Irish career coaching firm Prosperity says AI is becoming a practical tool for jobseekers, helping them identify opportunities, improve applications and build confidence after redundancy.
Workers whose roles are being reshaped or eliminated as organisations adopt artificial intelligence can use the same technology to improve their employability and speed up their return to work, according to Irish outplacement and career coaching firm Prosperity Careers.
The company, founded by recruitment professionals with 25 years of experience in the employment market, says workers affected by AI-driven restructuring increasingly need support to understand how their profession is evolving and how new tools can help them compete in the jobs market.
“What is different now is the speed. People cannot afford to prepare for the market as it used to be. They need to understand the market that is developing around them”
“Someone who has lost their job because a company is restructuring around AI may understandably see the technology as the enemy,” said Gary Mullan, managing director of Prosperity Careers. “Our job is to help them turn it into an advantage.”
Prosperity Careers works with employers that want to support employees following redundancy. The employer funds the programme, which provides access to one-to-one coaching, CV and LinkedIn development, interview preparation, job search planning and guidance on how AI is changing specific professions.
New challenges for jobseekers
Mullan said the pace of workplace change is creating new challenges for jobseekers.
“After 25 years in recruitment, we have seen many changes in what employers want,” he said. “What is different now is the speed. People cannot afford to prepare for the market as it used to be. They need to understand the market that is developing around them.”
The company recently worked with a woman who had been made redundant, creating a dedicated AI-powered assistant to complement her coaching programme.
The assistant supported her by sourcing and researching suitable opportunities, helping refine applications and communications, and assisting with interview preparation between coaching sessions.
“She was quite wary of AI when we first spoke to her, which was understandable,” said Mullan. “Before long, she had an assistant working around the clock on her behalf. It helped her identify relevant roles, prepare properly and communicate with more confidence. She has now secured a new job and is delighted.”
Make AI your friend
According to Mullan, the experience demonstrated how AI can work alongside human expertise rather than replacing it.
“In many cases, the person does not need to abandon their career. They need to become employable in the next version of it”
“The coach brings judgement, reassurance and knowledge of the hiring market,” he said. “The AI assistant keeps the work moving between sessions and gives the person a level of day-to-day support that would otherwise be difficult to provide.”
Prosperity Careers believes AI adoption does not require every worker to pursue a technical career or undertake extensive retraining.
“For a marketer, designer, customer service representative or operations professional, it may mean learning how to use the right tools to research faster, produce better work and make stronger decisions,” Mullan said. “In many cases, the person does not need to abandon their career. They need to become employable in the next version of it.”
Growing role of outplacement
The company is also seeing increased demand for outplacement support from small and medium-sized businesses, particularly when redundancies become unavoidable.
“Smaller companies often care deeply about what happens to people after they leave”
“When the owner or HR director of a smaller company calls us, they rarely start with price,” Mullan said. “They start with the person. They ask, ‘Can you genuinely help them find another job?’ They know the employee and often feel the decision very personally.”
He said this highlights the growing role of outplacement support beyond large corporate redundancy programmes.
“Smaller companies often care deeply about what happens to people after they leave,” he said. “They may not be able to save the role, but they still want to give the person a fair chance of finding the next one.”
Mullan said personalised support remains critical because employees enter the job market with different levels of experience, confidence and career direction.
A project coordinator with a relatively short work history may need help identifying transferable skills and building confidence, while a senior manager who has spent decades with a single employer may need guidance on repositioning their experience for a changing market.
“A generic portal and a stack of templates will not work equally well for both,” he said. “You have to look at the individual, their sector, their level, their confidence and what is actually happening in the market for their skills.”
Traditionally, delivering that level of personalised support has required substantial coach involvement throughout the process. Prosperity Careers now uses AI to assist with research, role matching, skills analysis and preparation between sessions, allowing coaches to focus on career strategy, decision-making and confidence building.
“The technology does not replace the coach,” Mullan said. “It allows the coach to focus on the parts of the process where human judgement matters most.”
Top image: Gary Mullan, managing director of Prosperity Careers
👉 No tech background needed to bring your business into the AI age! Secure your Google AI Professional Certificate to complete the certification at no cost. Apply now and get started!
-
Bank of Ireland is welcoming new customers every day – funding investments, working capital and expansions across multiple sectors. To learn more, click here
-
For support in challenging times, click here
-
Listen to the ThinkBusiness Podcast for business insights and inspiration. All episodes are here. You can also listen to the Podcast on:
-
Spotify
-
SoundCloud
-
Apple
