If you’re currently applying for a junior position, you’ve probably noticed something odd. The list is still there, it just feels heavier to push against the door. You’ll see your applications get invalidated and your friends with decent resumes get ghosted.
You don’t imagine it. I previously covered this blog when I reviewed Anthropic’s report on the impact of AI on the labor market. Lower-level roles in occupations exposed to AI actually show statistically significant declines in entry rates for workers aged 22 to 25. People aren’t getting laid off much (although there are layoffs from big tech companies, the unemployment rate hasn’t moved much), they just aren’t getting hired in the first place.
Over the past year, I’ve interviewed over 500 candidates for DareData, and I’ve also recommended dozens of candidates to companies who have contacted me seeking data scientists, ML engineers, and product managers. In this blog post, I want to share what really works for people who have made breakthroughs. None of this is “”Try harderAnd many of the things that hiring managers care about aren’t on the list of things they think candidates should optimize for or in the job posting.
Let’s get started.
1. Become a person who values things
This is, in some ways, the most undervalued skill in the modern job market. This is also the first thing I look for when interviewing someone for a junior role. In particular, look for situations in which the person assumed responsibility when it wasn’t necessary. I’ve talked about this skill many times on my leadership blog.
“Dealing with things” sounds vague, but it’s simple. We all know that when something is on your plate, you will find the resources to get it done (note that this does not mean you will get it done) have the resources, But you find resources required to complete the task).
If you’ve ever worked on a team, you know exactly what kind of people I’m talking about, and you know how unusual they are.
The reason this skill is so valuable today is that A.I. task It stacks up pretty well. What you can’t do is own the end-to-end thread of work across people, systems, and ambiguity. That gap is what adds value, and if you become known for closing the loop, Regardless of which framework is hot this year, you’ll be more employable.
You can practice this skill anywhere: at school, volunteering, or even at home. Take on tasks that seem too big and just do them.
2. Learn to disagree without being painful.
The cliche advice on teamwork is “Be a team player,” but this is too vague. What I’m really looking at in an interview is whether someone can disagree with me constructively over the course of a 45-minute conversation.
Deliberately offer slightly off-the-wall opinions about architectural choices, process issues, or how to scope a project. I want to see how candidates think and whether they can exchange ideas and opinions without getting defensive. Bad reactions are obvious (simply agreeing with me or actively arguing).
Dissenting well is a skill that comes with experience, but just observing how badly most young people do it can give you a head start. 🙂
3. Volunteer somewhere
Volunteering is the holy grail of networking.
My first proper work with DareData was through a volunteer organization. I hadn’t applied for any jobs at that point. I was just helping run a non-profit, and people I ran into there later remembered me when a leadership position opened up. Volunteering in spaces related to the work you want to do is a way to expose yourself to good fortune.
The mistake juniors make is treating volunteer work as a resume. Your resume is a byproduct, but the real value is that you spend time around people who do things and they remember you. Six months later, when someone says,I need someone for X”, especially if you follow advice #1, your name will appear at the top of the list.
If you’re early in your career, look for student clubs, NGOs, open source projects, and meetup groups. Helpful things where people are paying attention.
4. Your portfolio becomes your resume
If you’re a tech guy, GitHub is important, and so is your personal website. In a world full of AI-generated resumes, anything that lets recruiters see your work is important.
When I review junior applications, a resume tells me what you say, but a portfolio tells me what’s actually true. I primarily hire AI engineers, so I can look at someone’s GitHub and within 30 seconds I can tell if they understand what they’re doing, their commit messages, the quality of their README, the structure of their project, and whether their repository is an abandoned shell or a working one. Yes, you can find AI-generated slops in the repository as well.
No impressive project required. All you need is an actual project tied to something you enjoy and love. Size doesn’t matter, but how much passion you put into it.
For the non-technical, the same logic applies, just in a different format. A portfolio site with case studies, well-written analysis on Medium, and presentation materials for real projects you’ve executed. Not just a statement, but anything that allows someone to evaluate your work.
5. Write in public
Most young people think that there is nothing worth talking about until they have experience, but they are wrong. I’ve always read the writing of curious students, and I enjoyed reading long essays from them.
Choose a topic that interests you and start writing about it publicly. Substack, Medium, LinkedIn, your own blog, it doesn’t matter. Platform is not as important as consistency. The reason this works is simple. Most juniors are invisible to recruiters until they apply. If you’ve been writing publicly about your field for six months, you’re already going into an interview half-informed. The hiring manager may have read your content or taken notice of you.
The trick is to write about what you are learning, not what you have mastered. This benefits both parties. Not only will you be more likely to get noticed, but you will also improve your understanding of the topics you want to know about.
Oh, and never let an AI define your writing style. 🙂 Now anyone can spot AI prose that is obvious from a mile away. Please don’t skimp on that point.
6. Get familiar with working with AI before it works without you.
This is probably the most obvious advice.
All of the juniors I’m currently interviewing are quietly evaluating one thing. It’s whether they can intelligently manipulate AI tools. Today, working with AI intelligently is not about copying and pasting code or paragraphs from an AI tool. For that matter, do they know when to trust the output, when to push back, when to validate, and when to throw away? Do they treat the model like a supervising teammate or like an oracle?
Current junior hires are treating AI as something that will enhance their judgment. Others treat it as a substitute for their own judgment.
Use these tools often to do real work and pay attention to where they help and where they hurt.
If you’re a student or recent graduate reading this, I’m not trying to fool you. The market is more difficult than before, and the anxiety you are feeling is reasonable. It would be a mistake to pretend otherwise.
But nothing that can hire you now is automated by AI. AI is good at tasks, but it’s bad at owning and obscuring multi-human tasks, disagreeing constructively in a room full of opinions, noticing something no one has assigned, and being trusted by colleagues. It’s still you.
Humans are not task performers. We are the layers that map how tasks connect, who needs what, when something goes off track, and what is actually worth doing in the first place. This layer is becoming more and more valuable as there is more output flying around and it takes a discerning person to make sense of it.
If you show up as a candidate who looks like you’re already up to the task, doors will open. Once you establish yourself as a trusted expert in the future, your reputation will help you make connections, so you don’t need to apply.
