I spoke on a panel at the University of Leeds Student Success Conference on Thursday.
We talked about employability, socioeconomic inequality and how to redesign a system that leaves loads of young graduates and prospective students feeling disenfranchised.
It feels strange to counsel that a great job application should read like a story, with difference presented as an asset, when I’m still getting used to telling my own.
It’s easy to ‘hide’ behind the work itself – the career I was talking about or the case study I was describing – and pivoting away from that feels different. I’m still figuring it out, I guess. Maybe that never stops.
In my post about AI writing, I poked fun at the ‘negative parallelisms’ favoured by LLMs, which I got from the Wikipedia page on AI ‘tells’: It’s not about A, it’s about B, This isn’t just X, it’s Y. And so on.
These constructions are now everywhere online, where the contrast between linguistic grandeur and mundane subject matter is extreme. I either find this amusing or annoying depending on my mood.
Some shameless examples spotted over the past few weeks:
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“It’s not a vacuum—it’s a statement against SaaS-ified appliances.”
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“It’s more than just coffee. It’s the comfort you share with loved ones, the warmth after a wintery walk, and the pick-me-up that sees you through December’s slow mornings.”
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“Extending my contract isn’t just about cricket; it’s about commitment – to Yorkshire, to the supporters and to doing everything I can to help this team succeed.”
I saw Die My Love on Wednesday and didn’t hate it. A strange film. I loved the sparseness and how real it all felt.