Resumes Are Dead. Here's What CS Students Should Do Instead

A Purdue computer science junior stood outside Chicago Union Station with a sign that said "Can AI do this?" The response surprised him, and the conversation that followed surprised Jason. Ethan Dawes joins School's Out Saturdays to talk about why mass-applying for jobs is broken, where CS students should actually look for opportunity in 2026, and what AI in education needs to look like for it to actually work.

Key topics covered:

How a Purdue CS student went viral by holding a sign in Chicago

Why entry-level CS jobs at big tech companies are frozen and where the real opportunity is

The case for small and medium businesses hiring CS grads to navigate AI implementation

GitHub vs. portfolio websites for non-technical hiring managers

AI scaffolding in education and the zone of proximal development

Oral exams as a verification tool when AI can write any essay

Anthropomorphism and sycophancy in LLMs (and what kids need to learn early)

Emergent behaviors in large language models and the Claude blackmail experiment

If you don't know how to code, AI helps you. If you do know how to code, AI is a multiplier. That's the line that should be on every CS career services flyer in 2026.

About Ethan Dawes:

Computer Science junior at Purdue University, Residence Hall Association leader, Purdue Hackers member.

→ Looking for a summer internship!!!

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethan-dawes/

GitHub: https://github.com/EthanDawes

Original Chicago post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ethan-dawes_yesterday-i-went-to-chicago-to-prove-that-share-7452910184731029504-t5_L

Connect with Jason Padgett:

Director of Growth and Partnerships, CitizenAI

📧 jason@mycitizen.ai

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-grant-padgett/

X: https://x.com/NoCodeCAIO

Newsletter (No Code CAIO): https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7399599285849346048

The AGI Podcast

School's Out Saturdays: https://schoolsout.agipodcast.ai/

School's Out Field Notes (weekly newsletter for K-12 educators) → https://schoolsout.agipodcast.ai/field-notes-issue-1

Available for interviews and keynotes on AI in education → jason@mycitizen.ai

We're tracking AI in education events around Indiana on the site. Post an event or book Jason as a speaker → https://schoolsout.agipodcast.ai/events

AGI Podcast network (all shows): https://schoolsout.agipodcast.ai/network

School's Out Saturdays: AI in education, K-12 through university

The Weekly Blitz: AI news every Monday, 30-45 minutes (co-hosted with Julie Koehrer)

The Vibe: Long-form deep conversations, no time limit

Tools Jason recommends:

MindStudio → https://get.mindstudio.ai/q7n7u5cttkdq

Riverside.fm → https://riverside.sjv.io/e1xyBr

Wispr Flow → https://ref.wisprflow.ai/jason-padgett

Resources mentioned:

Purdue Hackers → https://www.purduehackers.com

Greater Lafayette Commerce Rise & Shine → https://www.greaterlafayettecommerce.com

Matchbox Coworking Studio → https://www.matchboxlafayette.com

Claude → https://www.claude.com

Replit → https://replit.com

Lovable → https://lovable.dev

Cursor → https://cursor.com