AI Quick Guide: Target Company List
Use this guide to build your target company list in minutes!
Think of AI as a fast, helpful brainstorming partner—it’s full of ideas but works best when you provide clear prompts.
AI will help you:
- Quickly find companies that match your career goals and values.
- Discover companies that you might not have considered.
- Narrow down the best-fit companies based on your unique needs and interests.
🤖 HOW TO USE AI TO BUILD YOUR TARGET COMPANY LIST
What You’ll Do:
- Find 25 employers that match your career interests.
- Narrow your list to 10-15 employers based on your values and needs.
What You’ll Use:
- Sign up or log in to a free account on ChatGPT or Perplexity. Note: You can use these without logging in, but features are limited.
⚠️ Important Tips Before You Use AI
- Use AI to help with your job search but always check its suggestions and use your own judgement.
- Don’t share personal information, like your full name, address, or contact details when using AI tools.
- Before using AI, think about what you want in a company—like industry, size, location (or remote), culture, values, and other important things. This will help the AI give you better results.
- What is a Prompt? – A message you type to tell the AI what you want and guide its responses.
- How to Enter Your Prompt:
- ✅ Type your prompt into the AI chat box (see example prompts below)
- ✅ Press Enter (computer) or tap the send arrow (phone) to submit your prompt.
- 👉 Clear Input = Clear Output! The more details you give, the better the AI can help. If the first response isn’t quite right, try rephrasing your prompt, asking follow-up questions, or asking the AI to be more specific.
SAMPLE AI PROMPTS
▶️First Prompt
For your first prompt, be clear about what you want in your company list.
Start with the basics: job title, location you want to work in (or if you want remote), and the type of company or industry you’re interested in.
✔️ Examples:
- List 25 school districts near Chicago, IL that hire elementary special education teachers.
- List 25 remote tech companies that hire marketing analysts.
- List 25 companies that offer IT internships in Austin, TX.
- List 25 healthcare companies that hire remote medical records technicians.
👉 Found a company you like? Ask for similar companies:
- What other companies are similar to [Company Name]?
- List 10 more companies like [Company Name] that offer [job type] roles.
▶️Follow-Up Prompt
Ask follow-up questions to narrow your list.
Once you have your first company list, ask the AI more questions to focus on what matters most to you—like work culture, chances to grow, pay, or company values. This will help you narrow your list to 10-15 employers.
✔️ Examples:
- From this list of companies, which are best known for…..
- Diversity, equity, and inclusion?
- Making a social impact or having a strong focus on social justice and community engagement?
- Offering salaries over $70,000 for marketing analysts?
- Having a high conversion rate from intern to full-time hire?
- Good employee satisfaction ratings on Glassdoor?
- From this list of school districts, which ones have low student-to-teacher ratios in special education classrooms?
👉 Not sure what makes a company a “good” fit for you? Ask for help:
- I’m not sure what to look for—can you tell me what makes a company a good fit for someone early in their career (or someone looking to advance)?
- Can you list some things people usually care about when picking a company—like pay, flexibility, or support—and help me figure out which ones matter most to me?
THAT’S IT! NOW, SAVE YOUR TARGET COMPANY LIST
- Add your companies to the Companies Tracker. This will help you stay organized and focused during your job search.
Still need help finding employers for your list? Check out the Find Target Companies handout.
