We’ll just come out and say it: We like AI. Mostly. For the past several years, we’ve been helping our clients learn how to leverage AI tools so they can spend less time on manual tasks and more time on strategy.

But a lot of people are at least a little bit worried about AI … even those who use it regularly. It can be a great help in the workplace. But it’s fair to be concerned about how it might impact you and your career, especially as these AI tools get “smarter.”

What if AI becomes too good at doing my job? What my employer decides it’s better to pay a relatively low subscription fee to a premium AI tool … rather than a full salary with benefits? What if I’m not needed anymore?

Even if your job feels secure for now, you may have other creeping concerns in the back of your mind. What if I’m great at what I do … but I’m not keeping up? What if I slowly become less competitive in my industry without realizing it?

The good news is that you don’t need to re-invent yourself to compete with AI. You just need a few steady habits that keep you sharp, connected, and hard to replace.

Here Are Five Ways to Shore Up Your Career and Help You Compete with AI

(Hint: It’s all human stuff that actually keeps you marketable.)

1. Keep Learning in Real Life — Not Just Online

AI can learn the internet in seconds. Cool.

But it can’t do the most important kind of learning: the kind that happens in the room.

Conferences, workshops, panels, local marketing events — they’re not just nice to have. They’re how you stay plugged into what’s actually happening. You hear what people are trying, what’s working, what’s new, and what’s changing.

And sometimes the biggest value isn’t even the content.

It’s the side conversations. The connections made. The moments that never make it into a recap post. (As our guest, Jonathan Mast, said in episode 41 of our podcast, CultivatED Marketer: “Nobody needs a highlight reel anymore.”)

If you want to compete with AI, don’t just consume information. Instead, put yourself in places where information is alive.

Then, take that knowledge and learn how to make AI your … sidekick … in prompting and complex workflows like creating a podcast.

2. Build Relationships that AI Can’t Replace

You’ve heard the adage: It’s not what you know — it’s who you know.

Cliche, sure. But it’s true. And the relationships you build can shape your career just as much as your skill set does.

In episode 40 of CultivatED Marketer, Derrick Rozdeba talks about the role of community in building strong brands — that includes your personal brand. Community matters because it keeps you connected to real opportunities, real feedback, and real people who know what you’re good at and what you’re capable of.

When jobs shift, budgets change, or new roles open up, the first move isn’t necessarily “Let’s post this online and see who applies.” Oftentimes, it’s “Who do we already know that can do this?”

3. Treat LinkedIn as an Investment (Not a Performance)

Many professionals treat LinkedIn like a stage. Either they feel like they have to post inspirational essays … or they disappear completely until they need something.

But LinkedIn works best when you treat it like a slow, steady reputation builder. (And while AI can help you write faster, it can’t build that reputation for you.)

And we recently got the inside scoop from LinkedIn Principal Consultant Purna Virji in episode 39 of CultivatED Marketer: LinkedIn’s algorithm is shifting, and it’s not chasing reach anymore … it’s about creating resonance.

In other words: being useful, being real, and actually connecting with people.

You don’t need to become a “personal brand” person overnight, and you don’t need to stand on your soapbox and post something so cringe it would get you shared to the LinkedInLunatics subreddit.

You just need to show signs of life. Comment on things you actually have an opinion on. Share a takeaway from a project you worked on. Say something that would help someone who might be in a similar situation.

4. Keep Your Writing and Critical Thinking Skills Sharp

AI can write. Obviously. It can crank out a decent email, a blog outline, a social media post, and just about anything else. And AI can summarize information for you, draw conclusions, and package them in a way that’s easy to understand.

But if you start relying on AI to do your writing and thinking for you, you may start to slowly lose these skills without realizing it.

According to the National Association of Colleges & Employers’ 2025 Job Outlook report, problem-solving skills and written communication skills were the #1 and #3 most-desired attributes in job candidates, taking home 88.3% and 77.1% of the vote, respectively.

And for something that important, it’s risky to start outsourcing it completely.

While many people are using AI to help us move more quickly and efficiently at work, it can be helpful to have at least one place in your life where you are still doing things “the old-fashioned way.”

Whether it’s writing a monthly LinkedIn article 100% in your own words, or forcing yourself to work through problems yourself instead of enlisting the help of AI … practicing these skills will help keep you sharp. And the people who stay sharp are the people who stay valuable.

5. Build Your Personal Board of Advisors

Finally, one underrated habit to practice throughout your career: stay genuinely interested in how other people are doing their work.

And not in a “networking” way … in a curiosity way.

There will always be people out there who are solving the same problems you’re trying to solve — but in a different way, with different tools, different instincts, and a different approach.

Prioritize taking the time to find these people and schedule time with them. Ask them questions to find out how they think, why they’re doing things they way they are, and what they’ve learned. Questions like:

  • How did you approach that project?
  • What do you do first when you’re stuck?
  • How do you decide what matters vs. what’s noise?
  • What’s a process you swear by?
  • What’s something you’ve changed your mind about recently?

You don’t need a big ask. You’re not pitching them on anything … you’re just paying attention and showing that you value their insights.

It’s almost like building your own little personal board of advisors. It’s nothing formal, just a small circle of people whose brains you trust. And over time, these conversations do something else too: they turn you into someone people remember — because you showed up and stayed curious.

How Sparkcade Can Help You Compete with AI

AI isn’t going away … but the goal isn’t to “outsmart” it or avoid it. The goal is to stay relevant as the way we work changes.

The people who are able to compete with AI long-term aren’t the ones who use the fanciest tools. They’re the ones who keep learning, keep building relationships, and keep showing up consistently … in real life and online.

LinkedIn can be a great place to identify knowledge gaps. It’s one of the simplest ways to stay visible, stay connected, and stay top-of-mind, even when your day job is busy and your brain is fried. And it doesn’t have to mean posting essays or forcing yourself into “personal brand” mode. You just need a strategy that feels like you, and a rhythm you can actually stick to.

At Sparkcade, we offer training on LinkedIn that helps you build a presence that’s real, repeatable, and genuinely useful — whether you’re growing your career, building credibility in your industry, or just trying to make sure opportunities don’t pass you by. We also offer training on AI with our SPARK program, search visibility (SEO/GEO) and podcast/vidcast production.

If you’re ready to compete with AI by doubling down on the human stuff that still matters most, we’d love to help.