This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Rathesh Prabakar, 26, who lives in Bengaluru, India. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
After over four years in my tech job, I was getting bored doing the same tasks, sitting in the same place.
I started working at a billing company after college in 2021. During my time there, I worked my way up to senior software engineer. I wanted to explore different businesses and learn how other industries solved user problems, so after thinking about leaving for a few months, in October 2025, I handed in my notice.
I was helping to support my parents financially at the time, and told them I felt I’d stand a better chance at getting a new job after quitting, so my notice period wouldn’t delay my start date. They were OK with me taking the risk.
In an environment where it seemed AI was replacing roles and companies weren’t hiring that vigorously, I was scared that I didn’t have a job lined up, but I also knew I had nearly 4½ years of experience and useful skills.
After searching for less than a month, I landed a job as a software engineer for a product-based company, where I’m doing exciting work that I look forward to every day. I’m glad I took the risk of leaving my comfort zone.
I used AI to apply for jobs in much less time than I had prepared for
My job search was a rollercoaster ride. I had planned to use what I thought was my 90-day notice period, but I was shocked to find within a few days of resigning that it would end after roughly 15 days.
I spent the first two days after resigning updating my LinkedIn profile and résumé, adding my more recent projects and skills. Before starting work, I’d apply for jobs online for two hours. After work, I’d prepare for interviews from 8 p.m. to as late as midnight. I didn’t tailor my résumé for each application, but I did adjust my preparation according to the job description for that role.
As I was used to asking AI to teach me stuff for my previous job, I got it to help me with my search. For example, I prompted it to consider itself an experienced résumé creator who has crafted more than 100 résumés. Having read articles about how to prompt AI, I felt that fine-tuning prompts in this way would yield better results.
Once I landed an interview, I’d feed ChatGPT information about my skill set, experience, and the job description for the role and ask it to create a plan to prepare based on how much spare time I had. Part of its response was potential interview questions that were closely aligned to the job description for the role. A high percentage came up in the interviews, and I was excited each time. When I didn’t know the answers to some questions in interviews, I’d write them down at the end and ask AI for the answer to prepare for the next interview. I’d also ask the chatbot to explain technical concepts I wasn’t that confident with as if I were a beginner.
I’m aware that you can’t believe AI all the time, but I’d question its responses, asking why it gave me those answers, and I’d manually cross-check some doubtful answers on Google. Overall, I found the tool to be highly accurate.
As well as AI, human connection also helped me land a job
I’m very active on LinkedIn, often posting my insights about frontend and software engineering. I think this helped with my job search.
When I saw a software engineer job posting at a company where someone in my network worked, I messaged him about the role. He told me he put in a referral for me, and soon after I received an offer for an interview. Even though we didn’t know each other that well, he told me that he’d seen my posts, and my knowledge on the industry gave him the confidence to refer me.
After completing technical interviews, I accepted a job offer in early November, less than a month after I handed in my notice for my previous role.
I didn’t expect to land a job so quickly, and the outcome has given me more confidence. I’ve learned that we need to believe in ourselves and be smart when utilizing our time.
I could have searched the internet for answers, but looking through different websites takes time. Since I was short on time, I took advantage of AI. If you use AI as your friend, you can move very fast.
When you come out of your comfort zone, as I did, you’ll see a better world.
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