I came across a BBC article recently that made me chuckle.
Apparently, we're now having a serious debate about whether using AI to apply for jobs is cheating.
And I thought to myself:
Hang on. Aren't employers using technology to sift through applications too?
So we've potentially got AI helping people write applications, software helping companies sort through them, and two actual human beings who might not meet until the interview.
What a time to be alive. 😂
But underneath the absurdity is a serious problem.
If artificial intelligence is writing job applications, and employers are using technology to assess them, where does that leave the actual human being?
And I think young people are going to feel it more than anybody. And I feel they have been hobbled before they even have a chance to swing at building a career.
The job market is becoming a strange game
Imagine you're 22. (For some of us that might be tricky, but indulge me.)
You've spent years studying, you've got your qualifications, and you're ready to enter the world of work.
You apply for a job.
Nothing.
You apply for another.
Nothing.
After your twentieth rejection, somebody suggests using ChatGPT to improve your CV.
Suddenly, you've got a beautifully written application that makes you sound like the next CEO of Google.
Except you've never actually worked in an office.
Meanwhile, employers are dealing with applications that increasingly look and sound alike.
So they introduce more assessments, more screening and more hoops for candidates to jump through.
The technology that's supposed to make recruitment easier could end up making the whole process more complicated.
And the people caught in the middle are the ones desperately trying to get their first opportunity.
The new job market is Chess - and we are still playing Checkers (or Draughts)
This is what worries me.
After almost two decades in education, and for much of that time we've given young people a fairly familiar message.
Work hard > Get your qualifications > Write a good CV > Get a good job.
But this never ever accounted for HAL9000 or SkyNet.
What happens when AI can write a better CV than you?
Or when hundreds of applicants can produce equally polished applications in minutes?
How does a young person demonstrate what makes them different?
And there's another danger.
If we teach young people that success is simply about producing the perfect application, we might overlook the qualities that actually help people succeed once they're through the door.
You know all that stuff that people call ‘soft skills’ (Quite sidenote: I hate the term ‘soft skills’ – learning these skills are actually pretty hard and very underrated in my personal opinion.)
Skills like:
· Judgement.
· Resilience.
· Initiative.
· The ability to build relationships.
· The confidence to think for yourself.
· These things have always mattered.
But perhaps they're about to matter considerably more – especially when AI can do a lot of the heavy lifting.
The way we look at success needs a RuPaul Runway Makeover
I'm not against young people using AI - far from it. I wouldn’t have been able to make Maverick School Podcast without it.
Learning how to use these tools intelligently could give young people a genuine advantage.
But I'd encourage three things.
First, use AI to communicate your abilities, not invent them. A polished CV is useless if you can't back it up. Faking the funk will always lead to your downfall.
Second, build evidence of what you can actually do. Projects, work experience, volunteering, starting something of your own. Give employers something real to discuss.
Third, develop the qualities technology can't simply hand you.
Which brings me to a fascinating conversation I had this week.
For the latest Maverick School Podcast, I sat down with Eno Mwamba, founder of The Football Banker.
And this gentleman has one of the most ridiculous CVs I've encountered.
He's worked in banking and wealth management at Barclays, earned a Master of Finance from Cambridge, worked at McKinsey, helped an environmental start-up raise over £1 million and qualified as a UEFA football coach.
Not exactly sitting around waiting for opportunities to knock. 😂
But what intrigued me was how Eno connects the worlds of elite football and high finance – both world’s that most people will never experience.
Because professional footballers face something many young people can relate to.
Extraordinary competition, enormous pressure and no guarantee that talent alone will lead to success.
We explored why some people thrive in those environments while others struggle, why having every advantage doesn't necessarily guarantee success, and how even millionaire footballers can make financial mistakes that ordinary people should understand.
And there's one question I particularly wanted Eno to answer:
What separates people who succeed in fiercely competitive environments from those who don't?
Because if the traditional route into work is becoming less predictable, perhaps we need to learn from people who've already had to navigate uncertainty, pressure and competition at the highest level.
Because the next generation might need more than a brilliant CV.
They might need a completely different understanding of how to succeed.
🎙️ Listen to Episode 17: Why Even Millionaire Footballers Go Broke — Eno Mwamba on your favourite podcast platform.
Apple Podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep17-why-even-millionaire-footballers-go-broke-the/id1881678199?i=1000795895835
Spotify
Podbean
https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-2hyvz-1b7f3b5
PS: The Maverick School Podcast hit a very special milestone this week, and we have now got 1000 total downloads!
(Yikes!) Maverick has seen an average 23% increase month-on-month and has been heard in almost 30 countries. If you are a regular listener of the Maverick School Podcast, I want to say a massive thank you for all your support.
Buckle your seatbelts because there is much more to come!
That's all for today. See you in the next journal.
Take care.
Karl
