🚪 I never applied for my new job

Barry Kruse · June 23, 2026
Guidance for parents supporting emerging adults in the age of AI & automation.

Happy Tuesday — and welcome back.

You might’ve noticed:
I've been away for a couple of months, and I want to share a real explanation rather than a polished version.

Three months ago, I wasn't looking for a job.

Last month, I accepted one.

I never applied.

At 61, I thought I had a pretty good idea what the next few years would look like.
Guess again.

Thanks for your patience as I’ve settled into a new role. But I'm excited to be writing again and have a long list of topics I can't wait to explore with you.

📋 What's Inside

🔄 A Career Pivot I Didn't Expect

Two months ago, I joined a fascinating, emerging AI company as Head of Customer Success.

Symbolic.ai is a news technology company — co-founded by former Thomson Reuters and eBay CEO Devin Wenig and Ars Technica co-founder Jon Stokes. It’s an AI platform that helps journalists, researchers, and content teams find, verify, and publish accurate information more effectively, with substantial productivity gains on complex research and fact-checking tasks. News Corp recently signed a major agreement to use the platform across parts of its news organization.

In a world increasingly flooded with AI-generated content and outright misinformation, tools that help people determine what's true are going to become more important, not less. That mission resonated with me. We build trust.

It’s ironically a lot like my own very first job out of college. Way back then, I traveled the world visiting hundreds of newspapers helping them succeed with groundbreaking technology like digital photography and WYSIWYG page layout.

I love journalism and content creation. So it’s great to be back.

WorkLifeFuture isn't going anywhere — if anything, a front-row seat inside the AI industry is going to make this newsletter more useful to you. Over the coming months, I'll be sharing what I'm learning about AI, hiring, education, and the future of work.

Some of what I see excites me. Some of it genuinely concerns me, and I'll be dedicating a future edition to those concerns. Parents deserve an honest conversation about both the opportunities and the risks.

But that's not the point of today's newsletter. The point is how this opportunity happened, because I think there's a lesson in it for your kids.

🤝 Looking Back, the Pattern Is Obvious

I wasn't looking for this role. I wasn't applying for jobs, spending much time on LinkedIn, or talking with recruiters. I was focused on WorkLifeFuture, doing consulting work I enjoyed, and building a routine that felt sustainable.

Then I saw a news story about Symbolic and reached out to congratulate an old boss — Devin Wenig. One conversation led to another, and a few weeks later I found myself considering an opportunity I hadn't even known existed.

I've spent more than 35 years in the workforce, crossing more industry lines than any career advisor would sanction — technology, publishing, professional education, dot-com, telecom, finance, consulting, and now AI.

Looking back across all of it, the pattern is unmistakable:

Every significant career opportunity I’ve ever had… came through a relationship.

Not a job board, not a recruiter cold email — a person who knew me, trusted me, and thought of me when something opened up.

This opportunity was no different.

🌱 The Lesson for Emerging Adults

Parents naturally spend a lot of time thinking about plans — the right major, the right internship, the right first job.

Those things matter.

But the older I get, the less convinced I am that successful careers unfold according to anyone's plan.

Most careers develop through a combination of learning, adaptability, and relationships — usually in that order.

One of the reasons I said yes to Symbolic was that from the very first conversations, I could feel myself learning — new ideas, new problems, new perspectives.

Throughout my career, that feeling has been a reliable signal that I'm moving in the right direction. It's the thing I've learned to trust more than title, more than comp, more than how an opportunity looks on paper.

I love working with humbly brilliant people, and Symbolic is packed with ‘em.

The economy our kids are entering is changing rapidly. Career transitions won't be unusual — they'll be normal. We’re becoming a gig economy. And what I've learned is that relationships create visibility into opportunities long before those opportunities ever become public.

The bridge I crossed into this role wasn't built this spring. It was built over years through conversations, shared experiences, mutual trust, and simply staying in touch.

That's not transactional networking.

It's the long-term result of being genuinely interested in people.

Your emerging adult probably doesn't need a perfect five-year plan. What they need is a practice — starting now, starting small — of building real relationships with people doing work they find interesting. That compounds in ways that are very hard to replicate later, under pressure.

★ One Coaching Move This Week

Help your emerging adult schedule one informational conversation — not a job interview, not a networking event, just a 20-minute conversation with someone doing work they find genuinely interesting.

Start with a simple question:

"Is there a career, company, or industry you've been curious about lately? What if you reached out to one person working in that space — not to ask for anything, just to learn?"

If they're open to it, help them draft a short note. Simple is better:

"Hi — I'm exploring careers in your field and would love to hear a little about your path if you'd be willing to chat for 20 minutes. I'm not looking for a job, just hoping to learn."

One conversation probably won't change their life.

But learning how to start conversations like that just might.

And like most worthwhile things, it gets easier with practice.

I’m glad to be back with you, and I’m glad you’re here.

— Barry

*A limited offer valid until July 31, 2026:
If you can’t find someone for your kid to have that career conversation, I’ll trade ya:
Recommend this newsletter to three friends who subscribe (on the honor system), and I, myself, will have a coaching conversation with your kid.
Have your son or daughter email me directly for the introduction: [email protected]

The views expressed in this newsletter are my own and do not represent the positions of Symbolic.ai.

WorkLifeFuture | Practical guidance for parents supporting emerging adults' careers in the age of AI & automation.

If this resonated, please forward it to one parent navigating these same questions. Subscribe: worklifefuture.com/subscribe