Since I graduated in May, I have been applying to various companies, tweaking resumes for keywords, and crafting letters of interest. I have been doing all the fun stuff one is advised to do. I am also married to a wicked smart person who works in HR, and I have a small bit of experience with HR as a business owner. This has been an exciting time for us. How so? We’re a couple of nerds who grab a bottle of wine and think about the ways people interact with AI in the workplace and in our culture.
As corporate and personal use of AI spreads, voices are turning into a singular voice. The term ‘AI slop’ has been adopted faster than a 30-something trying to show a teenager that they are still hip. I don’t agree with the way people use the term, but it does point out that generative communication has its own voice even though millions of people are using and playing with it. It’s recognizable, and it’s kinda homogenized.
This is not an indictment on LLMs. I am neither advocating that we bow to our robot overlords nor saying that we should televise the revolution, praise Thoreau and pass the ammunition. Technology isn’t innovation. Technology allows for innovation. It’s a tool that helps us produce. Yet, what happens when your job is to parse homogenized messaging every day? What happens as a consumer when you consume homogenized messaging every day? Hundreds of resumes, hundreds of content creators, hundreds of graphic artists, all written and created in the same generic flow with the same voice.
I have approached my application process with one goal in mind: be authentic. That doesn’t mean I want to show up in a hoodie telling it like it is…just sayin. It means that I think people respond to authenticity, positively or negatively. If the application and interview process is an exploration and negotiation, it should begin with being authentic.
Will it work? No clue. People crave two things. The first is a relationship that confirms their bias. The second is a relationship that is authentic. Maybe I can authentically confirm someone’s bias?
