🤖Will AI Take My Job?
My advice to those looking to build a career today and the impact of AI to careers
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What advice would you give someone trying to build a career today?
Building (and maintaining) a career has never been more different than it is today. I have talked to A LOT of people on this topic over the years:
College Students: What should I major in and how can I find an entry level job in this market?
Aspiring Leaders & Executives: What should I do to get promoted?
Current Executives looking for the next gig: What’s the best way to find the best next thing?
There are few universal truths that should always be followed when building a career. In this post I will cover a few things that have worked for me that are applicable to most circumstances.
There is also a lot of FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) around how AI will impact the job market and how it may eliminate massive amounts of jobs. Jobs will certainly be impacted/eliminated. I am not sure how jobs will evolve/change, but there is a lot of bad advice given about staying relevant in an AI world…
AI’s Impact
People have been predicting how AI will shape the job market for a long time. Many are predicting that AI will automate massive amounts of jobs and I am sure they are right…
How can I protect my career from AI’s impact?
There is a popular saying about AI and automating jobs: “AI won’t take your job, but someone using AI will.”
While I don’t disagree with the general idea, I think it misses something important.
To think just because you are using AI that your job will be safe seems a bit naive. Everyone will be using AI because it will be embedded in all the tools they have for their job. For example, every accounting tool is quickly adding AI functionality to their offering so everyone will be leveraging it very soon.
It’s like saying “Computers won’t take your job, but someone using a computer will”. Yes, if you refuse to use AI/computers then you probably won’t have a job for long, but everyone will be using AI soon so the advantage will be short-lived.
The best way to protect your job is to follow the below career/hiring advice:
Whether it is the OnlyCFO webinar series, the OnlyCFO newsletter 🤣, or some other way you are continually learning…I want people who are passionate.
Passionate people will know the latest AI tools because they are curious
They are A LOT more fun to work with
They are 10x better performers
They are more adaptable to change (like with the AI platform shift)
Some jobs will be impacted more than others (and more quickly). Transactional type jobs are obviously more easily automated while creative work less so. The folks who are passionate about something tend to be people who are more creative in their field and also more adaptable.
Finding a Job
It seems like every job posting has 2,000+ applications within days given the tough tech job market, remote jobs, and AI wreaking havoc on ease of applying.
If you are looking for a job, then just applying on career websites is not going to be effective. I promise you that a human is not reviewing the vast majority of those applications.
Here is what I recommend doing instead:
Build your human (network) capital
Start early before you need it (if you wait until you need a job it’s too late).
Stay in touch with former colleagues (this is critical)
Join relevant organizations for your profession. This is mostly for the networking, but you can learn some stuff too
Finding Opportunities
Use your network! Be specific and tell them what you are looking for. Broad outreaches on LinkedIn are not effective. Reach out individually to people.
Professional organizations often post jobs from their community. Be active in these communities and if a job comes up then they are much more likely to talk to someone in a shared organization.
Landing Interviews
Use your network again! I don’t have actual stats, but based on my personal experience I am 1,000x more likely to interview someone if they are referred by someone I know.
Find common connections at the company. Try messaging any connections you have at the company. Maybe someone there can refer you.
Getting the Job
Be passionate and obsessed with what you do. Interviewers can feel this and as I mentioned before it has the highest hiring success rate in my experience.
There are lots of other things you should consider doing as well, but the above are the most important in my experience.
Summary
Be curious and passionate about what you do.
Be adaptable and learn new things
Build your network now…not when you need a job
Don’t let your current job define who you are
Footnotes:
Check out → CFO’s Guide to C-Suite Relationships
Sign up for the OnlyCFO webinar series! Our next webinar is on February 19th on the M&A environment in 2025.
Check out OnlyExperts to find offshore accounting resources. They have some amazing talent for 20% the cost of a U.S. hire