Spend More Time on What AI Still Can’t Do

A manager at Character AI told us that carefully written recruiting emails used to set his team apart. He would spend half an hour tailoring a note to each candidate. Large language models made that tactic free. Now every recruiter can send the same “personalised” note instantly, and response rates collapsed. That was the moment he realised the inbox wasn’t the differentiator anymore.

Why AI Makes Outreach Noisy

Once a tactic gets automated, it fades into background noise. That manager’s conclusion was blunt: stop polishing subject lines and do the things machines still cannot. Show up where people have to look you in the eye. Meetups, conferences, small study groups—anywhere attention comes by default because you are standing there together.

In a crowded inbox your message competes with dozens of AI-written pitches. At an in-person event the other person listens out of basic courtesy. That gives you a window to share something real. Whether the conversation goes somewhere still depends on the substance, but at least you get a fair shot.

Use The Same Logic When Job Hunting

Job hunters run into the same thing. Drop your resume into a portal and it falls into a filter. Managers remember referrals and direct conversations because there was already some trust. You build that trust in person: in a hallway after a talk, in a study group, or while shipping a small side project together.

Try it this month. Pick one community event. Ask the person next to you what they are building or wrestling with. Listen long enough to understand the answer. Follow up the next day with a short note. No AI prompt can fake that loop. The energy comes from humans showing up, not from clever automation.