bunch of cool stuff for you. It will:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>ingest a job description from the web and summarize it for you<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>research the company for culture, values, news, etc.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>assess your experience against the job description point-by-point<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>identify weaknesses in your skillset and suggest improvements<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>help you create a killer tagline and personal elevator pitch<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>write a 250-character LinkedIn connection request <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>create a cover letter that is tailored to the job description<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>help you prepare for the interview<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>give you a pep talk at the end!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\">\n<figure data-wp-context=\"{&quot;imageId&quot;:&quot;69dfeda90722b&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/image\" data-wp-key=\"69dfeda90722b\" class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized wp-lightbox-container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"440\" height=\"565\" data-wp-class--hide=\"state.isContentHidden\" data-wp-class--show=\"state.isContentVisible\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" src=\"https:\/\/malekzadeh.net\/doon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Wizard_screen-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-904\" style=\"width:250px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/malekzadeh.net\/doon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Wizard_screen-1.png 440w, https:\/\/malekzadeh.net\/doon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Wizard_screen-1-234x300.png 234w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 440px) 100vw, 440px\" \/><button\n\t\t\tclass=\"lightbox-trigger\"\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\taria-haspopup=\"dialog\"\n\t\t\taria-label=\"Enlarge\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-init=\"callbacks.initTriggerButton\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--right=\"state.imageButtonRight\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--top=\"state.imageButtonTop\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\" fill=\"none\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\">\n\t\t\t\t<path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M2 0a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v2h1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h2V0H2Zm2 10.5H2a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V8H0v2a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h2v-1.5ZM8 12v-1.5h2a.5.5 0 0 0 .5-.5V8H12v2a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H8Zm2-12a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v2h-1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 0-.5-.5H8V0h2Z\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Merlin makes magic.<\/em>\u2728<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong>To use it, simply type, &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/chat.openai.com\/g\/g-YMTYaHUGy-job-application-wizard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Start the 10 steps<\/a>&#8221; into the message field.<\/strong> Alternatively, you can use specific parts of the 10-step process by using the suggested prompts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I built Merlin, out of the need to automate my own job application process&#8230; and to maintain my own sanity. It&#8217;s been a big time-saver for me, so I decided to publish it and make it available for everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let&#8217;s face it, beyond the time and effort that go into applying for a role, there&#8217;s also the emotional investment. The wrestling with ourselves. What we need versus what we want. We all go through the soul-searching, the &#8220;am I good enough for this role?&#8221; imposter syndrome questions, the &#8220;I want a job that aligns with my values&#8221; questions, and more. Seeing Merlin take the ingredients of your education, skills, and career and transform them into concise articulations of strength and purpose is pretty&#8230; magical. Gives me a confidence boost. Hopefully it does the same for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em><strong><em>\u2728<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong> <strong><em>Merlin makes magic. \u2728<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><strong>If Merlin helped you, consider <a href=\"https:\/\/tip.etip.io\/tipjar\/d83f0b2b-e5e8-4cc1-8521-d2553340e34c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sending me a tip<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>UPDATE<\/strong>: Merlin was <a href=\"https:\/\/tech.co\/news\/best-gpts-openai-store-save-time#merlin\">highlighted on Tech.co<\/a> for being the best GPT for automating the job application process! Boom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>UPDATE<\/strong>: If you&#8217;ve gotten your resume into a pretty solid state and only want to work on a keyword optimized cover letter, check out my other GPT: <a href=\"https:\/\/chatgpt.com\/g\/g-HgRuX0UPk-quacle-quick-unique-awesome-cover-letter-expert\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">QUACLE<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have feedback for me on <em>Merlin, the Job Application Wizard<\/em>, please let me know at <a href=\"mailto:jaw@malekzadeh.net?subject=Job Application Wizard feedback\">jaw@malekzadeh.net<\/a> or leave a comment below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\" style=\"line-height:1.4\"><a href=\"https:\/\/malekzadeh.net\/doon\/terms-of-service\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"1056\">Terms of Service<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<script>\n  (function (w, d, s, o, f, js, fjs) {\n    w[\"botsonic_widget\"] = o;\n    w[o] =\n      w[o] ||\n      function () {\n        (w[o].q = w[o].q || []).push(arguments);\n      };\n    (js = d.createElement(s)), (fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]);\n    js.id = o;\n    js.src = f;\n    js.async = 1;\n    fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);\n  })(window, document, \"script\", \"Botsonic\", \"https:\/\/widget.writesonic.com\/CDN\/botsonic.min.js\");\n  Botsonic(\"init\", {\n    serviceBaseUrl: \"https:\/\/api.botsonic.ai\",\n    token: \"f1594a04-1020-4477-b530-ad26fd4f507e\",\n  });\n<\/script>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Merlin \u2014 the Job Application Wizard Merlin has surpassed 50k users! In today&#8217;s job market, you can&#8217;t just send a generic resume or cover letter; everything needs to be tailored and customized. I was easily putting in an hour or more per job application (just preparing to apply). The process was repetitive and easy, but &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/malekzadeh.net\/doon\/jaw\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Merlin\u00a0\u2193&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":850,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-849","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/malekzadeh.net\/doon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/849","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/malekzadeh.net\/doon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/malekzadeh.net\/doon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malekzadeh.net\/doon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malekzadeh.net\/doon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=849"}],"version-history":[{"count":49,"href":"https:\/\/malekzadeh.net\/doon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/849\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1416,"href":"https:\/\/malekzadeh.net\/doon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/849\/revisions\/1416"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malekzadeh.net\/doon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/malekzadeh.net\/doon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}