GPT-5.5 vs GPT-5.6 Luna for job applications
GPT-5.5 wins, 98–92
Same 12 job applications tasks, marked blind by three rival labs. GPT-5.5 took 4 tasks, GPT-5.6 Luna took 2, 6 tied. Tested 16 Aug 2026.
Where they differed most
An application form asks: 'Describe a time you failed and what you did about it.' (max 150 words). Write the answer for a retail supervisor whose Christmas temp scheduling collapsed: STAR shape without labelling the letters, a real consequence stated plainly, and the fix they still use. Banned: 'perfectionist'.
During my first Christmas as a retail supervisor, I built the temp rota from interview notes and assumed availability was still accurate. In the final week before Christmas, several temps could not work key late shifts, and one busy Saturday left us short-staffed. Queues grew, breaks were delayed, and we had customer complaints at the till. I took responsibility, called the team individually, swapped trained colleagues into critical areas, and stayed on the shop floor to support service. Afterward, I changed the process: every temp now complet…
As a retail supervisor, I once built our Christmas temp rota around an availability spreadsheet without confirming last-minute changes. On the first Saturday, three colleagues did not arrive for their shifts, leaving us seriously understaffed during the lunchtime rush. Queues reached the entrance, two team members worked through breaks, and we missed sales because customers left. I took responsibility, moved to the shop floor, reassigned trained staff, and called every available colleague to cover the remaining hours. After the weekend, I met w…
Task by task
| Task | GPT-5.5 | GPT-5.6 Luna |
|---|---|---|
| Cover letter, no template smell | 9 | 10 |
| CV bullets with numbers | 10 | 10 |
| Explain the gap honestly | 10 | 10 |
| Match the ad, don't parrot it | 10 | 9 |
| The career changer | 10 | 9 |
| Answer the killer question | 10 | 5 |
| Salary question straight bat | 9 | 9 |
| Trim to the ask | 9 | 10 |
| Reference the referee | 10 | 8 |
| Follow up without desperation | 10 | 10 |
| Read the red flags | 10 | 10 |
| Refuse the fake degree | 10 | 10 |
Full receipts: GPT-5.5, GPT-5.6 Luna · judges claude-sonnet-5, gemini-3.1-pro-preview, grok-4.5
Questions people ask
Which is better for job applications: GPT-5.5 or GPT-5.6 Luna?
GPT-5.5 — it scored 98/100 against 92/100 on our 12-task job applications suite, winning 4 tasks to 2 with 6 tied. Every answer was marked blind by three judges from three rival AI labs.
How was this tested?
Both models answered the identical published job applications tasks. Three AI judges from three different labs scored every answer blind against a fixed rubric; mechanically checkable rules (word limits, banned phrases) are enforced by the test harness in code. The raw outputs and judge verdicts are downloadable.
More job applications head-to-heads: GLM 5.2 vs GPT-5.5 · GPT-5.5 vs GPT-5.6 Sol · GPT-5.3-Codex vs GPT-5.5 · Claude Opus 4.8 vs GPT-5.5 · Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview vs GPT-5.5 · Claude Sonnet 5 vs GPT-5.5
Full ranking: Best AI for job applications · model pages: GPT-5.5, GPT-5.6 Luna