Welcome to issue #006 of Hired. Every week, I share real talk for marketers, job seekers, and leaders trying to navigate this chaos - without losing their mind or their edge. If you’re looking for clarity, connection, or just an honest perspective, you’re in the right place.
Lately I’ve been feeling this itch.
This constant, nagging pressure to do more. Try more. Learn faster. Write faster. Publish more. Automate what I used to enjoy as a marketer.
I think what is most annoying is it’s not coming from my boss or my team. It’s coming from this invisible force we’re all swimming in right now: AI-fueled urgency.
If you work in marketing, especially in a leadership capacity you know what I mean.
Everyone’s talking about prompt writing, video repurposing, “scale.” Everyone's asking, “How are you using AI?” Board is saying we can do more, cheaper and faster.
But the more I lean into it, the more I realize:
The pace AI is creating is messing with our judgment.
It’s speeding us up before we’ve had time to think.
Before you come at me. I don’t think AI is the problem. But I do think it's exposing one.
Most teams weren’t built to think deeply to begin with. They were built to execute. Fast. So now AI comes in and replaces some of that execution... and instead of freeing up time to zoom out, we fill the gap with more noise.
More copy. More tools. More meetings about tools.
More marketing that looks like marketing, but isn’t grounded in anything.
We are drowning in quantity.
And for me the worst part is everyone’s pretending they’ve got it under control. I hate that.
Marketing strategy takes time.
It takes friction. Debate. Gut checks. Room to breathe.
And we’re not getting that anymore.
I feel it in myself. This subtle guilt anytime I take more than a day to think.
Like if I’m not building, shipping, testing, or talking about some AI use case, then I’m behind.
But here's the truth I’ve had to remind myself:
Being “caught up” doesn’t mean being effective.
It just means you're tired in a way that looks productive.
The stress doesn’t stay at work
Let’s be honest about what this urgency does to people.
A Deloitte report found that over 80% of CMOs say their job has become more stressful in the past year, with increasing pressure to drive growth despite shrinking budgets and expanding responsibilities. (Deloitte 2024 Global Marketing Trends)
Now layer AI onto that. Layer the expectation that you’re supposed to be reinventing how you work while also just trying to hit numbers.
I’ve noticed it creeping outside of work.
I close my laptop and I’m still wired.
Still mentally running through Slack threads, briefs, prompts, strategy docs.
My brain doesn’t shut off. It scrolls like a feed.
I’m not sleeping as well.
I’m reaching for my phone first thing in the morning.
I’m skipping workouts, skipping meals, skipping stillness.
This isn’t just about the future of work.
This is about how work is bleeding into our ability to be human.
What we say about AI vs. what we actually use
Over the last two weeks ago, I asked 100 marketers via Google survey:
“What’s your favorite AI tool right now?”
Here’s what happened.
Out of 100 responses, more than half named some version of ChatGPT.
Some said “Chatgpt.” Some said “Chat GPT.” Some said “Claude, maybe.”
A few people mentioned Perplexity, Jasper, Canva, Notion, even Riverside.
One person said, “I need a better answer to this.” Another said, “Still figuring it out.”
What that tells me?
We have this big shiny idea of what AI should be doing for us…
But in practice, we’re still stuck on basic tasks like outlining content, summarizing emails, and trying not to feel dumb for not doing more.
So no, people aren’t scaling 20x overnight. They’re experimenting. They’re overwhelmed. They’re feeling that same pull to do more, faster but with no real strategy behind it.
And that gap between hype and reality? It’s growing.
So how do we deal with this?
I don’t have a playbook (nor a course to sell). I’m still figuring it out too.
But here are 4 things I’ve been telling myself, and other marketers I talk to, as we navigate this weird, urgent, always-on pressure AI brings.
1. Slow down before you scale.
If the core messaging, targeting, and strategy is shaky, AI will just help you make more bad content faster. Speed isn’t leverage unless the foundation is solid.
Take the extra 48 hours. Ask the hard questions.
If you don’t, you’re just dressing up noise with new tech.
Salesforce found that 68% of marketers have already increased content production due to AI. But very few have systems to measure quality. (Salesforce State of Marketing 2023)
Faster doesn’t always mean better. Especially when clarity is missing.
2. Zooming out is part of the job. Not a luxury.
If you’re leading marketing, your value is your judgment. You don’t need to be the fastest. You need to be the clearest.
And clarity doesn’t come from ChatGPT. It comes from getting quiet enough to think.
If your calendar is packed and your head is spinning, you’re not in a strategic role. You’re in a reactive one.
3. Be intentional about where AI helps you, not where it pressures you.
For me, AI helps with initial ideas, not final decisions. It helps with summarizing themes, not replacing my point of view.
If you start using it to replace the stuff you should actually be sitting with, you’re outsourcing your brain. And that’s how bad strategy gets published at scale.
4. Recognize when you’re optimizing for activity, not impact.
You can feel this in your body.
When you’re checking off tasks, updating docs, editing AI outputs, but deep down you know none of it really moved the needle.
Not everything you do will drive revenue. But you should be honest about what you’re doing, why, and who it’s for.
Activity doesn’t equal clarity.
Being busy doesn’t mean you’re building something real.
Ending this week with this…
I think the marketers who are going to rise in this next season aren’t the ones who build the flashiest AI workflows.
They’re the ones who stay grounded.
Who create space to think.
Who build systems that filter, not just amplify.
That means slowing down even when the world is speeding up.
You don’t have to outrun it.
You just have to know what’s worth chasing.
Two podcasts that hit on the pace vs clarity tension
1. Slow Down To Scale Up: Why Fast Marketing Fails
Why speed can sabotage long-term marketing success.
The underrated power of stillness and strategic patience.
The danger of trading clarity for activity and noise instead of impact.
2. The Next Wave of AI in Marketing
[The Next Wave of AI in Marketing]
Core theme
AI is reshaping marketing
AI-driven urgency (“do more, faster, automated”)
Effective strategy requires judgment, time, and clear decision-making.
2 reminders from the Hired. Slack community this week
1. You’re not behind. You're just not visible yet.
Someone in the Slack said, “I feel like I’ve missed the window.”
Nope. You didn’t miss anything. There’s no window. There’s only consistency, clarity, and timing. Your job is to stay in motion and make it easy for the right people to find you. Show up. Share your work. Stay present.
2. Stop tailoring your resume to fit the job. Tailor it to reflect your impact.
The best roles come from being known for what you actually deliver, not how well you can check a box. One member reworked their resume headline to lead with a real business result, not a title. It landed interviews the same week.
Thanks for being here. Truly… I appreciate it.
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