This told essay is based on a conversation with Dray Jankowski, a former CrowdStrike employee and current senior director of product operations and program management at Wunderkind. Business Insider has confirmed his identity. This essay has been edited for length and clarity.
I still remember the morning I found out I was being fired from Crowdstrike.
I went to bed thinking everything was fine, but when I woke up, my calendar had a mysterious meeting scheduled for later that afternoon.
That’s when I saw an email saying the company was cutting staff to adapt to changes brought about by AI. It wasn’t about financial hardship. It was sudden, inhuman, and final. This was my first layoff at the age of 30.
I was upset. I worked hard to get to where I am. At CrowdStrike, I was a program manager, working closely with a team that manufactured motion sensors. I’ve also worked at Amazon and Raytheon, and consulted with companies like Microsoft and Johnson & Johnson. I had what people considered a “great resume.”
Little did I know how cruel the job market would be and how difficult it would be to find the right people.
Job hunting begins
In the first three months after being laid off, I applied for 52 jobs on my own and hated every single one of them.
At first I didn’t even pay attention. I had savings and it was summer. I traveled to Yellowstone, spent time with my mom and two dogs, and casually applied for roles that I actually liked.
I, too, decided that instead of being silent about my layoff, I would speak out. I started making YouTube videos and launched a podcast called “The Reboot Era.” There, they spoke openly about the layoffs and invited others to share their experiences.
Despite my background, the job search process was frustrating. Ask ChatGPT for basic questions like “Do I need to update my resume for this role?” Then I started to realize how many people are stuck for months on end, unsure of how to optimize their applicant tracking systems. When I looked for help online, most of it was locked behind paywalls.
LinkedIn’s “Easy apply” felt like a black hole. The company’s website required me to create a new Workday account each time. This process was tedious, time-consuming, and painstaking. So when an AI-powered application platform contacted me after seeing my post about layoffs, I invited them to the podcast and added the catch: “We don’t promote anything unless we test it ourselves and believe it works.”
How AI helped you land the role
At first, the results did not seem promising. The first call came from a car wash near my house.
A week later, something changed. I started receiving formal interview requests for roles at companies that matched my experience and salary range. One of the messages on LinkedIn asked if I wanted to interview with a company I had never heard of. That’s when I learned that AI had applied for me.
In about a month, the platform submitted 812 applications on my behalf. It will also tell you which keywords to put in your cover letter, and you can set your own parameters.
AI takes care of repetitive tasks so you can focus on preparing for interviews, perfecting your resume, networking, and continuing your podcast.
In total, I received five requests for a full-fledged interview that met my expectations. We both moved forward. One didn’t work, but the other went fast. I got an offer within two weeks.
That’s how I landed my current role as Senior Director of Product Operations and Program Management at Wunderkind, a marketing technology company that helps brands re-engage customers who left their website without making a purchase.
AI didn’t give me a job. That got me the interview. From there, it was my responsibility to show up, connect, and prove that I was the right person.
Take-out
I think the job market is moving in the wrong direction.
First, companies decide they can automate many standard workflows and lay off employees. Those employees are then pushed back into the open job market and forced to apply for new roles. They now face AI screening systems that evaluate them against opaque criteria that they cannot see or understand.
If the applicant also uses AI, they will be rejected by the screening AI if they are too robotic. And even if you do manage to get an interview, many offers will ask you to meet with a digital recruiter who will ask automated questions rather than a real person.
None of that seems fair, and it often feels like AI is working against job seekers in this cutthroat market. It took us over 800 applications to get one great offer, so it’s reasonable if you need help. When used correctly, AI can be a tool that can help you regain time and momentum.
