Embracing AI to Stay Ahead: My Journey from Maternity Leave to AI Advocacy

During my maternity leave, a mentor suggested I tune into a virtual event hosted by The Globe and Mail titled "Generative AI: Business Applications of the Future." As I listened, cold coffee in one hand and my baby in the other, a sense of dread washed over me. The professional world was advancing rapidly, and there I was, seemingly on pause. The mainstream introduction of AI during my leave made me question whether I'd still be relevant when I returned to the workforce. This moment was the spark for my journey into the world of AI—a journey of exploration, learning, and ultimately, empowerment.

For many of us, the fear of being left behind in our careers is all too real. Whether you're returning from leave, switching industries, or simply watching the potential stagnation within your current role, the threat of being outpaced by technology and competition is a looming reality. But what can you do about it? How do you bridge that gap and ensure you're not left behind? Here are some actionable steps I've discovered on my journey that can help you harness AI as a catalyst for your personal and professional growth.

• STEP 1: Start Experimenting with AI Platforms

Dive into the diverse world of AI platforms, each designed to meet specific needs and enhance your professional toolkit. For writing and communication, ChatGPT is great at adding clarity, structure and polish to your content and emails. Perplexity AI can go pretty deep into market research, analyzing trends and data to support strategic decisions or mapping out processes. It also cites its sources, adding a layer of transparency and reliability to the insights you receive. Gemini by Google serves as a robust research assistant, pulling in knowledge from across the internet to inform your projects and decisions. For those in software development, GitHub Co-Pilot offers real-time code suggestions and debugging help, simplifying the coding process and making it easier for new-comers to get in the game.

Begin with small tasks: use ChatGPT to draft a complex email, Perplexity for a market analysis, or let Gemini assist you in preliminary research. Engaging with these tools for specific tasks will help you appreciate their potential and understand their limitations. You don't need to be an expert, you just have to try.

• STEP 2: Map Your Career Trajectory with AI

Use AI to strategically map out your career trajectory. Tools like ChatGPT are great for analyzing your resume and providing feedback or alternate career suggestions tailored to your experience. For instance, you might upload/or paste your resume and inquire, “What are the emerging fields where my skills could be best utilized?” or “Can you draft a development plan for transitioning into a [specific] role in [sector or industry]?”

These AI-driven insights are invaluable for pinpointing skill gaps and identifying opportunities, providing you with the steps or skills you need to earn to get to where you want to be. You can also use AI to tailor your CV specifically for your targeted role at a desired company by pasting in the job description, and information about the company and asking, “Optimize my CV for a [specific role] at [specific company]."

Go further by asking AI to identify the top three challenges someone in your targeted role will face in the coming years. Perplexity is a great tool for this as it will also suggest more questions you could ask it to help you find out as much as you can. This foresight allows you to position yourself as the ideal candidate, one who not only understands the challenges ahead but is also equipped to tackle them. This approach not only prepares you for potential interviews but also enriches your understanding of what future employers are looking for in top candidates.

• STEP 3: Address Knowledge Gaps with AI

When I came back from leave, I was assigned to lead a strategic initiative in the unfamiliar realm of healthcare. AI tools allowed me to quickly understand essential industry standards, policies, and the key players involved. This drastically helped reduce the steep learning curve associated with entering new sectors and I was able to hit the ground running on this assignment with my existing project management expertise.

For you, this means that venturing into unknown territories doesn’t have to be daunting. Whether you’re considering a shift to a new industry or taking on unfamiliar projects, leveraging AI can provide the support you need. AI tools can distill complex information, offering insights that allow you to navigate new challenges. This enables you to apply your skills confidently from the start, turning what could be an overwhelming experience into a manageable and successful one.

• STEP 4: Make Time to Master AI

The biggest pitfall in using generative AI is assuming it can do all the work for you—it cannot. AI requires you to invest time and energy to fully grasp its capabilities and understand its limitations. For instance, simply asking ChatGPT to generate a blog post on a complex topic might leave you disappointed—heck it will leave all of us disappointed! AI tools aren't creative innovators; they don’t initiate. Instead, they enhance the raw material you provide based on patterns they've learned.

It’s crucial to approach AI as you would a highly skilled sidekick. It’s there to assist, not to lead. Engage actively by listening to podcasts, reading relevant articles, participating in forums, lunch and learns and taking online courses to deepen your understanding. With this foundation, you can then creatively apply AI to your projects. Use it to refine your ideas, automate mundane tasks, and perform data-heavy analyses, allowing you more time to focus on innovation and strategic thinking.

By making the time to learn how to effectively collaborate with AI, you empower yourself to leverage this technology to propel your career to the next level. AI is a powerful tool, but only when used as an extension of your own expertise and creativity.

Conclusion: From Maternity Leave to Embracing AI

As I sat on my couch during that AI conference, the fear of becoming obsolete was overwhelming. But instead of letting it paralyze me, I chose to harness the power of AI as a catalyst—not just for catching up, but for propelling forward.

AI isn’t just about keeping pace; it’s about setting the pace. It’s not a magic wand, but with the right approach, it can be a powerful ally. Think of it as the espresso shot to your career latte—it won’t drink the coffee for you, but it sure will keep you alert and ready to tackle what lies ahead!

So, as you step into the world of AI, remember it’s not about replacing the human touch; it's about enhancing it. By making AI your sidekick, you're not just surviving your return to work or a shift in career; you're thriving in it.

Now I'm interested to know, how has AI helped your career so far? What are the innovative ways you are using it to help you grow your own expertise? What are the barriers preventing you from embracing it?