How AI helped me find my dream job: the real experience of a top manager from Silicon Valley.
How AI helped me find my dream job: the real experience of a top manager from Silicon Valley.
Mark Quinn is the senior director of AI operations at Pearl, a startup that previously held management positions at Waymo, Apple, and LinkedIn. He developed his own AI-powered tool — CareerBuddy GPT — that helped a man search for jobs more effectively.
This tool, writes Business Insider, assessed Mark’s suitability for a particular role, updated his resume, created cover letters, and suggested whom to contact. Here’s how the tool’s developer describes the development process and algorithm.
«When I turned to AI for help with my job search, I had already been looking for five months, but the results were not meeting my expectations. I felt like I had done everything I could — even though I clearly hadn’t. In situations like these, you can get stuck and stop seeing new opportunities,» says Mark.
So he simply «asked» the AI: «I don’t know what to do. I’m a technology executive, here’s my resume, I’m applying for jobs, but I’m not getting any results.» And the AI literally «took me off the edge,» saying, «You’re at this stage of your career right now, the average job search time for you should be this long, and you’re only at this stage. So, first of all, calm down.» It sounds simple, but it was very helpful to hear. Then the AI added, «You’ve already done a lot, but there are things I haven’t seen — here’s what you can still do.»
Some of the AI’s advice was unexpected. For example, it suggested that the man… bake a cake for someone at a company that likes unconventional things. The AI also suggested how best to contact a specific person: say, not via LinkedIn, but via email, because this person is not active on social media.
«I began to perceive AI not just as a tool, but as the world’s best expert on any issue. The more you interact with it with this approach, the more you get,» the IT expert admits.
Later, Mark created something like a CareerBuddy GPT «panel of experts» with AI to have different points of view and generalized advice. For example, you can «download» the profile of the person you are preparing for an interview with and conduct a practice interview with AI, get feedback.
«AI also suggested that I aim for new positions (incremental CEO roles), to use cold calling more actively — something I hadn’t done before. Thanks to it, I understood how to do it better, how to formulate messages, and received a specific action plan,» the specialist says.
Mark’s story of joining Pearl is interesting. «I initially turned down the job — on paper it didn’t match my experience. It’s funny to think back, because now I’m here and everyone can see how well this role suits me,» the man recalls.
A week later, he came across the same job opening again and thought, «Why am I telling myself no? I’ll pitch this idea to CareerBuddy GPT and see what it says.» The AI gave me an objective answer: «You’re underestimating yourself. Your resume just doesn’t show it. But here’s how your experience relates to this position.» That’s what pushed me to apply,» admits Mark.
He networked, found the right contacts. «Everything went smoothly. But it was AI that pushed me not just to „respond,“ but to act strategically. I always say: trust, but verify. It advised me to do something I hadn’t planned to do at first. A person knows himself, his strengths and weaknesses. And AI helps you look „between the lines“ and challenge your assumptions,» Mark is convinced from his own experience.
«During the interview, the CEO of the company asked me, ‘What is your dream job?’ I hesitated, and then honestly said, ‘I don’t want to embellish—this job is my dream job,’» Mark recalls.
After he started using AI, his job search took a few more months. But, as the man says, he went from «throwing darts» at vacancies to clear, strategic work. «Instead of a lack of answers, I started getting relevant offers, having conversations — it’s a matter of the right match,» says Mark.
