If I get the chance to speak to students, I take it. Always.
Spent time at Dublin City University earlier this week with one of the bachelor’s programme classes — talking about AI, supply chains, and what building a career looks like right now.
I ended up sharing more of my own story than I expected. Not the polished version. The decisions that did not make sense at the time.
One student asked me a question I did not expect.
What’s the biggest mistake you made in your career?
My answer came down to timing.
I stayed in places longer than I needed to. And I left places sooner than I needed to.
Another student asked, almost cautiously: How do we use AI to get ahead without making ourselves obsolete?
What I told them is that employers are already moving. They are not hiring for “interest in AI.” They are hiring for people who can use it to produce something useful.
The fastest way to show your worth is simple: build something. A small tool, a workflow, a project that solves a real problem. Even a small project that saves someone time is enough. Then show it.
That output becomes a credential. Not because it is perfect. Because it proves you can work in the new reality.
What stayed with me afterwards is how aware they are. They know the shift is happening and they are asking the right questions already.
I left with more energy than I arrived with.
Thank you to Alan Doherty for hosting me and making the session happen.