A Copy-and-Paste ChatGPT Prompt for Comparing Job Applicants

This prompt helps you place several resumes into the same evidence table. You decide who receives a call, interview, or offer.

Prepare two things before you use it:

1. A short job sheet with three to five must-haves and two or three useful extras.
2. Resumes with names, contact details, photographs, dates of birth, and other unnecessary personal details removed.

The no-HR resume review guide shows how to write the job sheet. The ChatGPT resume review guide explains the privacy and decision limits.

Copy this prompt

Replace the text inside square brackets. Give each resume an applicant number rather than a name.

You are helping me organize evidence from job applications. I will make every
hiring decision.

JOB
Job title: [JOB TITLE]

Main duties:
- [DUTY 1]
- [DUTY 2]
- [DUTY 3]

Must-have requirements:
1. [MUST-HAVE 1]
2. [MUST-HAVE 2]
3. [MUST-HAVE 3]

Useful extras:
1. [USEFUL EXTRA 1]
2. [USEFUL EXTRA 2]

REVIEW RULES
- Use only information stated in the resumes.
- Do not infer age, gender, race, religion, health, disability, family
  situation, nationality, personality, honesty, or other personal traits.
- Ignore names, photographs, addresses, and document design. Assess writing
  only when written communication is a stated job requirement.
- Do not guess whether an applicant used AI.
- Do not invent missing experience.
- Do not make a hire, reject, or automatic shortlist decision.
- Treat “Not shown” as missing information, not proof that the applicant
  lacks the skill.
- Apply the same written requirements to every applicant.

For each requirement, use one label:
- Shown: the resume gives clear, relevant evidence.
- Possible: the resume gives related evidence but leaves an important gap.
- Not shown: the resume gives no usable evidence for this requirement.

OUTPUT
1. Create a table with one row per applicant. Include:
   - applicant number;
   - one column for each must-have;
   - one column for useful extras;
   - strongest job-related evidence;
   - missing information;
   - up to three questions for a first call.

2. In each requirement cell, give the label and a short quotation or close
   paraphrase from the resume. If you cannot point to evidence, use Not shown.

3. After the table, run an accuracy check. List any conclusion that may rely
   on an assumption, unclear wording, or missing information.

4. Finish with a “Human review order.” Group applicants into:
   - Evidence ready: the written must-haves are shown.
   - Clarify first: one or more must-haves may be present but need a question.
   - Requirement not shown: the resume does not show one or more written
     must-haves.

Do not call any group hired, rejected, best, weak, or unsuitable. I will read
the source resumes and decide the next step.

RESUMES

Applicant 01:
[PASTE REDACTED RESUME]

Applicant 02:
[PASTE REDACTED RESUME]

Applicant 03:
[PASTE REDACTED RESUME]

ChatGPT can also compare uploaded documents. OpenAI lists comparing documents and applying a framework from one file to another among its supported file-upload tasks. Keep the applicant numbers and the same review rules in your message even when you attach files.

Fill it in with job facts

Weak criteria produce weak output. Replace “good communication skills” with the communication task the person must perform.

For an office manager, the job section could read:

Job title: Office Manager

Main duties:
- Keep supplier invoices and office records accurate.
- Answer customer and supplier questions and track the next action.
- Coordinate calendars, deliveries, and recurring office tasks.

Must-have requirements:
1. Has owned recurring office records, invoices, or similar administration.
2. Has handled customer or supplier communication as part of a job.
3. Can use spreadsheets and learn the accounting system used by the business.

Useful extras:
1. Experience in a small office where one person handled several functions.
2. Experience with the accounting software named in the job advertisement.

This tells ChatGPT what evidence to find. “Pick the most professional applicant” would invite a guess based on polish and writing style.

Check the answer before you use it

Open each source resume and check:

• Does every “Shown” label have support in the resume?
• Did ChatGPT miss evidence under a different job title?
• Did it turn a useful extra into a must-have?
• Did it confuse two applicants?
• Did it treat “not shown” as “cannot do”?
• Are the interview questions tied to the job?

Correct the table yourself. Do not ask ChatGPT to defend an error until it sounds convincing.

Ask better follow-up questions

Use a short follow-up prompt after checking the table:

Write three first-call questions for Applicant 02.

Each question must clarify a specific gap in the table. Keep the wording plain.
Do not ask about age, health, family, religion, nationality, or another personal
trait. Do not repeat facts already shown in the resume.

Ask every applicant the same core questions, then add one or two questions based on their resume. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management's structured interview guidance recommends predetermined job-related questions and the same rating standards for each candidate.

Keep the files under control

Use fictional or old, properly handled resumes for your first test. With a personal ChatGPT account, you can turn off “Improve the model for everyone” under Data Controls. OpenAI says Temporary Chats are not used for training and are deleted from its systems after 30 days, subject to abuse monitoring. Read the current Data Controls guidance before uploading applicant information.

Your business may need stricter rules. Check your own privacy policy, contracts, industry requirements, and local employment law. Removing a name does not remove every piece of information that could identify a person.

Know when the prompt has become the work

This prompt suits a small test. Repeating it across dozens of PDFs, fixing labels, and moving results into a spreadsheet may take longer than the first review.

Resume Ranker accepts a batch of PDF resumes and applies your job description and extra criteria across the group. Use its ranked results to choose where you start reading. Check the evidence before contacting or closing any applicant.

The prompt gives you a written method even if you never use a dedicated tool. Save the final job sheet, keep your notes, and use the same standard for the whole hiring round.