Updated , Published at 7:02 AM PHT
by
Dennis Cabrera
Win Your AI Job: Values, Skills, & Time-Tested Strategies
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- My story
- The political situation
- Adversity is a greater teacher
- The realities and advantages of transferring universities
- A dream to realize
- A routine faithfully followed is a discipline that succeeds
- Stand your ground when challenged in an interview
- Strategic silence with proof is a strength
- Success is more than just luck or situation
- The uncertainties and possibilities that AI is causing
- AI is here to stay
- Rosauro's Cue: How to apply for a job now?
- Opportunity when a new world order is being born
Introduction
This article seeks to provide the reader with insights from a first-hand experience of seeking work in the job market. May it assist anyone to have a positive, goal-oriented mindset. A positive attitude can generate the energy and strength required by any job seeker to succeed and secure the job they need. May this article be an eye-opener for all to see the importance of applying:
- the best of themselves,
- developing a self-confident attitude,
- and achieving self-mastery in the job market.
My story
Let me recount the story of one experience I had on my first job hunt in the job market. It was not yet the final exams, but the Placement Office at Ateneo de Manila University was strongly proactive. It began to give leads to job applications from corporations all over Metro Manila to all senior college students who were already set to graduate from their degree courses. And so, with the Placement diligently giving all the leads to job openings to all the seniors, I already began the job hunt. (And prepared for final exams also.)
The political situation
It was the last quarter of . Manila and other areas in the Philippines have been experiencing difficulties since the mid-1970s. President Marcos, Sr., of the Philippines declared Martial Law in and lifted it 9 years later in . Since then, the pulse of the people in Manila has been beating towards a new governance. And it proved forthcoming when this spirit reached its apex in the People Power Revolution of [1][2].
Adversity is a greater teacher
William Hazlitt said, "Prosperity is a great teacher, adversity is a greater." Albert Einstein also said, "In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity" [3].
The adverse conditions in the country taught me how to set a goal where the opportunity to succeed can be realized. The goal of finding a job in needed self-discipline and determined efforts to win. Winning with honor is a value I learned in my Catholic education.
The Philippines is fortunate to have many Catholic schools and universities. The country received its first Catholic missionaries on its shores in the 16th century. They introduced the Catholic faith and eventually founded schools and universities. Two of these Catholic institutions, among many other universities that dot the entire Philippines archipelago, are De La Salle University in Manila and the Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City [4][5].
The realities and advantages of transferring universities
I realized to my advantage that transferring from De La Salle University to Ateneo de Manila University was an adjustment needed to strengthen my self-discipline. Studies in Ateneo de Manila can fill up a student’s time. De La Salle University also filled up a university student’s time, but there was more freedom in La Salle to socialize among peers at the time. Course requirements at Ateneo were heavier but more well-rounded and balanced since the core curriculum included basic courses in philosophy and theology - much more than De La Salle's focus on Science and Engineering.
The requirements to complete the philosophy and theology courses at Ateneo were reflection papers that made you think critically, with valuable insights for your professor. These reflection papers had to be written well and regularly submitted on time throughout the length of every philosophy or theology course. Despite big course requirements, Ateneo students were still active in extra-curricular activities, and therefore, brought their other studies with them to every organizational meeting they were involved in. That was the trend among students at the time, but it was a benefit to those who strongly intended to graduate in Ateneo de Manila University. I was one of them.
A dream to realize
Nearing the end of the second semester of 1985, the Placement Office gave me the leads I needed to apply for jobs. And so for one month, determined to "win a job", I got up early in the morning every day, commuted mostly to Makati City (the country’s business district), took many entry-level job exams, and showed up for every interview upon all given notices. This was daily, except on weekends.
- There was no internet yet at the time.
- No laptops.
- No smartphones nor iPhones.
- No light rail transits.
- Your feet had to do the walking,
- your physical money had to do the paying, instead of fingers on a smartphone or iPhone that can easily hail a TNV from a mobile app and have your payment automated.

GEN AI image of a young man job hunting with his laptop, representing modern times with internet connections
A routine faithfully followed is a discipline that succeeds
That discipline went on for one month. One day, I got a phone call (or maybe a telegram). It was from a renowned government agency with a good reputation for providing high salaries to its employees, specifically, for economic researchers. This was the exact opportunity I needed to put my Ateneo education to work to win a job.
The message for an interview was from a government agency located just near our residence. The department head of the Social Services Department wanted to see me personally for an interview. So I commuted and finally got to meet him at his office. The interview began.
Stand your ground when challenged in an interview
When the head of the Social Services Department began the interview, I was caught aback, because he told me exactly that from many job candidates he was left with two choices to hire: a University of the Philippines graduate, or an Ateneo de Manila graduate - me. And he frankly told me he preferred the UP job candidate because of his better academic records. But I remained silent and instinctively stood my ground with all the strength I could muster [6].
Strategic silence with proof is a strength
I strategically did not flinch and kept strong in my silence after his point-blank initial judgment. As he sat motionless in his chair, the Department Head returned to each of our university records and examined each one more closely. There was something that made him think more about his goal in making the decision. It was the essay I had written for the entry-level job test requirements.
An essay writing test was part of the examination required for the role of an economic researcher. In my essay, he was honestly impressed with how I had written it. That made a big difference between me and the applicant from the University of the Philippines. It seems I wrote exactly what he wanted to hear as a Department of a Government Agency on Economic Development needs to hear and be directed to do in a time of political and economic uncertainty. That made him choose me.
Success is more than just luck or situation
- It may have been the political, economic, and social instability of the time.
- It could also be the uncertainty of the nation's and the agency's direction, which the department head had to deal with in many forms.
- But it was certain that he was pressed for time with a lot of other important tasks. So he had to make a decision fast.
As he recognized in the essay, the direction of values and ethics that Ateneo de Manila University had taught me, which I employed and strategically positioned in parts of the essay, a "light at the end of the tunnel" was created for him. That produced a positive impact and brought light to solve whatever was on his mind as the Head of the Social Services Department.
The uncertainties and possibilities that AI is causing
The present times remind me of that job hunting experience in the 4th quarter of 1985. As in the past, today’s uncertainty and the need for direction are rife again. Many years ago in Manila, no one had a "global sense" of what was happening as we do today because of the high-speed information brought to everyone through the internet. Now, everyone is aware of what is happening all over the world. Many news agencies online report that people are moving (in many areas of life and work). There were news reports on the internet of a Great Resignation. And the Work From Home Revolution has begun to dawn upon us. Now, AI is disrupting the old way of work with many layoffs, but is also shedding more light on many discoveries and new frontiers [9].
AI is here to stay
The old world of work will end and a new world of work is being born. It can appear negative to others who are resistant to change, but it is exactly the time to be hopeful, find greater stability, and seek certainty through information and news. Knowledge and information provide an understanding of any uncertainty, add fullness to any lack, and give direction from disruption to a new order in present trends. All these and more can spur any job hunter to be determined in his search.
Experience from that first job hunt taught me what I can share with job seekers who are facing the rise of AI and its continued innovations. While searching, the job hunter must also upskill and expand their knowledge and understanding of AI, avoiding all skills in jobs or careers that can be automated by AI in the next five years. He ought to be aware also of current trends in the AI industry and focus on areas where he can customize artificial intelligence models and apply them to a current job or a planned small business. If new disruptions occur, and there will surely be more, one can continue moving forward in his career when he re-roots himself on the basics and sound fundamentals: setting worthwhile goals and applying the decisiveness, discipline, and determination to achieve them - all in the context of the values he was schooled in [10].
Rosauro's Cue: How to apply for a job now?
This 5 step approach can help differentiate you and secure your higher-paying AI job.
Step 1. For Filipino job seekers facing AI disruption, the key is to upskill: learn and practice new skills in AI
Step 2. Expand technological abilities in AI: as AI tools upgrade, learn about the upgrades and how to apply the new features
Step 3. Specifically focus on how to customize AI models for current tasks or a planned small business to master AI skills
Step 4. Remember to re-root yourself in sound fundamentals: set worthwhile goals and apply decisiveness, discipline, and determination to achieve them
Step 5. Contextualize your determined purpose on core universal job skills in practice today: sound judgment, critical thinking, emotional intelligence, irreplaceable human skills, and strategic career moves to pivot successfully for higher income streams in the age of AI [11].
Opportunities for all as a new world order is being born
As mentioned above, "an old world of work will end and a new world of work is being born." And with AI technologies rising fast in the global arena, an "old world order is ending, and a new world order is being born." In that new world order lies the potential for all to use AI responsibly, that development of all peoples, material progress, and the preservation of the earth's ecosystems can be attained. The irreplaceable human skills of trust-building, and the power of AI to bridge languages together through translation, can lead to a globally coordinated world order, that values total human development, better quality of work, and conservation of the world's life-giving ecosystems [12].
Make that move now and win your AI job by leveraging digital platforms!