Where next? Using AI in career coaching

A few weeks ago, I sat with a career coaching client and we decided to treat their CV not as a document to polish, but as data to interrogate. We used a series of structured prompts to extract explicit and implicit skills, pressure-test them for accuracy, map them to real world roles, explore adjacent fields, and then stress-test the whole stack against an AI-shaped future. The result wasn’t just insight. It became a concrete learning plan, a smarter networking strategy, and a focused job search approach. What follows is the exact three-part prompt sequence we used; a practical example of human judgment plus AI analysis producing something stronger than either could alone.

Part 1:  CV Skill Extraction & Development Analysis Prompt

I’m going to share my CV. I don’t want a summary. I want an analysis. For each role:

1. Identify the explicit skills stated

2. Infer the implicit skills developed (based on responsibilities, scope, environment, stakeholders, pressure, etc.)

3. Categorize them into:

   1. Technical / Functional skills

   2. Leadership skills

   3. Strategic skills

   4. Commercial skills

   5. Human / relational skills

   6. Cognitive skills (judgment, decision-making, learning agility, etc.)

4. Highlight:

   1. Skills that deepened over time

   2. Skills that appear transferable across industries

   3. Capabilities that are likely under-articulated

5. Identify patterns:

   1. Repeated themes across roles

   2. Evidence of increasing complexity

   3. Shifts from execution → influence → strategy

6. Suggest:

   1. 5–8 “core capabilities” that define my professional identity

   2. Gaps or areas I may want to develop next

      
      

Present the output in:

• A role-by-role breakdown table

• A consolidated capability summary

• A short narrative describing my career arc

The client and I then I took the output and analyzed it it for accuracy and completeness (we had to take some skills out because the GPT had imagined them, we also added several skills that the GPT had missed.

With that human approved output we used the next prompt:

Part 2: Skill Stack Positioning & Adjacent Field Analysis Prompt

I’m going to share my “skills resume” (a list of my capabilities, experiences, tools, domains, and achievements). I want you to analyze it strategically — not just describe it.

1️⃣ Current Fit Analysis

Identify:

• The functions my current skill stack naturally equips me for

• The roles/titles I am already qualified for

• The level of seniority implied by my skill mix

• The types of organizations where I would likely thrive (startup, scale-up, enterprise, NGO, etc.)

Explain why each role fits based on specific skill combinations.

2️⃣ Leverage Patterns

Identify:

• My highest-leverage capabilities (where I create disproportionate value)

• Transferable skills that cut across industries

• Hidden strengths that may be under-articulated

3️⃣ Adjacent Possible Analysis

Based on my current stack:

• Suggest 3–5 adjacent fields or functions I could realistically move into

• For each, identify:

  • What I already have

  • What small learning investment (courses, certifications, practice, exposure) would bridge the gap

  • Estimated time to competence (e.g., 3 months, 6 months, 1 year)

Focus on moves that are:

• Plausible

• Strategic

• Leverage-based

• Not total reinventions

4️⃣ Skill Stack Evolution Map

Create a simple map:

Current Core → Adjacent Layer → Expanded Identity

Show how my identity could evolve without discarding my foundation.

5️⃣ Risk & Positioning Insight

Highlight:

• Where I may be over-specialized

• Where I may be under-positioned

• What narrative would make my skill stack coherent to the market

Present:

• A summary table

• A short positioning narrative (150–200 words)

• A practical 6-month skill extension roadmap

Part 3: FUTURE PROOF ME NOW

Finally,  we decided to try to future proof out work so we use the output of the "Skill Stack Positioning & Adjacent Field Analysis Prompt" and used this prompt

• Assume AI continues to automate execution-heavy work.

• Re-analyze my skill stack from the perspective of “future defensibility and human leverage.”

What we were left with was a detailed document that has formed the basis of a learning plan, a networking process and a job search approach.

I share it here as it has been one of the best examples of human being + AI creating a better than human or better than AI alone I could find.