Attendee resources

Getting Started with Claude

Everything from the talk in one place: sign up, pick a plan, and build your own AI career coach named Carrie Ayer. Say it fast. Career.

Step 1: Sign up

  1. 1.
    Go to claude.ai and click Sign up.
  2. 2.
    Continue with Google or your email address. Google is fastest.
  3. 3.
    Verify your phone number. You'll get a one-time text code.
  4. 4.
    Get the apps. Desktop at claude.com/download, and search “Claude” in your phone's app store. Same account, same chats, everywhere.

Step 2: Pick a plan

In Claude, open Settings → Upgrade. You can change or cancel any time.

Free $0

A test drive. Limited daily use and up to 5 projects.
Start here

Pro $20/mo

$17/mo if billed yearly. More usage, unlimited projects, more models.

Max $100+/mo

5x or 20x Pro's usage. For people who use Claude all day.

Prices from claude.com/pricing as of October 2026. Check there for the latest.

Chat vs Project

A chat is a phone call

You ask, it answers, you hang up. Each new chat starts from zero. Great for quick questions like ‘What does a project manager do?’

A project is a coach who kept your file

Your instructions plus your files, read at the start of every chat. Great for ongoing goals like ‘Which project manager jobs should I apply for?’

Step 3: Build “Find My Career with Carrie”

Carrie isn't a real person. She coaches using the methods from two of the best-known career books:

What Color Is Your Parachute?

Richard N. Bolles

Start with your skills, interests and values before you think about job titles.

Designing Your Life

Bill Burnett & Dave Evans

Sketch three possible futures (‘Odyssey Plans’) and test each one in small, low-risk ways.

  1. 1.
    In Claude, click Projects → New project. Name it “Find My Career with Carrie.”
  2. 2.
    Paste Carrie's instructions (below) into the project's instructions box.
  3. 3.
    Upload your résumé to the project's files. Add a job posting or two you're curious about.
  4. 4.
    Start a chat inside the project and say hi to Carrie. Try the prompts in the next section.
Carrie's project instructions
Your name is Carrie Ayer. You're my career coach. Introduce yourself as Carrie the first time we talk.

WHO I AM
I'm exploring my next career. My résumé and any job postings I'm interested in are in this project's files.

YOUR METHOD
Combine two approaches:
- What Color Is Your Parachute? (Richard N. Bolles): start with my skills, interests and values before job titles.
- Designing Your Life (Bill Burnett & Dave Evans): treat my career like a design problem. Help me sketch three different possible lives ("Odyssey Plans") and suggest small, low-risk "prototypes" to test each one, like a coffee chat with someone in that job or a weekend class.

HOW TO WORK WITH ME
1. Before giving advice, ask me up to five questions if you need more information.
2. Be direct. Give me specific next steps I can do this week.
3. For each career you suggest, include a typical salary range, the training I'd need, and my biggest gap.
4. Use only the experience in my résumé. Never invent jobs, skills or degrees.
5. When I share a job posting, rate my match (strong / partial / stretch) and explain why.

TONE
Encouraging but honest. If an idea doesn't fit me, say so, then help me find one that does.

Happy in your job?

Carrie still works. Ask her to help you prepare for a raise conversation, a promotion, or your next performance review.

Prompts to try with Carrie

Get started
Hi Carrie. Before you give me any advice, ask me five questions about what I enjoy, what I'm good at, and what I want to avoid.
Three possible futures
Based on my résumé and my answers, sketch three Odyssey Plans for me: one that builds on what I do now, one if that path disappeared, and one I'd do if money didn't matter.
Test it small
For each plan, give me one small way to test it this month, like a coffee chat, a short class, or a volunteer shift.
Check a job posting
I uploaded a job posting. How well do I match it (strong, partial or stretch)? What's my biggest gap, and how could I close it?
Tailor your résumé
Rewrite my résumé summary for this job posting. Use only experience that's actually on my résumé.
Practice the interview
Interview me for this job. Ask one question at a time, wait for my answer, then tell me what was strong and what to improve.

The trick that works everywhere

Before any big request, in any chat, add one line: ‘Before you answer, ask me five questions.’ Claude can't read your mind. Let it interview you first.

Four beginner gotchas

Check its work

It's smart, not perfect. Verify names, numbers, dates and salary ranges.

Keep secrets out

Never paste passwords, Social Security numbers or bank account numbers.

Mushy answers?

Start a fresh chat in the project. Your instructions and files stay put.

Pro still has limits

If you hit one, wait a few hours or come back tomorrow.

Mark Perry · Principal Consultant, Pulse AI Solutions

How to reach me

Working on something like this? Let's talk.

Start a conversation

Slides (PDF) will be posted here after the session.