To land a job in the age of AI, make a human connection. Build in public. Be persistent.

Our AI-Native Builders sat down with @emmamariecryer, founding Business Development Representative at @OpenRouter, for a fireside chat led by Devika Gopal Agge, Chief Development & Employer Services Officer at Pursuit. OpenRouter is the API gateway connecting developers to 350+ AI models. Co-founder @alexatallah sits on Pursuit’s board, and the team has been a real partner to us.

Emma came to AI without a computer science or software engineering degree. She studied humanities, trained as an actor, and produces short films on the side. She’s worked in business development for five years, now at OpenRouter working with the engineering and product teams at companies and universities building with frontier AI.

Her advice to Builders looking to break in: “The bar has never been lower.”

OpenRouter recently hired their second BDR. Out of thousands of applicants, only two reached out to Emma directly on LinkedIn. The one they hired didn’t pitch himself. He reached out like a person, showed her his work, and named the problem he could help solve. Then he kept following up, even when she didn’t reply. This is the humanist approach to employment in the age of AI.

That story landed hard. Show, not tell. Build in public. Find the pain point at the company you want to join. Reach out like a person, not a transaction. Build a real connection. Then keep following up. And that’s what our Builders do.

Thank you, Emma. The letters are coming.

#Pursuit #OpenRouter #AI #futureofwork #tech