Bracha Cohen has a front row seat to Wall Street’s AI revolution — and to how young people can compete in it.
“I would tell the new generation of graduates, in this world where AI is so transformational, to build judgment and not just skills,” Cohen, a partner within asset and wealth management engineering, said. “AI may automate execution, but it can’t fully replace decision-making, systems thinking, and ethical reasoning.”
Cohen joined Goldman as a programmer in 1994, long before anyone had to prove AI fluency on their applications. She said that serving in various roles across business lines helped her ascend to partner, the firm’stop leaders.
Today, her engineering team in asset management focuses on automating operations to help the business scale, including through AI. As of now, the booming business — which holds a record $3.6 trillion in assets — uses AI for routine work, like analyzing and summarizing data, Cohen said.
As white-collar hiring slows and anxiety about AI in junior roles grows, Cohen said young engineers should focus less on simply completing tasks and more on how systems function. Mastering engineering fundamentals is key, she said, since AI should serve “as leverage, but not as a crutch.”
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Bracha Cohen is a partner and engineer at Goldman Sachs.
Goldman Sachs
She added that computer science majors should practice evaluating risk and crafting good questions, both for other people and AI models. Two other Goldman partners also previously said that interpersonal skills and communication are becoming increasingly crucial in the AI workplace.
And engineers who want to work on AI in particular have their own set of criteria. Dan Popescu, a newly promoted managing director and Goldman’s head of AI engineering for asset management, previously told Business Insider that the most competitive hires need a suite of skills: knowledge in AI engineering, finance, and traditional software engineering.
Goldman spent $6 billion on technology last year and has rolled out internal AI tools, including an assistant and a limited banker copilot. In an October memo, the firm laid out the latest phase of its OneGS initiative, which it says will drive efficiency, slow hiring, and create a “limited reduction” in roles.
CEO David Solomon is one of several big bank leaders who have said that, in the long run, AI won’t reduce head count, and that the firm needs to focus on attracting more high-quality talent.
Finding a job on LinkedIn can feel overwhelming as some roles draw hundreds — or even thousands — of applicants within hours or days. The challenge for job seekers using the platform is standing out among the crowd.
Some LinkedIn users, however, have successfully done so. Whether by using overlooked job filters, crafting a targeted cold outreach, or intentionally sharing their work, people have found ways to secure new jobs on the platform.
Below are three people who strategically landed their roles through LinkedIn. They shared with Business Insider how they did it. Quotes have been edited for length and clarity.
Using a strategic filter on LinkedIn helped me find a new role
Lauren Young used the “under 10 applicants” filter to enhance her chances of securing a new job on LinkedIn.
Photo courtesy of Lauren Young
Lauren Young is a 28-year-old continuing education specialist in Indiana.
Last spring, I was becoming increasingly unhappy and stressed out at work, so I started applying to multiple jobs a day. Even within the short time that I was back in the job market, from March to June, it was getting worse, and I started to panic. I was having no luck landing a new role.
I live outside Chicago, and some of the jobs that would come up would be at huge Fortune 500 corporations. Even if the role was posted within the last day or the last hour, hundreds of applicants still applied immediately. I started experimenting with LinkedIn filters, trying to be more strategic about how I spent my time searching for work.
That’s when I found the “under 10 applicants” filter. It’s one of the last options under the function that says “all filters,” pretty close to the bottom. Once I started using it, I saw roles at small businesses that didn’t have a huge following on LinkedIn.
My role now is to help medical professionals who are seeking different educational opportunities or want to pursue further licensing. I didn’t think I would be a top applicant since I’d never worked in the medical industry, but the posting had just been posted and had very few applicants. I landed my first interview at the end of May and received my offer letter in mid-June.
My new role has been completely life-changing. I work primarily remotely and visit the office about once a month. The company offers excellent benefits, a generous PTO policy, and a great work-life balance.
A well-crafted cold outreach helped me land my job at OpenAI
Sophie Rose’s cold outreach on LinkedIn led to a job offer within five weeks of sending her message.
Photo courtesy of Sophie Rose
Sophie Rose is an OpenAI employee in her late 20s based in San Francisco.
In 2023, I joined OpenAI to build out what was then the associate team. I noticed that a leader on the go-to-market team had posted on LinkedIn that she was hiring a founding account associate, so I directly messaged her about the opportunity. Within five weeks of sending that message, I had an offer in hand.
I constructed my note by congratulating the lead on her role and said I saw she was hiring for this founding account associate job. I added that I’d love to learn more, plan to apply, and would be willing to relocate for the opportunity. I also asked if she could hop on a call.
In her response, she said she couldn’t jump on a call but would push my résumé through the initial screening. I applied the next day and immediately followed up with her, thanking her and saying I looked forward to exploring the opportunity with OpenAI.
There are two things I would warn people against doing: asking for time right away and rushing the follow-up.
I asked for time in my note, which I wouldn’t have done in hindsight. If you do ask for time, be very clear about why you need it. Also, try not to send that generic follow-up. Wait — maybe three weeks later — or look for something new that the person you’re reaching out to is posting or talking about.
For many of my peers, their OpenAI job started with a cold outreach to someone they might have heard of or had a mutual connection with. I think that’s how you can ultimately get ahead or pivot in your career.
Posting on LinkedIn brought the recruiters straight to my inbox
Dhyey Mavani strategically posted online to attract recruiters and mentors and grow his professional network.
Photo courtesy of Dhyey Mavani
Dhyey Mavani is a 21-year-old software engineer at LinkedIn, based in Sunnyvale, CA.
I moved to the US from India in 2021 to attend Amherst College, where I triple-majored in computer science, mathematics, and statistics.
I started posting because people on campus were reaching out and asking to chat through ideas and career advice. I wanted to share my resources, so I decided to document my learnings and my progress and share them online for everyone. Since I started posting, I’ve significantly expanded my network to over 500 connections and more than 6,000 followers.
I posted about a research paper I wrote, and in the post walked through a short summary about my research, how I got there, what the key accomplishments were, and what things I’m still looking into for future work. That gained some traction with over 45,000 post impressions on LinkedIn. I had people working in research labs at Princeton and other universities reach out to me.
It’s helpful to phrase the posts you share in a value-first manner, where you provide some of your own perspective and explain why you stand by it. When I share my work online, I like to walk readers through why I pursued this project, what it entails, and who it impacts.
I also try to engage with content I see to increase visibility and expand my network. I recently commented on a post about Google, sharing my thoughts on the company’s strategy, and my comment had over 100,000 impressions.
After seeing my work online in 2023, a recruiter at LinkedIn contacted me directly on the platform to discuss an internship opportunity, which ultimately led to my current full-time position as a software engineer at the company.
I realized that there are opportunities that arise from organic posting and genuinely engaging with other people’s content. I wouldn’t have the job options, the reach, the network for mentorship, and other opportunities if I hadn’t started sharing my journey online strategically.
Do you have a story to share about LinkedIn strategies? Contact this editor, Agnes Applegate, at aapplegate@insider.com.
Call it the Great Freeze — or the Great Frustration.
Business Insider spoke with dozens of job seekers across generations in 2025, some of whom have been unemployed for more than a year.
They voiced a wide range of frustrations about their searches — including slow hiring timelines, so-called “ghost jobs,”suspected ageism, employers going silent midway through the process, overwhelming competition for each role, and the belief that AI filters areoften screening their résumés before a human ever sees them.
Their job-finding journeys come at a time when employers are hiring at one of the lowest rates since 2013.
Whether the job seekers blame AI, corporate efficiency pushes, or broader economic uncertainty, they say it all adds up to a deluge of applications and a dearth of job offers. Still, through the frustration, they’ve also found ways to cope and connect with a community of fellow job seekers.
“I believe the hiring system is broken,” said Matthew English, who’s been looking for full-time work since October 2024 after a decadeslong career in accounting. Despite applying for hundreds of jobs — from accounting roles to the Chick-fil-A cow mascot — he’s been unable to secure a full-time offer. He said he’s burned through much of his savings, and that last Christmas, he couldn’t afford to buy gifts for his family.
“I have about drained my life’s savings,” said English, who is in his 60s and lives in Alabama. “Money that you’re expecting to use in retirement is now being used to survive.”
The New York Fed regularly asks people to estimate the likelihood that, if they lost their job today, they’d be able to find a new one in the next three months. In August 2025, that average probability dropped to its lowest level since the survey began in 2013 — and has only recovered slightly in the months since.
Kory Kantenga, the head of economics for the Americas at LinkedIn, said 2025’s labor market had “low momentum.”
“The cumulative effect of three years of slowdown — it’s completely understandable why they feel like this might be the worst labor market they’ve ever been in,” Kantenga said.
The frustrations of job hunting in 2025
Hilary Nordland began looking for work after being laid off from her marketing role in July 2024. To help pay the bills, she said she started donating plasma and drew on her retirement savings.
Nordland, who’s in her 50s and lives in Minnesota, said one of the most frustrating parts of her job search has been landing interviews — only to have opportunities fall through for unexpected reasons. She said she’s had interviews canceled the same day they were scheduled because the role was suddenly put on hold or filled internally. On one occasion, she said, an HR representative told her she’d be a great fit — but the rep was fired before they could schedule the interview.
“This job market is terrifying,” she said. “It’s a black hole that makes you question everything — and I don’t see a clear path through.”
Hilary Nordland said it’s been frustrating to see promising job opportunities fall through unexpectedly.
Hilary Nordland
US employers have announced 1.17 million job cuts so far in 2025, the most since 2020. While the unemployment rate remains relatively low by historical standards, it has risen to its highest level since 2021, when the economy was still recovering from pandemic-related disruptions.
High demand for jobs — combined with the rise of AI-assisted applications — has contributed to an influx of submissions for open roles, making it harder for qualified candidates to stand out. Last quarter, the average job posting received 242 applications, nearly three times the number in 2017, according to data from Greenhouse, a hiring software provider.
Aaron Terrazas, an independent economist, said job seekers’ frustration with this year’s labor market was justified.
“Just because the aggregate jobs data look stable, steady, slowing but stable, doesn’t mean that it hasn’t been very difficult for some people,” Terrazas said.
Heather Driscoll began looking for a healthcare management job after being laid off last year. She said she’s struggled to pay the bills and had to draw on her 401(k).
“The amount of time, research, enthusiasm — the dressing up, hair, makeup — just to sit on a Zoom call and get no feedback or rejection, is insane,” she said.
Driscoll, who’s in her 50s and lives in Colorado, said she has reached the final interview round multiple times but has been unable to secure an offer. She suspects that ageism and sexism could be working against her.
Giving up on job goals
A challenging job market has forced some job seekers to confront the possibility that their goals and aspirations may be out of reach.
At age 40, Kenneth Ferraro quit his job as a truck driver to pursue a bachelor’s degree in political science at New York University. He hoped it would set him up for a career in public service — but after struggling to find work, he returned to trucking last year. He said he’s stuck with more than $100,000 in student debt.
While having a college degree improved his credentials, Ferraro said he thought his age had held him back in the job market.
He recalled applying for an entry-level government position that seemed like a good fit. The early stages of the interview process felt promising, but he said things shifted after the in-person interview — and he suspects his age was a factor.
“As soon as the hiring manager saw me, his whole demeanor changed,” Ferraro said. “He ran through the questions and never truly engaged with me.”
Kenneth Ferraro said he believes his age has held him back in the job market after earning a bachelor’s degree in his 40s.
Kenneth Ferraro
Solomon Jones hoped that earning a college degree would open doors. After earning his bachelor’s degree in sports communication in May, he struggled to find employment. Jones said that some of the sports communications job postings he’d come across had attracted more than 1,000 applicants.
“The goal is to obviously get a job in the sports industry, but realistically, I know that life isn’t fair,” said Jones, who’s in his 20s and lives in New Jersey. “So at this point, I’m just trying to find a job, period.”
How job seekers are coping with the stress — and breaking through
Some job seekers Business Insider spoke with have leaned on others — including friends, family, professional contacts, and fellow job seekers — for support and solidarity during their job searches.
After being laid off by Microsoft in May, Ian Carter struggled to find a new job. He switched to a month-to-month lease on his Redmond, Washington, apartment, but eventually moved to Florida to save money by living with family while continuing his search.
Carter said he’s connected with others who’ve lost their jobs and visits the private “MSFT Survivors” Facebook group, which includes people who’ve been laid off throughout Microsoft’s history.
“Layoffs kind of affect people mentally,” said Carter, who’s in his 30s. “I’ve reached out to people so we can be each other’s support system.”
Ian Carter moved from Washington to Florida to live with his family after struggling to find work.
Ian Carter
In July, Sriram Ramkrishna was laid off by Intel for the second time. On his last official day with the company, his wife also lost her job. When he learned the news, his mindset shifted from “I’ll find a job when I can” to “I’d better find a job.”
But over the past few months, he’s struggled to make much headway. Ramkrishna said one of the things keeping him going is the support of his former Intel colleagues, who also lost their jobs.
“Many of us have been helping each other with our job searches — sharing opportunities and offering support,” said Ramkrishna, who’s in his 50s and lives in Portland, Oregon. “It feels like we’re all looking out for each other.”
Chris Martin, lead researcher at Glassdoor, said uncertainty helped drive this year’s low-fire, low-hire job market, such as businesses navigating the effects of tariffs and AI. Terrazas, the independent economist, doesn’t think uncertainty will fully fade next year, but said employers won’t be facing the initial shock of policy changes from a new administration.
Most job seekers can’t afford to put their searches on hold until conditions improve. Despite the challenges, some have managed to break through.
When Alexander Valen was laid off from his project manager role at Accenture, he was initially optimistic that his more than two decades of experience would help him land a new job. But after nearly two years of job searching — and falling behind on his mortgage — that optimism had vanished. Valen, who’s in his 50s and lives in Florida, said he and his wife, a stay-at-home mom, relied on DoorDash earnings, unemployment benefits, and help from family to get by.
But a few months ago, someone in his network recommended he explore roles at the freelance platform Toptal. Valen applied for a project manager role, went through the interview process, and landed the position, which he said fell within the $80 to $100 an hour compensation range he’d been targeting.
Valen’s top advice for other job seekers: Reframe how you view the process — and lean on others along the way.
“The search becomes far less discouraging when you treat it as an opportunity to grow rather than a verdict on your worth,” he said. “And in a market this competitive, networking isn’t optional — it’s the force multiplier that ultimately led me to my role.”
