Ten ways to create an AI-shaped career

Are you concerned about the AI impact on the job market? I mean … who isn’t?

Nearly every bank and economic forecast is expecting some downturn in the job market, and we’re probably on the cusp of this change. The recent flurry of corporate layoffs was the highest in 20 years.

At the same time, research shows that entry-level opportunities are shrinking, and new entrants to the job market face greater challenges than most.

And managers are risk-averse because they expect workflows to change because of AI in the near future. Firms don’t want to hire someone into a process they know will be redesigned.

Today, let’s examine what we can do about it. Let’s assume profound change is at hand and we need to embrace an AI-shaped career. Here are some practical ideas to get ahead of the curve.

Creating the AI-shaped career

Let’s start with some advice from my friend Azeem Azhar. Azeem is probably the most connected person I know, and so he’s able to tune into the priorities of a wide range of industries.  and his supremely interesting Exponential View Newsletter.

Here is his advice:

1. Ship end-to-end projects

Choose or create multi-step projects with real stakeholders; practice owning the plan and delivering it to a finish line. If AI takes on more of the execution work, the value for humans lies increasingly in coordination around those tasks, specifically in orchestration. It’s the ability to decide what needs to be done, in what order, and with which tools, and then keep a project moving.

2. Grab managerial experience early

Run standups, lead sprints, and coordinate small teams if you have a chance. Volunteer to own small scopes like roadmap reviews and stakeholder check?ins, to build judgment and trust.

3. Build domain fluency and networks

Learn how people in your field think and speak. It signals maturity and reduces perceived hiring risk. Read primary sources and talk to operators. Join a niche community or meetup and ask specific questions.

4. Choose costly and credible signals, such as an MBA

Managers want evidence of commitment. If a degree isn’t feasible, pick rigorous alternatives – selective fellowships, competitive certifications, or shipping a demanding public project.

5. Use AI well

Build agents, audit outputs, and integrate them into real workflows. You could be the person who sets the AI standard at your next company – we’re still early, and practical expertise is scarce. Track gains (time saved, error rates, throughput) and document playbooks so others can adopt them. Push for small, safe pilots and iterate fast.

The implications for sales and marketing

Let’s get more granular. Most of the people reading this article are in sales and marketing. How do we have an AI-shaped career in that profession?

6. Become impossible to replace in customer relationships

AI may automate tasks, but trust, empathy, and emotional resonance are still the human differentiators.
People want to buy from, partner with, and follow humans they feel connected to.

• Build a personal brand in your niche—be findable, memorable, and known.
• Develop deep customer fluency: their worldviews, their blockers, their aspirations.
• Become the person who delivers difficult news well, handles nuance, and reads a room.

This is the “Most Human Company Wins” applied at the individual level. AI can crank out emails, landing pages, and pitches. But it still can’t feel the customer.

7. Build a Portfolio of Evidence, Not Just a Résumé

AI is making hiring faster and more automated, but that also means résumés look more similar. Portfolios, demonstrations, and proof-of-work become far more powerful signals than job titles or bullet points.

• Publish case studies, screen recordings, agent demos, prototypes, or thought pieces.
• Document your projects in public spaces (LinkedIn, GitHub, Notion, Substack).
• Practice “building in public”—it shows momentum and reduces perceived hiring risk.

8. Become the human face of your brand

The personal brand is our last line of defense against AI. If you are KNOWN in your industry. AI can mass-produce content, but it can’t replicate an authentic, trusted, known human.

No matter what happens in this AI world, we will seek verification, validation, insight and comfort from real humans. The only career equity we can carry with us is our personal brand. Are you known or not?

I teach the best personal branding class in the world to help you determine:

• Your place in a crowded business eco-system
• Establishing the presence, reputation, and authority to break through
• Strategies to get your story out to an audience that matters
• Specific ideas to give your brand an edge

Being “Known” is the strongest career moats in the AI era.

9. Become an experience designer

Your customers are hungry for connection and live experiences. This is a uniquely human acitivy.

We’re already seeing a backlash as young people seek more shared experiences in their online world.

• Learn to design workshops, events, roundtables, and customer communities.
• Study experience design, service design, and community management.
• Become the person who can create moments of belonging and transformation.

10. Lead a brand community

In Belonging to the Brand, I boldly predicted that community will be the last great marketing strategy, and that is backed up with evidence.

Here’s the good news. AI is not going to build and run a human community. Community might be the only type of marketing people actually seek out because we need human connection.

This book goes into detail about how to build and nurture a brand community, but the main ideas are:

• Find an intersection of the purpose of your company and the purpose of your customers
• Create an online and/or offline space of trust and safety
• Reward community members and assure they are seen and heard

The AI-shaped career

Here’s the simple truth: none of us can fully predict where this is going, but we can decide how we’re going to show up for it.

An AI-shaped career isn’t about becoming more machine-like. It’s about becoming the most unmistakably human version of ourselves — more curious, more connected, more courageous.

If you build trust, create experiences that matter, show your work, and become known in a meaningful way, you won’t just survive this transition. You’ll stand out in it.

The future doesn’t belong to the people who race against the machines. It belongs to the people who double down on the humanity the machines can’t touch.

Need a keynote speaker? Mark Schaefer is the most trusted voice in marketing. Your conference guests will buzz about his insights long after your event! Mark is the author of some of the world’s bestselling marketing books, a college educator, and an advisor to many of the world’s largest brands. Contact Mark to have him bring a fun, meaningful, and memorable presentation to your company event or conference.

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Illustrations courtesy Mid Journey