career advice

Is AI Coming for Your Job? (And What to Do Before It Does)

Is AI Coming for Your Job? (And What to Do Before It Does)
Is AI Coming for Your Job? (And What to Do Before It Does)

Every generation has had its moment of workplace panic. In the early 2000s, it was outsourcing. In the 2010s, it was automation. Now it’s artificial intelligence. Depending on which article or social media post you read, AI is either the best thing to happen to your career, or it’s the end of it altogether.

The truth – like it always is – is somewhere in the middle.

After almost 20 years in recruitment, I’ve seen this cycle play out more times than I can count. New technology arrives, headlines scream about the end of a profession, and people start panicking. And then, slowly but surely, things settle. Not because the predictions were wrong, but because people adapt. And the ones who adapt quickest are usually the ones who come out ahead.

Tech Has Always Changed Work – This Isn’t New

Let’s not pretend AI is the first big disruption we’ve faced. Job boards once disrupted recruitment agencies. Then LinkedIn disrupted job boards. Then internal TA teams disrupted both. Recruiters freaked out. Hiring managers freaked out. But over time, we figured it out. The best people didn’t vanish. They just evolved.

I’ve seen recruiters go from faxing CVs to clients to sourcing with Boolean searches to building talent pipelines in CRMs. I’ve seen admin-heavy roles disappear overnight because of simple automation. And every time, the same thing happened – the people who were willing to lean in, try something new and adjust how they worked were the ones who ended up leading the pack.

AI is just the next wave. But the tide’s already coming in – and pretending it’s not happening won’t stop it.

AI Isn’t Taking Jobs. It’s Replacing Tasks.

One of the biggest misconceptions I hear is that AI is coming to take your job. That there’s a robot waiting to walk in, sit at your desk and crack on with your to-do list.

But that’s not how this works.

AI isn’t replacing people. It’s replacing parts of what people do.

Every job is made up of tasks. Some are repetitive, rule-based and process-driven – like scheduling meetings, pulling together reports, tidying up email copy, updating trackers. Others are far more complex – coaching a team, handling conflict, influencing stakeholders, making tough judgment calls. AI is already doing a good job of the first category. And it’s starting to stretch into the second.

If most of your role is ticking boxes or following a script, then yes – that part of your work is at risk. But the stuff that requires emotional intelligence, experience, context or creativity? That’s not going anywhere. If anything, it’s becoming more important.

This Is Already Happening – Most People Just Haven’t Noticed

The biggest shift with AI isn’t loud or dramatic. It’s subtle. It’s the kind of change that creeps in quietly and only becomes obvious once you’re already behind.

Reports that used to take someone two hours now take ten minutes. Notes from meetings are summarised instantly. Cold emails that took half a day to write now take ten minutes. And it’s not because people are working harder. It’s because they’re working smarter.

I call this the invisible productivity gap.

It’s the gap between people who are doing everything manually and the people using leverage to get things done quicker, cleaner and better. You can’t always see it from the outside. But you’ll definitely feel it if you’re not keeping up.

It’s not about who works longer hours or replies to emails fastest anymore. It’s about who’s using the tools. Who’s freeing up time to focus on higher-value work. Who’s using that extra space to build better relationships, make smarter decisions, or get creative.

AI Doesn’t Make You Redundant – It Makes You More Valuable (If You Use It Right)

This isn’t a replacement story. It’s an amplification story.

If you’re good at what you do, AI won’t take your job – it’ll make you better at it. It’ll give you back time. It’ll raise your ceiling. It’ll help you deliver more impact with less effort.

The best recruiters I know aren’t using AI to replace themselves – they’re using it to write job ads quicker, prep for hiring manager calls, personalise outreach, and automate all the admin that used to drain hours of their week.

The best marketers aren’t using it to write generic content. They’re using it to generate ideas, A/B test copy faster, and spot trends before anyone else. The best finance professionals are using it to clean and analyse data quicker. The list goes on.

And here’s the kicker: none of this is complicated. It’s not about becoming a prompt engineer or learning to code. It’s about understanding what tools are out there and being curious enough to try them. That’s it.

The Real Skill Now? Judgment.

In the past, value at work was all about volume. The more output you could produce, the more valuable you were.

That model doesn’t work anymore. Because machines will always win on volume. They’ll be faster, cheaper and more consistent.

The real skill now is judgment.

Can you sense when something feels off, even if the data says it’s fine? Can you challenge what the tool gives you and push it further? Can you explain complex ideas simply? Can you decide when to trust AI – and when not to?

That’s what separates good from great. And it’s where the real value sits.

Hiring Managers Are Already Catching On

When I speak to hiring managers these days, the questions have shifted. It’s no longer just “Can this person do the job?” It’s “Can this person adapt quickly?” and “Are they learning how to work with AI – or are they waiting for someone to teach them?”

Nobody’s expecting you to be an expert. But they are expecting you to be interested. To be testing things. To be thinking about how these tools could make you better at your job.

And you can see the difference in the market. People who are adapting – who are experimenting and sharing what they’ve learned – they’re getting opportunities. They’re moving forward. People who aren’t? They’re getting left behind.

Your Job Won’t Disappear Overnight – But It Will Change Under Your Feet

AI won’t walk in tomorrow and replace your role. But slowly, bit by bit, it will change what your role looks like.

That’s the danger. Not a sudden redundancy – but a slow drift away from relevance.

The people who’ll get caught out are the ones waiting for formal training. Waiting for permission. Waiting for someone to say, “Hey, now it’s time to learn this.”

Don’t be that person.

What To Do Now – Without Overcomplicating It

Start small. You don’t need to overhaul everything at once.

Pick one task that takes you too long – maybe it’s writing emails, or summarising meetings, or creating a rough outline for a document. Try doing it with AI. Play around. Test it. See how much quicker you get there. See what else you can free up time for.

Then be vocal about it. If you’re using AI to improve how you work, say so. On your CV. In interviews. On your LinkedIn profile. Hiring managers don’t care that you’ve “used ChatGPT” – they care that you’ve saved time, improved a process, or delivered better results because of it.

This isn’t about showing off. It’s about showing you’re moving forward.

The Real Risk Isn’t AI

The biggest risk right now isn’t the technology.

It’s the mindset that says “This doesn’t affect me” or “I’ll wait until it’s unavoidable.” The moment you think you’re safe is the moment you stop growing. And in a world where tech evolves faster than job specs can keep up, standing still is falling behind.

AI won’t replace you.

But someone who knows how to use it probably will.

The People Who’ll Win This Next Chapter? They’re Not the Most Experienced – They’re the Most Adaptable

The professionals who are going to thrive aren’t the ones with 20 years’ experience doing the same thing.

They’re the ones who’ve got range. The ones who are curious. The ones who are willing to test new tools, rethink how they work, and evolve when the game changes.

AI is coming for the old version of your job. Not the next one.

And that next version? You get to shape it – as long as you’re willing to evolve.

Start with these free tools that thousands of jobseekers use every week:

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