# Career Master File beginner guide Updated 24 September 2026. ## Start here No AI experience needed ### Built a career? Start with your experience. This kit is for experienced professionals, especially if you have not looked for a job in years. Your Career Master File is a private library of real experience for CVs and interviews. Let AI ask questions, check the summary and save one role or project. ### Choose your AI tool You can use your preferred AI tool. In this guide, we are using ChatGPT. If you are new to AI, follow the ChatGPT instructions below. Other tools may look slightly different. ### 1 Open ChatGPT Go to https://chatgpt.com in your web browser. Choose Sign up or Create account if you are new, then follow the on-screen steps. If you already have an account, choose Log in. Use the free option where offered; there is no need to buy an upgrade for this first exercise. ### 2 Choose the simple starting option Start a new chat. If you see a Chat / Work choice, choose Chat for this back-and-forth conversation. Leave the model already selected. A model is the engine behind the answers; you do not need to compare models for this exercise. If a usage limit appears, save your notes and return when it resets. ### 3 Open the kit files Download the kit, open START-HERE.txt, then follow this Beginner Guide. A ZIP is a packed folder: open it and extract/unzip if asked. On a phone, you can use the individual download links instead. The next page explains each file. ### Two words you will see A prompt is simply the instructions you give the AI. A chat is the conversation containing your messages and its replies. This kit supplies the prompt for you. ### Before you begin Leave confidential employer or client details and other people’s personal information out. AI can misunderstand or invent things; a confident, polished answer still needs checking. ## What is in the kit? Five files, with a clear job for each ### START-HERE.txt - open this first Your starting instructions and the order to follow. ### Career-Master-File-guide.pdf - Beginner Guide The step-by-step guide you are reading now. It explains how to use AI, type or speak your answers, then check and save your experience. ### AI-interview-prompt.txt - AI Interview Prompt Instructions you copy into your AI tool so it can ask you about your experience. You do not need to write your own prompt. ### Career-Master-File-template.docx - editable template Where you save your checked experience and achievements. It is a Word file, but you can use it in Google Docs for free with a personal Google account, or in Word if you already use it. ### Beginner-guide.txt - plain-text guide The same walkthrough in a simpler text format. You only need to use one version of the guide. ### Your route through the kit Open Start Here, follow the Beginner Guide, copy the AI Interview Prompt into your AI tool, then save your checked answers in the template. The ZIP contains all five files. ## Your first conversation Paste the instructions, then answer one question ### 4 Copy and send the prompt Open AI-interview-prompt.txt. Select all its text and copy it. Click or tap the message box in your new ChatGPT chat, paste the text, then press the send button. On a computer, Ctrl+A then Ctrl+C selects and copies; use Command on a Mac. Paste with Ctrl+V or Command+V. On a phone, press and hold the text to find Select all and Copy; press and hold in the message box to Paste. ### 5 Answer the first question It should ask which role or project you want to discuss. Give a rough answer, such as “I want to talk about improving the handover in my last job.” You do not need to sound impressive or write full paragraphs. ### What it might look like Illustrative example - replies will vary. AI: Which role or project shall we start with? You: I helped improve our handover. AI: What did you personally change? You: I introduced a shared checklist and agreed who owned each task. AI: What happened afterwards, and how do you know? You: I remember fewer tasks being missed, but I do not have reliable figures. ### If you cannot remember Say: “I cannot remember. Ask me something that might jog my memory.” Or: “Mark that as something to check and move on.” You can pause, correct yourself or return to a question later. ### If it asks too much at once Reply: “Please ask just one short question and wait for my answer.” This is a conversation, not a test. You remain in control. ## Prefer to talk Rough spoken answers are fine ### Dictation and voice are different Dictation turns what you say into written text. You check it, then send it. A live voice chat lets you speak and hear replies. Either can help; typing still works for every step in this kit. ### Option A Speak an answer as text If you see a microphone or dictation control by the message box, select it and allow microphone access if asked. Speak your answer, stop the recording and check the text before sending. Correct names, dates and figures that were misheard. Your phone keyboard may also offer its own microphone; the position depends on your phone and keyboard. ### Option B Have a live conversation If your ChatGPT app offers Start voice chat, open the same conversation after sending the prompt and select it. Allow microphone access and choose a voice if asked. Say: “Continue the Career Master File interview, one question at a time.” Use Stop voice chat when finished. If you start a separate voice chat instead, give it the same instructions first. ### Availability varies Live voice depends on your app, plan and rollout. Current desktop guidance lists it for supported paid plans. Do not upgrade just to follow this guide: use typing or available dictation instead. If you cannot see the control, you have not done anything wrong. ### When you have finished talking Return to the written conversation. Ask for a written summary if needed, then follow the next page. Spoken words can be misheard, so check the summary against what you actually meant. ### If the microphone does not work Check that your browser or app has microphone permission and that the microphone is not muted. Try a quieter place. If it still fails, type your answer and continue. ## Check and save your entry The finished result belongs in your own document ### 6 Ask for the summary When you have enough detail, type or say “SUMMARISE”. You can add: “Use only my answers. Keep uncertain details marked TO CHECK.” Ask for the result in writing if you used a voice conversation. ### 7 Read it carefully Check your role, dates, actions and outcomes. Did “helped” become “led”? Did it add a percentage you never gave it? Correct those details in the chat, then ask for a revised summary. If you cannot verify a figure, keep it uncertain or leave it out of application copy. ### 8 Open and save the template You do not need to buy Word. The template is a Word file (.docx) that you can open in either of these applications. ### Google Docs - free with a personal Google account On a computer, go to drive.google.com and sign in or create an account. Choose New, then File upload, and select Career-Master-File-template.docx. Right-click the uploaded file, choose Open with, then Google Docs. Click its name at the top and rename it My Career Master File. Changes save automatically in Google Drive; wait for confirmation that they are saved before closing. ### Microsoft Word - if you already use it Open the template in Word. Choose Save As or Save a Copy, name it My Career Master File, and choose a folder you can find again, such as Documents. ### 9 Copy your checked answers Select and copy the revised summary. In your document, replace each [Type your notes here] placeholder with the matching part of your answer. Keep uncertain items in Details to check. Save the document; do not assume the AI chat has saved a Word file for you. ### 10 Add another entry later Duplicate the template section for your next role or project and repeat. Save each entry. For applications, select only relevant, accurate evidence. ### Your first session is complete when You have one saved entry describing the situation, your contribution, the result and anything still to check. One useful entry is enough to start. ## The complete prompt Copy everything below, or use AI-interview-prompt.txt Help me build my Career Master File: a private library of my real experience that I can draw on for bespoke CVs and interviews. Interview me about one role or project at a time. I am new to AI. Use plain language and explain unfamiliar terms. I may type or speak my answers. Ask ONE short question, then wait for my answer. If I cannot remember, offer a gentle memory cue without suggesting an answer as fact. Start by asking which role or project I want to discuss. Ask what I was responsible for and what I consider my greatest achievement. Follow up on the problem, what I personally did, who else contributed, and what changed. Ask about relevant scale, systems, skills and figures I can verify. If I do not have a number, help me describe the outcome clearly without inventing one. Ask how I know a result and whether anything else contributed to it. Use only what I tell you. Do not invent, assume or exaggerate details. Distinguish my work from the team's. If I am unsure, mark the detail TO CHECK; do not turn an estimate into a fact. Do not ask me to share confidential information or personal details about other people. When I type or say SUMMARISE, organise my answers under: role or project; dates; responsibilities and context; achievement; problem; my actions; other contributors; results; relevant skills and systems; evidence; and things to check. Use plain British English. Leave missing information blank or mark it NOT PROVIDED. Ask me to review and correct the summary. Do not label it verified just because you have written it. Once I confirm my corrections, give me a clean entry to copy into my Career Master File. Do not write a CV yet. Official guidance checked 24 September 2026: https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/quickstart https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/use-chatgpt https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/features/voice https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/pricing https://workspace.google.com/products/docs/ https://support.google.com/docs/answer/9310150