Why It’s Essential to Stay Human Across Career Brand Engagement
- Brainz Magazine
- Jul 15
- 5 min read
Written by Jeanette Walton, Career Brand Consultant
Jeanette is spreading the word about the essentiality of career branding for all professionals. As a Career Brand Consultant, she has pioneered a career branding framework, amongst other educational resources, to amplify the use of career branding to cut through and stand out.
You’ve no doubt read or heard that artificial intelligence (AI) is permeating all professional spaces and corners. Whether that’s automating long-winded processes, speeding up multi-source research activities, or producing content that exceeds human pen-to-paper capabilities. In a professional context, recruiters are becoming even more swamped with job applications, with the technology emboldening candidates to use AI-generated resumes to convey job relevance. And then there’s the escalation of AI data feeds, causing a steady decline in click-through searches on platforms like Google–industry specialists are at risk of becoming obsolete.
“We live in a world where there is more and more information, and less and less meaning.” – (Jean Baudrillard, Sociologist & Philosopher)
In a world where many of us are already suffering from information-overload fatigue, the onslaught of AI-fueled content is no doubt further enhancing our short attention spans. Yet it’s also compounding the need for human-to-human connection in both personal and professional situations. Most philosophers and scientists agree that humans are meant to connect with one another, despite our expansive exposure to digital tools and channels. It’s a core part of our nature, or our DNA, to build strong, interactive relationships with one another.
The statistics tell their own story
A recent research finding I’ve cited many times now is that at least 80% of consumers want to believe in a brand or business before they invest. Such human trust has been defined as ‘having confidence, faith, or hope in a relationship with someone or something.’ And ‘relationship’ is the key term used here, highlighting that trust is primarily founded on the perceptions of a real, authentic connection. Bearing in mind that AI, at least for now, lacks the human touch to create an authentic connection, it’s human interaction that builds such believable trust.
Another recent insightful finding is that around 84% of consumers will buy from brands they feel an emotional connection to. And let’s not underestimate the power of emotional energy when humans interact with one another. It’s been suggested this bonding energy can be felt through long-distance mediums such as the telephone or online. Also, keep in mind that AI is unable to truly feel emotions due to its lack of human biological systems. Only humans can apply emotional intelligence to understand and convey empathy via emotive content. And a personalized foundational career brand will fuel and enrich this human-to-human engagement, in alignment with your professional objectives.
Digital leaders also prioritize humanity
Did you know that Google has added ‘experience’ to its information-quality-focused SEO guidelines to ensure human experience remains relevant in online searches? These guidelines are now EEAT (experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness) rather than EAT. Global software providers such as HubSpot are also hosting workshops to educate people on the importance of interweaving our humanness into digital content to stay competitive and impactful against AI (particularly in online searches). In terms of integrating the human you into your career-branded posts and promotions, some of their recommendations include:
Factoring in lived experience: Many prospective customers will appreciate that you’ve been where they are and have a first-hand understanding of their needs and expectations.
Giving a personal perspective: Minus any potentially contentious opinions, provide your own point of view on the topic (e.g., why you personally believe career branding matters).
Avoiding generic headings: Integrate a human-first perspective into this reader ‘hook and reel,’ such as starting with your own name or providing new or original data insights.
Using stories and anecdotes: We all have our own personal experiences and narratives, so interweave those that are most relevant to engage, inspire, and mitigate replication.
Applying first-person language: Tying in with the use of your name, make your content more subjective, which will not only keep you original but also convey you as a true person.
Prioritizing quality over quantity: Consider a more ‘artisanal’ approach within your career branding strategy to help you establish a more unique and specific reputation.
Human connection benefits all of us
Social connection is so hardwired into all of us that regular human-to-human engagement is known to significantly enhance our well-being. It’s been reported that regular social contact can boost life expectancy. Even if it’s deep down at a subconscious level, most of us know that positive, genuine connections are essential to both our personal and professional lives. Hence, so many consumers want to feel trust and emotional connectivity when deciding on a brand to invest in. And it’s humans who can establish this through our unique stories and nuances.
The prioritization of interpersonal human connections will also expose us to a broader range of ideas and perspectives. There is growing worldwide concern about the potential biases and corresponding loss of human diversity through AI-generated content, including online echo chambers that homogenize and stereotype our thoughts and beliefs. I recently participated in a SIETAR Global symposium focused on such AI threats, where I delivered a presentation on the value of human storytelling underpinned by personalized career branding, to keep us relevant and engaged with one another.
The value of authentic brand engagement
I recently read an article about the importance of creating content from your heart, with your unique personality injected, if you want to stand out against both your human competitors and AI. I also recently spoke with a prospective client who highlighted how much they prioritize authenticity in online brand promotions, particularly when it flows through to their corresponding communications. Authenticity is the key to building genuine human connections. It enables us to embrace our uniqueness and showcase our true selves.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve noticed that I gain more online traction when I interweave my authenticity and vulnerability into my online content. When I use my own specific stories, including surmountable struggles and anecdotal experiences, to flavor my branded content. A key example of this is when I share insights about my career journey, which includes taking underpaid jobs as a single mum and really stepping out into my own business in the past 18+ months. Perhaps conveying that I’ve been where they are. There’s also often a sense of more authentic connection when I interweave my voluntary work, such as my love of dog fostering.
Despite so many people feeling wowed and inspired by what robotic technologies like AI can do for us, and they are impressive, it’s still important for us to safeguard and appreciate our humanness. Use your career branding content to convey you as a personable individual, what makes you unique and meaningful, to truly connect, reassure, and activate audience interest.
Read more from Jeanette Walton
Jeanette Walton, Career Brand Consultant
Jeanette is a Career Brand Consultant who helps professionals worldwide to enhance their career prospects. To address a gap in the market, she designed a career branding framework that helps professionals design and apply their own unique career brand. She also avidly writes articles, newsletters and eBooks, features on podcasts, partners with industry alliances, and delivers educational presentations on the benefits of career branding. In her spare time, Jeanette fosters dogs, visits an aged care resident, and co-facilitates a LinkedIn Local networking group.
