FutureProof You

Aaron Makelky, Dan Yu, John Lovig
  • 5.0 (19)
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FutureProof You is a team comprised of: Career Pivot Expert Dan Yu, Recruiting Master John Lovig, and AI Consultant Aaron Makelky. Listeners will hear discussions of job trends, career advice, and actionable tips for making sure their careers are future proof!

  1. 3d ago

    Stop Spamming Applications: How to Actually Stand Out in Your Job Search

    EP 30 - Stop Spamming Applications: How to Actually Stand Out in Your Job Search AI has made it easy to write a polished resume and send hundreds of applications. That is also why the old volume strategy is breaking. In this episode, Aaron Makelky and Dan Yu talk about prompt injections in job postings, Aaron's test against four AI models, and why mass-applying can leave you buried in a pile of identical candidates. They also talk about what works better: referrals, networking, and permissionless projects that show a hiring team what you can do before they hire you. Dan shares his "zero for 200" Wall Street story, where 200 mailed resumes got no response and one softball game led to an internship. Timestamps:00:00:43 - Everyone is using AI to apply00:03:28 - Prompt injections in job postings00:04:30 - Testing prompt injections on four AIs00:06:33 - Should companies use AI traps?00:07:55 - Colleges teaching students to spam00:09:01 - Why the volume game is dead00:10:11 - Standing out with permissionless projects00:13:30 - Why custom work beats AI output00:18:24 - The power of referrals00:20:02 - Zero for 200: a networking story00:23:53 - Connection beats volume Co-hosts:Aaron Makelky - https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-makelky-m-a-ed-038b852a3/Dan Yu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/danoyu/ Links:FutureProof You - https://futureproof-you.comFutureProof You on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/futureproof-you We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL.  IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

    26 min

  2. May 8

    EP 29 In-Person Networking Guide

    EP 29 - In-Person Networking Guide Date: 2026-05-07Co-hosts: Aaron Makelky, Dan Yu, John Lovig Aaron, Dan, and John make the case that in-person networking is back, and that the people who prepare for it are going to separate themselves from everyone still treating networking like a cold LinkedIn chore. They talk about why companies are trying to scale live events again, why people are hungry for real rooms after years of digital-first connection, and how to pick events where the conversation starts naturally. Aaron lays out his before, during, and after playbook for turning a conference into real relationships, Dan shares why hosting the side event can beat working the main room, and John explains how casual conversations with the people around you can become future career openings. TIMESTAMPS00:00:19 - Why in-person networking is back00:01:07 - Companies are trying to scale live events again00:03:24 - Aaron's networking playbook: before, during, and after00:04:54 - John on choosing events where the conversation starts naturally00:06:19 - Why transactional networking feels like asking strangers to marry you00:08:38 - Networking can happen anywhere: bars, flights, and casual conversations00:10:27 - Dan's move: host the room you wish existed00:13:14 - Dot cards, social prep, and follow-up DMs that actually work00:19:12 - During the event: vendors, security guards, AV teams, and hidden gems CO-HOSTSAaron Makelky - https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-makelky-m-a-ed-038b852a3/Dan Yu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/danoyu/John Lovig - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnlovig/ LINKSWatch this episode on YouTube - https://youtu.be/IMQCaDccPdEFutureProof You Website - https://futureproof-you.comFutureProof You on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/futureproof-you We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL.  IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

    25 min

  3. May 4

    EP 28: Are Entry Level Jobs Cooked in 2026?

    Show Notes Aaron, Dan, and John push back on the dominant narrative that entry-level roles are dead and AI has eaten the college graduate job market. Drawing on a Wall Street Journal piece and their own recruiting work in spring 2026, they explain why the class of 2026 actually has better prospects than the previous class, why companies like McKinsey and IBM are ramping entry-level hiring back up, and why the students who network and work during school are the ones getting hired. The panel digs into whether grads are really less prepared than ever (spoiler: it's mostly an excuse), how AI uncertainty — not AI itself — drove the hiring freeze, and what college kids and their parents should actually do right now. Aaron closes with a pitch for the "permissionless project" as the new differentiator now that diplomas and theoretical knowledge are commodity. Timestamps [00:59] — The narrative we're pushing back on: "entry level is cooked"[01:24] — John: yes there's been a shift, but the class of 2026 actually has better prospects[02:50] — Dan on the AI spam-application trend and why networking beats it[04:09] — The WSJ finding: students who worked during school are landing jobs[05:33] — Hypothesis #1: are grads less prepared for work than ever?[07:12] — Dan: "B-plus and fast" beats chasing the A in the real world[10:18] — Hypothesis #2: companies froze hiring because of AI uncertainty, not AI itself[12:40] — The single best piece of advice for college students and their parents[15:16] — Dan's rule: network as if you don't have a job while you have one[17:24] — Aaron's "permissionless project" — why a diploma alone won't cut it anymoreCo-hosts Aaron Makelky — LinkedInDan Yu — LinkedInJohn Lovig — LinkedInLinks FutureProof You WebsiteFutureProof You on LinkedIn We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL.  IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

    21 min

  4. Mar 30

    EP 27 5 Pieces of Bad Career Advice in 2026

    Aaron, Dan, and John break down five common pieces of career advice that sound reasonable but actually hurt job seekers and working professionals. They cover why going it alone backfires, how AI-powered job applications create more problems than they solve (including a story about catching a candidate reading AI answers during an interview), why short stints on a resume aren't the dealbreaker people think, and why waiting until you need LinkedIn to start using it puts you months behind. The recruiters on the panel share what they actually see on the other side of the hiring process. Timestamps - [00:00:38] — Why "do it on your own" is the worst career mindset- [00:02:35] — John's record: one cold-applied job in 17 years of working- [00:04:39] — AI as a job search crutch: spam applications and the recruiter arms race- [00:07:32] — Catching a candidate reading AI-generated answers on camera- [00:10:12] — Dan's "opium of action" concept and what to use AI for instead- [00:12:06] — Short stints on your resume: when to explain, when to skip- [00:14:58] — The Twitter layoff lie that backfired in an interview- [00:18:00] — Why being good at your job won't save you from a layoff- [00:25:44] — The hidden job market is growing because companies are done posting roles- [00:29:43] — Talent leaders are moving away from public job postings entirely Co-hosts - **Aaron Makelky** — [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-makelky-m-a-ed-038b852a3/)- **Dan Yu** — [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/danoyu/)- **John Lovig** — [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnlovig/) Links - [FutureProof You Website](https://futureproof-you.com)- [FutureProof You on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/futureproof-you) We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL.  IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

    33 min

  5. Mar 9

    Side Hustles, AI Agents, and the Human Skills That Still Matter

    EP 26 — Side Hustles, AI Agents, and the Human Skills That Still Matter Job searches are at an all-time high, and so are searches for side hustles. The hosts break down how AI tools like Open Claw are letting solo entrepreneurs replace their first hire with a $50/month AI agent, why 18,000 people applied to a single job posting, and why mass-applying with ChatGPT resumes is a losing strategy. The real competitive advantage? Authentic relationships that no bot can replicate. TIMESTAMPS00:00:30 — Google searches for "find job" and "new job" have never been higher00:00:55 — More people already have side hustles, not just looking for them00:02:33 — AI lowered the barriers to starting a side hustle: websites, taxes, video, all doable with one tutorial00:03:31 — Open Claw explained: an always-on AI agent you run on a Mac Mini or Raspberry Pi00:06:04 — John's Perplexity spaces setup and why colleagues ask how he handles so many searches00:07:12 — Knowing what AI can't do yet is just as useful as knowing what it can00:09:48 — 18,000 applicants for one job, and why AI-blasted resumes all look the same00:11:21 — Authentic relationships as the thing AI won't replace00:14:41 — The "Never Eat Alone" principle: it's how much time you spend with who you know00:19:32 — Why mass-applying feels productive but isn't, and the birthday party networking story CO-HOSTSAaron Makelky — https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-makelky-m-a-ed-038b852a3/Dan Yu — https://www.linkedin.com/in/danoyu/John Lovig — https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnlovig/ LINKSFutureProof You Website — https://futureproof-you.comFutureProof You on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/company/futureproof-you We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL.  IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

    26 min

  6. Mar 3

    Becoming a Consistent Creator on LinkedIn

    The hosts break down what actually works on LinkedIn in 2026, including intel Dan picked up at LinkedIn's headquarters. They cover why hashtags are dead, how the first 30 minutes after posting determine your reach, the exact character limits for hooks (62/62/50), and why replying to comments on your own posts matters more than most people think. Aaron makes the case for video content after one low-effort video drove 70-80% of his annual impressions, while Dan argues for text-first posts and evergreen articles. Timestamps - **0:01:02** — Dan on the basics: why replying to your own commenters still matters more than anything - **0:03:02** — John on using bold photography and black-and-white images to stop the scroll - **0:04:39** — Breakdown of every engagement type on LinkedIn and what each one signals to the algorithm - **0:07:49** — How engagements create a network effect: the math behind impressions stacking - **0:10:12** — The 30-minute window after posting and why your replies during that time matter most - **0:12:17** — Hashtags are dead: what LinkedIn's own team told Dan at HQ - **0:14:13** — Tagging people and brands: when it helps, when it's creepy, and the missing feature LinkedIn needs - **0:19:30** — Content formats that work: carousels are out, writing is back, and the selfie fatigue problem - **0:23:30** — The hook formula: 62 characters on line one, 62 on line two, 50 on line three before the cutoff - **0:31:50** — Aaron's case for video after one clip drove 70-80% of his yearly impressions Co-hosts - **Aaron Makelky** — [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-makelky-m-a-ed-038b852a3/) - **Dan Yu** — [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/danoyu/) - **John Lovig** — [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnlovig/) ## Links - [FutureProof You Website](https://futureproof-you.com) - [FutureProof You on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/futureproof-you) We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL.  IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

    39 min

  7. Jan 26

    Content Creation Systems

    Check out our website for additional resources: www.futureproof-you.com We get asked this all the time: "How do you find the time to post consistently?" This episode is the answer. We talk through how we actually do it—what works, what doesn't, and how we've each built something sustainable. How we got here: Dan started with email chains on Wall Street. John was networking his way through grad school. Aaron was filming himself in front of a green screen for reasons he's still not sure about. We all came to content from different angles, and none of us had a plan. What we talk about: Getting past the early awkwardness of posting. Why you need somewhere to dump ideas the moment they hit—not when you finally sit down to write. How to figure out what you should actually post about by mashing up what you know with what you're into. (Pop culture, career pivots, Friday drink recipes—whatever.) We also get into platform stuff: why commenting matters as much as posting, how to share links without tanking your reach, and why it's better to treat posts like experiments than finished products. Topics: Why we started posting in the first place How to build a routine when you're scared to hit publish Where to put ideas so you don't lose them Figuring out your content lanes (like Pop Culture Friday) How to look like a real person to the algorithm Green screens, screenshots vs. links, and batching Time Stamps for Chapters: 00:00 - Intro: Content Systems 01:08 - Why Start Posting? 03:14 - John's Motivation 04:22 - Aaron's Origin Story 07:34 - Building a Routine 12:08 - Idea Capture System 15:01 - Content Pillars 16:34 - Pop Culture Friday 23:08 - Friday Drink Recipes 27:17 - Platform Strategy 31:19 - External Links Strategy 33:24 - Green Screen Technique 35:25 - Parting Advice 38:14 - Outro We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL.  IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

    39 min

  8. Jan 19

    New Year New Career

    New Year, New Career We talk about what the 2026 job market actually looks like and what to do if you're thinking about switching careers or jobs this year. What we cover: Latest labor stats: jobless claims ticked up, job openings dropped by 300K, and white-collar roles are still getting hit hardest. We run through which job titles are popping up for 2026: most involve AI implementation, integration, or scaling. AI engineer, data annotator, AI trainer. These are entry points for people switching fields if they're willing to learn new tools. Nurse practitioners and sales pros are still doing fine. Turns out emotional intelligence and people skills matter more when AI handles the rest. From a recruiter lens: we watch product manager openings and recruiter job postings as leading indicators. When those move, the broader market usually follows. We talk about "job hugging" during bonus season. Q1 is weird because budgets open up and hiring picks up, but a lot of candidates are still hesitating. If you're ready, you can move faster than most. For job seekers: holidays are over, so now's the time to actually network. Host something. Attend something. Stop relying on "easy apply." Our habit picks for 2026: Dan says "yes, and"—try industries you'd normally ignore. John says talk to people in your network before you need something from them. Aaron says pick a content format you like and actually stick with it. The takeaway: Habits beat resolutions. You can't control when opportunities show up, but you can be ready when they do. Resources: LinkedIn Quickstart Guide and other downloadable classes at www.futureproof-you.com. Use code NEWYEAR for 50% off. 0:38 — Labor Market Statistics2:04 — Emerging Job Titles & AI Impact5:43 — Hiring Indicators & Recruiter Insights8:14 — Job Hugging & Bonus Season11:37 — Advice for Job Seekers22:56 — Best Habits for Career Success34:11 — What We're Working On39:15 — Closing Thoughts We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL.  IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:Simplify and streamline technologySave teachers’ timeReliably meet Tier 1 standardsImprove student performance on state assessments🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

    43 min
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5
out of 5
19 Ratings

About

FutureProof You is a team comprised of: Career Pivot Expert Dan Yu, Recruiting Master John Lovig, and AI Consultant Aaron Makelky. Listeners will hear discussions of job trends, career advice, and actionable tips for making sure their careers are future proof!

Information

  • Creator
    Aaron Makelky, Dan Yu, John Lovig
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    29
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2024 Future Proof You
  • Show Website
    FutureProof You