The Future-Proof Career: Isabel Berwick on Adaptability, AI, and the New Reality of Work
Journalists are sceptical by nature. Financial Times journalists in particular are known for questioning big, bold claims and corporate buzzwords. So when FT journalist Isabel Berwick titled her book The Future-Proof Career, she knew exactly how provocative it sounded.
“Can you truly future-proof your career? No,” she says. “We’re living in a world of uncertainty.”
Her work captures the constant evolution of the workplace – a landscape where innovation and uncertainty often coexist. A veteran FT writer and host of the Working It column and newsletter, she has become one of the sharpest observers of how technology, culture, and leadership collide inside organisations. Her audience includes managers, HR leaders, and senior executives who look to her for clear insights into how work is really changing.
The illusion of control
AI is everywhere: copilots, “factories,” agents. The language grows louder, yet outcomes often disappoint. “Companies are buying tools faster than they’re redesigning the work,” Berwick notes. The issue isn’t technology itself – it’s the lack of clarity around purpose, processes, and people.
True resilience, she argues, lies in learning to adapt continuously. “The people who will thrive in the future of work are those who are adaptable and flexible,” she says. “Curiosity is not age-dependent.”
One of the defining features of the modern workforce, Berwick notes, is its multigenerational nature. The real challenge for leaders is understanding and responding to the different expectations, motivations, and learning styles each generation brings.
Managing this diversity requires empathy, communication, and a commitment to creating environments where everyone – from digital natives to experienced professionals – can learn, contribute, and adapt together.
Too Many Applicants, Too Little Clarity: The New Reality of Graduate Hiring
In one of her most-watched FT investigations, The Graduate Jobpocalypse, Berwick revealed how AI is quietly reshaping entry-level hiring – and not for the better.
“Most jobs probably have ten times more applicants than they used to,” she explains. “AI makes it easy to apply; it doesn’t make it easier to choose.” Recruiters, overwhelmed by volume, are falling back on familiarity: “Faced with a thousand applicants, you might pick the great intern from last summer.”
Fairness suffers, and opportunity narrows. The very idea of an “entry-level” job is fading. “We may get to a point where you can’t get an entry-level job without pre-entry experience,” she warns.
The consequence is structural. If the first rung disappears, the leadership pipeline weakens – leaving organisations struggling to grow their next generation of managers.
From tools to teammates: the rise of AI agents
Isabel Berwick predicts that the arrival of AI agents will embed within teams. “An AI agent might be really helpful to parse board papers,” she says. “Would it ever be a board member? I wouldn’t say never.”
The conversation around AI is shifting from automation to collaboration. Agents are no longer just tools; they’re becoming active participants in workflows – drafting documents, analysing data, and even supporting decision-making. This raises new questions about how humans and machines share responsibility, how decisions are validated, and where accountability lies.
For leaders, this means developing a new form of AI literacy: not just knowing how the technology works, but understanding how it affects judgement, bias, and trust within teams. The organisations that will succeed are those that set clear boundaries – designing governance frameworks for data, permissions, and audit trails before automation scales.
Ultimately, AI leadership is about balance. Technology can process complexity at scale, but only humans can define purpose and values. The most effective leaders will combine both – using AI as a thinking partner, not a substitute for human insight.
Learning that works
For all the investment in “upskilling,” most corporate learning still falls short. Catalogues are full; participation is thin. “People need time, framing and small wins,” says Berwick. “Not another catalogue dump.”
The organisations making real progress see learning as part of everyday work, not as a separate training event. They build it into the flow of the day – even fifteen minutes spent practising real tasks can make a difference. What matters isn’t how many hours employees spend in courses, but whether their work becomes faster, smoother, and more accurate over time.
In these organisations, managers act less as trainers and more as curators – clearing obstacles, recognising small improvements, and helping make learning visible. The result is a culture where capability grows steadily each day instead of fading once the workshop ends.
Redesigning work, not replacing it
If there’s one clear lesson from Berwick’s insights, it’s that technology alone won’t future-proof anyone’s career. Progress depends on how leaders and individuals adapt – how they redesign tasks, update skills, and sustain learning over time.
The challenge isn’t to “fix” work, but to evolve it: to align technology with purpose, fairness, and human growth. The future will belong to organisations that treat AI as a catalyst for better work – and to people who stay curious enough to keep learning as it changes.
“The best any of us can do,” she says, “is use AI where it helps – but carry on with the very human sides of work too. Because we don’t yet know how it’s going to play out.”
Insights from Headspring’s Learning Rewired conversation with Isabel Berwick (Financial Times), hosted by Thiago Kiwi and Aicha Zerrouky.
