What I'd tell someone about to graduate
How to get a job when AI is ruining everything
I got inspired to write this after hearing an interview that NYT journalist Jodi Kantor did on Kara Swisher’s podcast. In it she said that resumes have been flattened by AI. Employers look for certain keywords so job-seekers also use the same keywords. As a result, the candidate pool looks very homogenous and nobody stands out.
Keyword hacking is not new. When I was applying for jobs in 2017, I heard of friends putting in “MIT”, “Cambridge”, “Harvard” in white font in the resume margins to pass the HR screening software.
AI just happens to make it harder now.
But okay that’s all doom and gloom. If you or someone you know is struggling with a job hunt… what do you actually do?
Here are some of my ideas:
I. Build your online portfolio
If don’t have experience, lean into what you have: time and internet access. Showcase what you are learning, building, doing online, be it on your own social media feed or your own website. Show your work. Shamelessly tag people who were in your project or who may be interested in what you are doing. Show what you can do, what you want to do. Share your mistakes. Reflect on your process.
This is the new resume.
This is how I pivoted from finance degree > journalism > marketing > content creation > ???. I just post a lot on LinkedIn, Substack, Instagram, and people become familiar with my interests and capabilities.
II. Work trade or service jobs
Before I had any sort of desk job, I had service jobs. I worked in my university’s visitor information centre, providing information to anyone who was chancing by the university (the job was self-explanatory). After that, I took up a few events jobs which involved running around venues and setting up posters that were 2x my height and scanning tickets through a Hong Kong version of Eventbrite.
Service jobs are easier to get than desk jobs plus they taught me to deal and interact with actual people.
III. Volunteer
In lieu of joining networking events and merely paying for a drinks token, I chose the seemingly “free” route and volunteered to put together those events instead. I managed the website and ticketing for a journalism conference. So when people came in to pick up their name badges, I was one of the first person they saw. It boded well for me too because I could immediately match people’s names, job titles, companies, and their faces right as they showed up. Then I did the same for a TEDx event.
I got more from volunteering at one conference than I did from attending five.
IV. Push through the third door
The first door is the resume line. The second door is if you know someone in the company. The third door is uncharted, unpaved, and unknown, per Alex Banayan.
The first door is flooded by AI-enabled applications. The second door is plausible but futile if you don’t have an in. The chances of the third door have never looked brighter. Be creative and push through.
V. Learn a craft
Mine was and is writing. I’ve been writing for a living for 8 years, and I haven’t stopped since. I’m still learning about what good writing is (I recommend David Perell's How I Write). I’m still publishing weekly here.
In a world where you can do basic anything thanks to AI, be really really good at something.
VI. Live an interesting life
What else are we on this earth for anyway?
Fall in love. Get drunk. Break up. Hop on that boat. Go offline. Disappoint people. Learn to pick yourself up. Run a marathon.
Life is so short. Live it well.
Update log:
🎧 Anne Lamott episode on How I Write was chef’s kiss. What a good episode!
👠 Watched The Devil Wears Prada 2 on premiere day. Fangirled when I saw Kara Swisher on-screen because I knew she was going to have a cameo there.
👩🍳 Made ayam betutu, a Balinese spiced chicken, from scratch. Hanifa Dean only had to say that she likes spice and then I ran with it.
🤖 Experimenting with Claude-generated carousels
🎙️ Recorded a Small Creator Big World podcast episode with Bhav Sharma after a 6-week hiatus and she immediately called us out as “LinkedIn Losers”
🏃♀️ Back for my first cardio session in the gym after 3-4 weeks. I always dread the first one back and realise it’s actually not a big deal 😅
Work with me: https://go.beckyisj.com/workwithme
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I think the advice "be really really good at something" is the strongest leverage point in this list, although all of your suggestions are excellent.
As someone who is a recent graduate (2022), this is pretty good advice. I'd also add on to being open to how things build your path.
I got a degree in mechanical engineering, but I am anything but a typical mechanical engineer because I couldn't get the same internships most MEs get. In college, I worked as a filmmaker for 2 years, then worked in labs as assistants.
Then got into a fiction writing while in college no Feb 17th, 2020.
I like to think of it as toolkits rather than careers. What tools do I have and what can I easily get into (because I need money to live).
PS:
Also, second the volunteering bit. I've volunteered as a tutor since 2017 for K-12 at the library. Volunteering is a great way to build skills that I think more people should do.