Latest news with #IsabelitaCastilho
Forbes
09-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Executive Career Transition & The Great AI Disruption
Isabelita Castilho is a Job Search Strategist Advisor, a thought leader in Executive Career Transition and Founder of Executive Power FZE. AI is no longer a thing of the future. However, most professionals are still waiting to see what happens. While AI has seemingly transformed entire industries overnight, too many executives and professionals remain frozen in analysis paralysis, hoping their experience and the importance of the "human touch" will somehow shield them from the AI revolution. This mindset isn't just naive; it's career dismissal. The harsh reality? AI is impacting jobs and businesses today, not in the future. The question isn't whether your role or industry will be affected by AI, but how quickly you'll adapt or evolve to work alongside it—or be replaced by someone who will. As someone who helps executives with career transitions, I see AI becoming a part of the process more and more: Job seekers are utilizing AI to tailor their CVs, LinkedIn profiles and cover letters. But sometimes AI can make mistakes and write and express differently than a human would. It can even change one's personal style and voice, which becomes apparent during the interview phase. The Myth Of Human Irreplaceability While human creativity, empathy and strategic thinking cannot be replicated by machines yet, I believe it's one of the most dangerous myths circulating in boardrooms and LinkedIn posts about AI. It minimizes how replaceable AI can be. Because, while these human qualities do remain valuable, AI systems are rapidly developing sophisticated capabilities in pattern recognition, emotional intelligence and even creative problem-solving that can rival—and, in some cases, surpass—human performance. For example, surgical robots are already performing procedures with precision that surpass human capability in many cases. In Japan, some hotels have humanoids at their front desks, and many other businesses simply don't need as many humans to function and perform exponentially better. The executives clinging to the belief that their years of experience create an unbreachable shield are making the same mistake that Kodak made with digital photography or BlackBerry made with smartphones—they were so focused on their established success that they didn't think they needed to evolve and innovate, leading them to bankruptcy. The Partnership Imperative: Amplify, Don't Compete The survival strategy isn't about humans competing with AI; it's about AI becoming humans' most effective partner. Professionals thriving in 2025 aren't proving superiority over machines; they're amplifying their capabilities through AI collaboration. Consider how successful executives already leverage AI: • Strategic Decision-Making: AI can process vast data streams and identify patterns that inform high-level strategic choices, while humans apply judgment to weigh risk and stakeholder impact. • Content Creation: AI can handle initial drafts, research and data analysis, while humans add strategic insight, personal experience and emotional intelligence to create compelling narratives. • Customer Relations: AI can predict behavior and personalize interactions at scale, while humans can focus on high-value relationship building and complex problem-solving. • Operations: AI can provide routine analysis and recommendations, while humans concentrate on implementation strategy and change management. The Reinvention Road Map • Audit Your AI Vulnerability: Honestly assess which aspects of your current role could be automated. If more than 60% of your daily tasks involve routine analysis, data processing or predictable decision-making, you might be in the danger zone. • Identify AI Amplification Opportunities: Instead of viewing AI as competition, map how it could enhance your effectiveness. What would you accomplish if AI handled routine tasks, freeing you for more strategic thinking and relationship building? • Develop AI Fluency: You don't need programming skills, but you must understand AI capabilities and limitations. Spend time with relevant AI tools. Learn effective prompting, understand outputs, and recognize blind spots. • Pivot To High-Value Human Skills: Focus on capabilities that complement rather than compete with AI—complex stakeholder management, cross-functional leadership, ethical decision-making in ambiguous situations, creative problem-solving in novel contexts, building trust in uncertain environments, etc. • Position Yourself As An AI-Human Bridge: Organizations need leaders who can translate between AI capabilities and human needs, manage hybrid teams and ensure AI deployment serves strategic goals while maintaining ethical standards. For Executives In Career Transition If you're between roles and consider yourself to be AI-savvy, you have a unique advantage to position yourself as an AI-forward candidate from day one. Here's how: • Identify AI-Ready Roles: Consider looking for positions mentioning "digital transformation," "data-driven decision-making" or "innovation leadership." These companies likely need leaders who can bridge the AI gap. • Demonstrate AI Fluency: Don't just discuss traditional experience. Showcase AI tool experimentation, mention specific platforms used, and highlight results achieved. • Target Forward-Thinking Companies: Research which companies in your target industries invest heavily in AI. They need executives to navigate transition, not resist it. • Reframe Your Experience: Instead of listing past accomplishments, explain how strategic thinking and leadership would be amplified by AI capabilities. Show excitement about AI potential, not fear. The Opportunity Executives who will dominate the next decade won't be those with the most traditional experience but those who most effectively combine human insight with AI capabilities. They'll stop asking, "How do I protect my job from AI?" and start asking, "How do I become irreplaceable by making AI more effective?" Every day you wait, competitors learn to work with AI more effectively. The time for gradual change has passed. What are you waiting for? Forbes Coaches Council is an invitation-only community for leading business and career coaches. Do I qualify?
Forbes
15-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
The AI Revolution: Accelerating Job Searches And Career Transitions
Isabelita Castilho is an Executive Strategist Advisor and a thought leader in career transition. Career transitions have become increasingly common. Whether prompted by industry shifts, personal growth aspirations or changing workplace dynamics such as mergers and restructures, professionals are seeking new opportunities more frequently than ever before. Fortunately, AI tools such as ChatGPT and have emerged as powerful allies in this process, streamlining everything from résumé customization to networking outreach. The integration of AI into the job search process represents a significant advancement for career-minded professionals. These tools can analyze job descriptions, customize application materials and even suggest strategic networking approaches. However, this technological leverage comes with an important caveat: Maintaining authenticity remains crucial. While AI can enhance presentation and efficiency, your unique voice and genuine qualifications should always shine through. The cornerstone of any successful job search is a well-crafted résumé. Certain AI assistants like offer sophisticated capabilities for résumé customization, providing tailored suggestions based on specific job descriptions while preserving your professional voice. But be aware that other AI assistants may generate more generic content. (I have no business relationship with but use it frequently, alongside other AI tools.) For LinkedIn profile enhancement, AI tools can analyze your existing content and suggest improvements that increase visibility to recruiters and hiring managers. In terms of visual presentation, services like help create polished résumés with professional formatting—ideal for direct submissions to hiring managers, though less compatible with automated application systems, since the result is either a PDF or a Word Doc full of tables that can keep ATS from reading it effectively. AI assistants can act as 24/7 research partners when developing a target list of potential employers. The key to leveraging these tools lies in your approach: Converse naturally with the tool by texting instructions and questions as you would to any human assistant. Specify your skills, experience level, industry preferences, locations of interest and work values to receive customized company recommendations. The next step is to take these companies' names to LinkedIn and identify the talent acquisition team and hiring managers, then strategize your outreach. This targeted approach prevents the common pitfall of applying indiscriminately to numerous positions, allowing you to focus your energy on opportunities with genuine potential for mutual fit. One of AI's most valuable applications involves assessing alignment between your qualifications and specific job requirements. By uploading or pasting both your résumé and a job description into AI-powered platforms, you can get feedback regarding your candidacy strength. When gaps are identified, the same AI tool can suggest strategic adaptations to highlight relevant experiences and skills. This isn't lying, but thoughtfully emphasizing the most pertinent aspects of your background for each opportunity. This customization demonstrates to employers your serious interest and suitability. Effective social networking remains crucial in job searching since your personal contacts can act as referrals and ambassadors, with LinkedIn serving as the hub for identifying professional connections. However, in my experience, cold outreach messages often fail when they contain obvious job-seeking language. So avoid diminishing words such as "help," "looking," "need," "please" or "job." AI tools can analyze both your profile and your target contact's information to craft meaningful connection requests that spark genuine interest. For instance, rather than directly mentioning your interest in job opportunities when reaching out to potential hiring managers or decision-makers, you might copy and paste the profile of the person you're interested in speaking to as well as your own profile (the About and Experience portions, at least, or even your full CV) into the tool and ask the AI to craft a message that draws on the connections. Then when you get the result, adapt it to your own style. If you just want a quick template, here is one example: Hi [Name], I discovered your profile while researching Company XYZ's innovation department. Your leadership in this area aligns with my passion for [cite a specific aspect, e.g., digital transformation], and I believe our combined expertise across different sectors could make for an insightful conversation. Would you be open to connecting for a brief chat to explore synergies? Looking forward to the possibility! Regards, [Your name] This approach focuses on mutual professional interests rather than immediate job-seeking goals, substantially increasing response rates. While AI tools provide tremendous advantages in career transitions, the most successful job seekers will leverage these technologies while maintaining authentic professional relationships. AI can optimize your writing and suggest effective communication strategies, but meaningful connections ultimately depend on genuine engagement, mutual interest and professional value. As these tools continue to evolve, learning to work effectively with AI assistants represents not just a job search advantage but an increasingly valuable professional skill in itself. The professionals who thrive will be those who benefit from AI support while preserving the uniquely human elements that drive successful careers: creativity, emotional intelligence and authentic relationship-building. Forbes Coaches Council is an invitation-only community for leading business and career coaches. Do I qualify?
