AI expert Ashley Gross has a custom GPT for everything – including pitching herself to jobs, winning consulting gigs, building a portfolio, and more.

In today’s post, she shares step-by-step instructions for building 5 of her favorite custom GPTs.

Don’t know what a custom GPT is? Here’s our basic guide on how to build one, before you dive into Ashley’s five favorites.

Job pre-qualification GPT

In a competitive job market, you need something to help you stand out – and no one’s reading cover letters anymore.

Instead, create a custom GPT that is versed on your resume, has examples of your work, and has been fed answers to common screening questions, allowing potential employers to get to know you on a more intimate level than other candidates.

It can also save you time by helping you avoid interviews for roles you’re not a fit for, and cutting out the need for basic screening calls.

How to build it:

1. Upload your resume, cover letter, and portfolio to your custom GPT. Include any awards you’ve won, special certificates, or anything else that sets you apart.
2. Compile a list of the most common questions you would be asked in an initial interview (Google is your friend here) and answer them as thoroughly as possible. Then upload that document to the GPT as well.
3. Include a link to your custom GPT in your resume or job application, and invite the employer to “pre-qualify” you by asking the custom GPT anything it wants to know about you.

Ashley’s advice: This GPT is a great way to land roles by skill set rather than title. For example, Ashley couldn’t find openings for a  “generative AI strategist”, because they didn’t exist in that phrasing. But when she focused on the role’s responsibilities it was easier for her to find related opportunities. So focus on the role you want and build your custom GPT to prove you’re a fit for it.

Personal publicist GPT

If you’re a speaker, influencer, author, or artist, train a custom GPT to give you the same representation as a $5,000/month PR representative. Especially if you’re still working to make a name for yourself, this can help you get press, win award nominations, and customize your outreach for different outlets.

How to do it:

1. Collect all examples of places you’ve been featured in the past – such as talks you’ve given, magazine features, events etc. – and any accolades that you’ve received.
2. Upload all of these resources to your custom GPT with context around your expertise, what you’re known for, and what others have described as your strengths.
3. When you come across a new opportunity, send it to your GPT and ask it to create personalized outreach tailored to the outlet.

Ashley’s advice: Make sure you have ‘web browsing’ toggled on for this custom GPT. This way, you can link straight to the outlet, company, or award you’re looking to pitch yourself to.

Initial consulting call GPT

Most consultants offer a free 30-minute call to get to know a potential client, understand their needs better, and get closer to signing an agreement. But often it’s not the best use of your time, especially when a client reveals they don’t have budget or sign-off to move forward.

Instead, send potential clients to a custom GPT that benchmarks whether they’re a good fit for you.

How to do it:

1. Create a list of 10 questions that you would typically ask a client in an initial call – this could be their budget, their timeline, their goals etc. – and provide the GPT with logic on how to score their responses.
2. Then create an FAQ on you – what your rate is, your availability, the kinds of services you offer etc. – so that the client can ask the questions they normally would on that initial call.
3. Link the custom GPT on your website or in an email response to new client outreach – and follow up with a personal call for clients who check all the GPT’s boxes.

Ashley’s advice: You can add in a third template for people who already know how they want to work with you. If they’re ready to get to work, give them the option to fill out a project brief. This allows you to keep track of the requests you get most frequently and better tailor your offerings.

Booking agent GPT

Another handy one for people who are their own brands: a custom GPT as your booking agent. Whether you’re trying to get speaking engagements, guest blogging opportunities, or brand collaborations, you can use this GPT to pitch yourself.

Not only will it handle the upfront work of proving you’re a great person for the opportunity, it will be a go-to source for anything they need once you’ve booked it.

How to do it:

1. Upload anything that will qualify you for the opportunity – this includes example talk tracks, pitches, and sample work. Ashley recommends including reviews, shoutouts, and testimonials as well.
2. Then upload headshots, various bios, and any other marketing collateral they’ll want to use to promote you once you’ve landed it.
3. Include this custom GPT in your outreach and invite them to get to know your areas of expertise and explore what topics are your strong suits.
4. Point people to this GPT when they’re ready to market your involvement in anything so they can quickly access what they need without the back and forth of email chains.

Ashley’s advice: This is a GPT you can turn off web browsing for. In this particular instance, you just want people to interact with the resources you’ve specifically shared.

Freelance portfolio GPT

If you’re looking for work as a freelancer, let your custom GPT serve as a dynamic portfolio to vet new clients. Right now, GPT  isn’t the most visual medium – but it allows you to craft narratives around your projects so that prospective clients can ask questions about your process, results, and experience.

And by pre-qualifying your clients through a custom GPT, you can use AI to turn their responses into quickly generated proposals.

How to do it:

1. Upload all the work you want to showcase, along with case studies about how you created it and the results. Include testimonials from the companies you’ve worked with if you have them.
2. Then upload the questions you usually get about your work, such as the types of services and customization you provide, your working style and availability, and your prices.
3. Share the link to your custom GPT with prospective clients and tell them to ask it anything about your work that they would want to know. If they fill out a client questionnaire, prompt your GPT to turn their responses into a work proposal that you can send over.

Ashley’s advice: Think of this custom GPT as a way to streamline upfront work AND  set boundaries about what kinds of proposals you’ll entertain. If someone doesn’t have a great idea of how they want to work with you or they want you to do things that are outside the scope of what you offer, allow the custom GPT to weed them out.

Ashley’s parting wisdom

During the custom GPT creation process, get specific on how you want it to interact with people. She has a standard rule across all her GPTs that its answers should not exceed a 5th grade reading level. This helps avoid industry specific jargon and responses that she’ll end up needing to manually edit.

You can also provide rules at the offset to help avoid the likelihood of it hallucinating, such as “ensure the entire prompt is filled out before generating an output” or “ask questions to ensure you understand the request”.

Need a little more than this? Our resident AI expert, Chase Ballard, is leading a workshop on building custom GPTs next month.