
S10E218: Breaking into the job market in the age of AI, with Nick Chizuka
From The Project Chatter Podcast by Dale Foong and Val Matthews
June 11, 2026 · 56 min · Season 10 · Episode 218
About this episode
Nick Chizuka discusses the challenges of entering the job market in the age of AI and the skills needed for success.
Top of his MBA class at the University of Bath, technically sharp, and still firing out 20 to 30 applications a day with little to show for it. Nick Chizuka joins Dale and Val for an honest conversation about what it takes to land a role in project controls and consulting right now, and why the rise of AI has made the graduate market tougher than it was even a year ago. It is a candid look at the gap between what universities teach and what employers actually want, the false choice between technical and soft skills, and where the real jobs of the next decade might come from. In this episode: Why a top MBA no longer guarantees a job, and what changed Technical skills vs soft skills, and why you need both The graduates' verdict on data, analytics and machine learning Robotics and physical AI as the next frontier The energy and infrastructure bottleneck nobody talks about Using the big firms as a springboard, not a destination Grit, discipline, and hiring for attitude over CV Nick's hard-won advice: don't get discouraged, get help, and network relentlessly A reminder that people are not their behaviours. Set the environment for success and the right person will fly. This episode is…
People in this episode
Hosts: Dale Foong, Val Matthews
Guest: Nick Chizuka
Topics covered
- job market
- AI impact
- project controls
- consulting
- graduate skills
- networking
Keywords
- job applications
- technical skills
- soft skills
- data analytics
- machine learning
- networking
- graduate market
Sponsors
nPlan
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: University of Bath
Places: London
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