Rising Above: Navigating Career Transitions with AI as Your Guide

Last month, I found myself at a local concert—a dad band that had the perfect playlist for a packed bar full of Gen Xers (The Joker by Steve Miller Band nearly brought down the house!) —catching up with friends who've dedicated their careers to civil service and mission-driven work.

As we talked, a sobering pattern emerged. Despite working across different federal agencies, democracy-focused non-profits, and international development organizations, they all shared the same unsettling experiences. As the lone "corporate girl" in our circle, what struck me was how much it sounded like employee experiences when one company acquires another in the private sector — except these were public servants and non-profit leaders who had never experienced anything like this before.

The conversations stayed with me. Watching careers, agencies, and organizations unravel over the following weeks left me feeling helpless.

But Michelle Obama's words kept surfacing in my mind: "When they go low, we go high."

Instead of sitting with that helplessness, I decided to channel it into action by sharing what I’ve learned from the past year experimenting with AI and applying it to the unprecedented need for thousands of public servants and non-profit leaders faced with a career transition. This post is dedicated to anyone facing an unexpected career crossroads. I hope this helps you rise above what’s happening and find something that truly lights you up in this next chapter.

Turning Challenge into Opportunity with AI

For the past year, I've been experimenting with AI assistants (primarily ChatGPT and Claude) to boost my productivity and effectiveness. What I've discovered is that these tools can be particularly valuable during career transitions when you're trying to:

• Reframe your existing experience for new audiences
• Identify transferable skills you might not recognize
• Craft compelling application materials
• Research potential career paths and organizations
• Prepare thoroughly for interviews

The good news? Many of these tools are accessible without specialized technical knowledge or a large subscription fee. And with the right approach, they can function as your personal career strategist.

Two Powerful AI Approaches for Career Transitions

Based on my experiments, I've created two resources specifically for people facing unexpected career transitions.

➡️ GUIDE: AI Career Coach GPT

This guide provides an overview of how to access and use a custom GPT that I created. It is available to anyone with a ChatGPT account (free or paid). It serves as a specialized assistant that can help you:

• Analyze your government/non-profit experience and translate it for private-sector employers
• Update your resume based on specific jobs you're targeting
• Recommend AI tools to improve your applications
• Identify resources that are low or no cost to help support you based on your current needs
• Create a learning plan recommend resources to upskill or reskill based on your desired role
• Prepare for interviews in new sectors like tech or finance
• Optimize your LinkedIn profile with AI assistance

What makes this particularly helpful is that it's pre-configured with specific instructions and reference materials about career transitions from government and non-profit sectors. It provides consistent, relevant guidance without requiring you to provide extensive context each time.

What other questions are you trying to answer as you navigate this change? Send me an note and I’ll try to find more ways to make this better!

➡️ GUIDE: Build Your Own Personal AI Career Transition GPT

For those with a ChatGPT Plus subscription ($20/month), I've created a guide to building your own personalized career coach custom GPT. This approach allows you to:

• Upload your specific career information and ambitions (resume, job descriptions of ideal roles)
• Tailor the AI to your unique situation and goals
• Add work samples, writing samples, personality tests, etc. to the knowledge so it can draw from what makes you uniquely you
• Create a persistent workspace that remembers your context
• Receive guidance that evolves as your transition progresses

The real value here is continuity. Rather than starting each conversation from scratch, your Personal AI Career Transition GPT retains project-specific details and can provide increasingly relevant support as you navigate your job search.

If you’d like more tutorials on how to set something like this up, drop me a note and let me know what you'd like to learn more about.

Why AI Makes Sense for Career Transitions

When you're suddenly facing a career crossroads—especially one you didn't choose—there's an overwhelming amount of work ahead. From updating materials to researching opportunities to preparing for interviews, the process can feel like a full-time job itself. Additionally, negative self-talk and feelings of overwhelm can become major barriers.

AI tools can help by:

• Jumpstarting the process, with a low barrier to entry
• Handling repetitive tasks (like customizing cover letters)
• Giving you opportunities to follow step-by-step approaches, on your terms and your timeline (for those days you may not feel like talking to anyone else, just yet)
• Providing structure when you feel overwhelmed
• Offering fresh perspectives on how to position your experience
• Serving as an always-available thinking partner
• Creating a safe space to rehearse and refine your narrative

While AI won't replace human networking, mentorship, or your own judgment, it can free up your mental energy for the human connections that ultimately lead to opportunities.
 

Moving Forward Together

If you or someone you know is navigating an unexpected career transition from government, non-profit, or international development work, I hope these resources provide some practical and actionable support. The dedication and expertise you've brought to public service and mission-driven work represent valuable skills and perspectives that other sectors need.

As we navigate this challenging moment together, I'm reminded that career transitions—even unexpected ones—often lead to new possibilities we couldn't have imagined. And sometimes, going high means using every tool at our disposal to move forward with purpose and resilience.

Would you like to learn more about either of these AI resources? Or do you have questions about leveraging AI in your own career transition? Drop me a note—I'd love to help.

My story: I'm Julie Kelleher, living and working at the intersection of education, technology, and parenting. The working mom hustle is real, and my biggest wish is often for more time (and, yes, more sleep—but mostly more time!). My kids, who I like to call "AI Natives," inspire me daily to embrace the future with them, exploring how AI can enrich our lives, spark curiosity, and help us reclaim those precious hours for what matters most. Through this blog, I share real-life examples of how I've experimented with AI to hack the hustle—whether at work or home—in the hopes that it inspires you to reclaim more time to do what you love.