The New Grad Playbook: Using AI to Stand Out in a Challenging Market
The job market for new graduates is genuinely harder; more applicants, faster rejections, and real uncertainty about which roles will even exist. But there's a gap opening up between grads who are waiting it out and those who are actively adapting. This talk is for the second group.
We'll cover how hiring has actually changed, what employers are looking for right now, and how to use AI tools to build visible skills, craft sharper application materials, and get in front of the right people — without sounding like a bot wrote your cover letter. Whether you're just starting your search or stuck in a frustrating plateau, you'll leave with a clearer picture of what "standing out" looks like in 2026 and one concrete thing to do about it.
Helen Lee Kupp is the co-founder and creator of Women Defining AI, a community of female leaders tackling the biggest topics of understanding today's generative AI widespread adoption through experimentation, support, and community learning. She takes a practical approach towards helping leaders navigate the biggest changes in work — both from AI/technology, and the flexible/hybrid work revolution. She is the co-author of WSJ Bestselling book “How The Future Works: Leading Flexible Teams to Do the Best Work of Their Lives”, an experienced technology operator and executive (former Slack/Salesforce, Thumbtack, Bain). She believes in closing the gender technology gap - starting with women at work - to create a future of work that looks and feels fundamentally different for her two kids and the women she mentors.
Angela Liu is the founder and creator of Gaapsavvy, a practitioner community connecting accounting and finance leaders at high-growth technology companies. Her work focuses on helping teams adapt to rapid industry change - from AI and emerging technologies to evolving standards and modern team building. She began her career at KPMG, later scaled finance at Glassdoor, and joined the founding team of an enterprise software startup, navigating multiple career pivots across corporate, tech, and entrepreneurship. As a member of Women Defining AI, she is passionate about making AI fluency accessible to everyone, not just engineers. She believes the future belongs to curious builders who are willing to experiment, learn in public, and continuously evolve alongside technology.