Paul Welty, PhD AI, WORK, AND STAYING HUMAN

Bookmark: Gen Zers are being branded as unemployable. Here’s what they can learn from the top 1% of applicants

Gen Z can boost their employability by learning from the top 1% of candidates. Discover key strategies for success in a challenging job market.

Gen Z faces a tough job market with employers hesitant to make hires due to perceived deficiencies in professionalism and communication. Insights from Shaan Patel’s piece in Fortune reveal how this generation can take cues from the top 1% of candidates to overcome biases. Key strategies include developing self-awareness and curiosity during interviews. By honing these skills, Gen Z can more effectively compete and succeed in today’s evolving workplace.

A notable quote from the article is: “Self-awareness is pivotal as early as the interview phase.” This line underscores the significance of self-awareness in creating favorable first impressions, which is critical for Gen Z candidates as they navigate the job market.

Gen Zers are being branded as unemployable. Here’s what they can learn from the top 1% of applicants


Featured writing

Why customer tools are organized wrong

This article reveals a fundamental flaw in how customer support tools are designed—organizing by interaction type instead of by customer—and explains why this fragmentation wastes time and obscures the full picture you need to help users effectively.

Infrastructure shapes thought

The tools you build determine what kinds of thinking become possible. On infrastructure, friction, and building deliberately for thought rather than just throughput.

Server-Side Dashboard Architecture: Why Moving Data Fetching Off the Browser Changes Everything

How choosing server-side rendering solved security, CORS, and credential management problems I didn't know I had.

Books

The Work of Being (in progress)

A book on AI, judgment, and staying human at work.

The Practice of Work (in progress)

Practical essays on how work actually gets done.

Recent writing

We always panic about new tools (and we're always wrong)

Every time a new tool emerges for making or manipulating symbols, we panic. The pattern is so consistent it's almost embarrassing. Here's what happened each time.

Dev reflection - February 03, 2026

I've been thinking about constraints today. Not the kind that block you—the kind that clarify. There's a difference, and most people miss it.

When execution becomes cheap, ideas become expensive

This article reveals a fundamental shift in how organizations operate: as AI makes execution nearly instantaneous, the bottleneck has moved from implementation to decision-making. Understanding this transition is critical for anyone leading teams or making strategic choices in an AI-enabled world.

Notes and related thinking

Bookmark: A psychologist explains what Gen Z should be striving for at work (hint: not happiness)

Gen Z should prioritize workplace engagement over fleeting happiness to achieve lasting career fulfillment and drive organizational success.

Bookmark: 5 Reasons Why ‘Gen Z’ Is Struggling In The Workplace—By A Psychologist

Explore the key challenges Gen Z faces in the workplace and discover how managers can adapt to support their unique needs for success.

Bookmark: Gen Z workers think showing up 10 minutes late to work is as good as being on time

Explore the clash between Baby Boomers and Gen Z over punctuality in the workplace, revealing how attitudes towards time impact productivity and collaboration.