I asked ChatGPT to write my resignation letter but instead I got career coaching
- My editor asked me to see whether ChatGPT, an AI chatbot, could write a decent resignation letter.
- I'd had a hard week at work, and the assignment gave me an opportunity to (artificially) quit.
If ChatGPT, OpenAI's buzzy new chatbot, can write cover letters good enough to grab the attention of recruiters, can it write a passable resignation letter?
That was the question my editor posed to me one day in a team meeting, and I valiantly volunteered for the mission. (It had been a tough week, and the assignment strangely appealed to me. Come on, who hasn't fantasized about quitting their job? The chance to live out my daydream — even artificially — was an opportunity to seize.)
I looked forward to receiving my resignation in pixelated form. (Did I mention I was having a hard week?) It's not that I wanted to quit, necessarily, but I'm tired and maybe suffering from some pandemic burnout, like a lot of people. Besides, having spent the past two years as a careers and workplace reporter covering the "Great Resignation," an unprecedented period in which workers have been quitting — and changing — jobs at record-high levels, some part of me longed to join the crowd.
What I didn't expect was that the effect of seeing ChatGPT's personalized resignation letter in black and white would be so jarring. I thought that I was fulfilling an assignment to help prospective quitters take care of an otherwise tedious task. Instead, I got career counseling.
Logging on took a while
First things first: I needed to log on to the chatbot. This took some time. ChatGPT was released to the public in late November, and within five days, it gained more than 1 million users. Lately, it's been overrun with requests. And while I initially found charming the chatbot's joking attempts to "explain its status" in Shakespearean prose, pirate talk, and sea-otter speak, they soon grated on me.
Finally, after four days of trying, I got in. My request was straightforward and so was the reply:
Can you write me a resignation letter for my job as Senior Correspondent at Insider? My last day is February 1.
Momentary joy, then panic
Well, there it was. I could now quit. The catharsis was real. Assignment done.
But as I read it again, my exhilaration turned to panic. See, in addition to covering the Great Resignation, I've also written recently about the softening of the economy, mounting layoffs in tech — many others in the media industry — and a possible recession. I'm a worrier by nature, so quitting might not be a good idea (for me, at least; many others think differently).
What's more, the letter's reference to "the support and guidance provided by my colleagues and superiors" left me feeling tender. The wording was generic, but the sentiment was apt. I can't leave, can I?
Luckily, I could ask the AI:
What if I change my mind and I don't want to resign?
It's good to have options — and advice you can trust
ChatGPT is right, of course. Quitting then un-quitting is not a good career move. (Looking at you, Tom Brady.)
I was enjoying the back-and-forth. True, ChatGPT's answers were robotic, but I work from home and it gets lonely sometimes. Plus, my kids are teens/tweens, and getting immediate, fulsome responses from ChatGPT was satisfying.
I wanted to keep the conversation going, so I asked one last question based on the previous response:
Who can I trust?
Amen. Everyone needs reliable and honest people in their lives. And you can trust yourself. If you're ever unsure, ChatGPT is a decent sounding board.
Look, I don't mean to gloss over ChatGPT's problems. The chatbot is not only rife with bias but also could allow students to cheat, spread misinformation, and be used to enable questionable business practices. But for simple chores, like writing resignation letters, it seems useful and could even prompt a bit of self-reflection.
My week is looking up. Note to my editor (hi there!): I'm not resigning today. But when I do — some day long into the future — I know where to turn to write my letter.