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August 18, 2025 16 mins

 This episode of The Mid‑Career Makeover Show dives deep into the AI revolution reshaping mid‑career success. Host LaVonne McIver James counts down 10 essential AI tools that help mid‑career professionals enhance productivity, elevate their personal brand, and stay competitive in today’s rapidly evolving job market. You’ll hear how ChatGPT‑5 can draft proposals and resumes in minutes; why Lumio AI lets you compare the best models like Claude, Gemini and GPT side‑by‑side; and how Jasper accelerates content creation for LinkedIn posts, newsletters and emails. Learn about meeting productivity with Fathom, research plus automation via Perplexity + n8n, and coding assistance through Tab Nine. Discover presentation builder Gamma, Deloitte’s integrated MyAssist workflow, HR optimizers Zoho People and BambooHR, and Youbooks, which turns your expertise into a polished book or guide. If you’re a mid‑career professional seeking AI tools for career advancement, personal branding, and work‑life efficiency, this episode is a must‑listen. Tune in to transform your workflow, embrace AI innovation, and gain visibility in your industry with a strategic approach to technology. 

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SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
The Mid Career Makeover Show.
Ten AI Tools Mid Career Prosshould be using to boost

(00:21):
productivity and visibility.
This episode of the Mid CareerMakeover Show is sponsored by
the Brand Breakthrough System.

SPEAKER_01 (00:29):
Tired of being the best kept secret in your
industry, it's time to build abrand that gets you noticed.
Go from invisible toirresistible in 90 days with the
brand breakthrough system.
In just 90 days.
Whether you're job searching,pivoting, or aiming higher, this
system gives you the strategyand confidence to own your
career all in just 90 days.

(00:51):
Ready to break through?
Learn more atBrandbreakthroughsystem.com.
Step up, stand out, and lead.
Your career is worth it.

SPEAKER_00 (01:01):
Hey friends, welcome back to the Mid-Career Makeover
Show, the place where mid-careerprofessionals come to refresh
their skills, reimagine theirwork, and reinvent what's
possible.
Today's Makeover, it's all aboutyour workflow.
So we are counting down the top10 AI tools mid-career pros

(01:23):
should be using to boostproductivity and visibility.
Because AI isn't just knockingon the door of your career, it's
already in the living room,rearranging the furniture.

Now, here's the wild thing (01:36):
74% of professionals are using AI at
work, but only about a thirdfeel confident they're using it
well.
That's like owning a brand newsports car and only driving it
in first gear.
And here's a little gem I pickedup from a Stanford professor.
AI can actually teach you how touse itself if you just think to

(01:58):
ask.
I love that.
Instead of only telling AI whatyou want, flip it.
Ask AI to interview you.
Let it ask about your goals,your role, your challenges, and
then suggest ways it could helpyou that you might never think
of.
So as we go through today's top10 AI tools for mid-career pros,

(02:18):
keep that mindset in the back ofyour head.
Don't just use AI.
Let AI show you what it can dofor you.
All right, so let's dive in.
Number one, chat GPT-5, yourall-purpose career co-pilot.
We have to start with a big one,GPT-5.
This is your Swiss Army knife ofAI.

(02:40):
It can brainstorm ideas, draftproposals, rewrite your resume,
create interview questions, plana project.
The list is endless.
The newest version, it'ssharper, faster, and can handle
huge documents without losingthe thread.
It also thinks more logicallyand makes fewer mistakes.
Let's say you're preparing for aclient pitch and need a sharp

(03:02):
two-page proposal.
Instead of starting fromscratch, you feed GPT-5 your
bullet points, and it drafts aprofessional proposal in
minutes.
You polish, not start from zero.
Number two is Lumio AI, theall-access pass.
Imagine having all the best AIbrains, GPT-4, Claude 3, Gemini,

(03:27):
and more, in one place.
That's Lumio AI.
Why it's amazing for mid-careerpros?
You can test multiple modelsside by side and see which gives
you the most useful output.
One might be better for writing,another for research, another
for coding.
Think of it like having a teamof experts, and you get to pick
the one who nails the job.

(03:48):
For example, you're building astrategy report.
You run the same questionthrough GPT, Claude, and Gemini
and Lumio.
One gives stats, another givesinsights, another suggests a
framework.
You combine the best and delivera report that looks like weeks
of research overnight.

(04:09):
Number three is Jasper, thecontent accelerator.
If you write anything for publiceyes, LinkedIn posts,
newsletters, sales emails, blogarticles, Jasper is your go-to.
It's like ChatGPT's marketingsavvy cousin, loaded with
templates and SEO tools.
So your content isn't just good,it's strategic.

(04:32):
It's perfect if you're short ontime, but still want to sound
polished, professional, and onbrand.
So you want to grow yourLinkedIn presence, but don't
have time to agonize overwriting.
Jasper drafts three polishedposts a week: thought leadership
pieces, industry tips, or clientsuccess stories, so you stay

(04:55):
visible without the stress.

SPEAKER_03 (04:57):
Are you ready to break through the noise and
build a career that trulyreflects your potential?
In Think Like a Leader to builda career brand that accelerates
your success, Lavon McKyverJames shares the proven
strategies behind her brandbreakthrough system.
Learn how to think like aleader, craft your unique value
proposition, and tell a storythat commands attention.

(05:17):
Whether you're looking to standout in your current role or land
your next big opportunity, thisbook is your guide to taking
control of your career and yourfuture.
Don't wait for success to findyou.
Create it.
Get your copy of Think Like aLeader to build a career brand
that accelerates your successtoday, and start building the
brand and life you deserve.

(05:38):
Available on Amazon.

SPEAKER_00 (05:40):
Welcome back to the Mid-Career Makeover Show, where
I'm unveiling the top 10 AItools mid-career pros should be
using to boost productivity andvisibility.
On to number four, Fathom, themeeting note taker you always
wanted.
Raise your hand if you've eversat in a meeting trying to take

(06:00):
notes, listen, and contribute,and ended up doing none of them
well.
Fathom fixes that.
That means you can be present inthe conversation instead of
frantically typing.
Let's say you're in back-to-backZoom calls.

(06:22):
Fathom automatically generates asummary and action list for
each.
When your manager asks, whatwere the next steps from that
meeting?
You already have them in frontof you.
Number five, perplexity plusN8N.
The researcher and theautomator, these two are a dream

(06:43):
team.
Perplexity is like having aresearch assistant who actually
cites their sources, ask it aquestion, and it brings back
accurate referenced answers, notjust guesses.
N8N is an automation tool.
You can connect your apps sothat when one thing happens, say
a form is filled out, itautomatically triggers the next

(07:04):
step, like sending an email orupdating a spreadsheet.
Use perplexity to find the whatand why.
Then let N8N handle the nowwhat.
For instance, you're applyingfor a leadership role.
You ask Perplexity to identifythe company's top challenges,
then set up N8N so every new jobposting at that company triggers

(07:26):
an email to you.
Research plus automation equalsless grind, more opportunities.
Number six, tab nine.
Your coding co-pilot.
If coding is part of your job oryou want it to be, tab 9 is like
having an experienced programmerlooking over your shoulder.

(07:47):
It can suggest fixes, explaincode, and even write snippets
for you.
Whether you're in IT, dataanalysis, or just dabbling in
Python, it's a huge time saver.
If you're a project manager whowants to adjust a dashboard
query in SQL, instead of waitingon IT, you paste the query into

(08:10):
tab 9, it fixes the error, andyou get the update live in
minutes.
You look like you speak tech.

SPEAKER_01 (08:17):
Tired of being the best kept secret in your
industry, it's time to build abrand that gets you noticed.
Go from invisible toirresistible in 90 days with the
brand breakthrough system.
In just 90 days.
Whether you're job searching,pivoting, or aiming higher, this
system gives you the strategyand confidence to own your
career all in just 90 days.

(08:39):
Ready to break through?
Learn more at BrandbreakthroughSystem.com.
Step up, stand out, and lead.
Your career is worth it.

SPEAKER_00 (09:16):
On to number seven, my favorite, Gamma.
Presentations that buildthemselves.
You know how making apresentation can eat up half
your week?
Gamma flips that on its head.
You just type in your topic andit creates a sleek professional
deck for you in minutes,complete with images, layouts,

(09:38):
and text you can edit.
Perfect for when your boss says,Hey, can you present this in the
team meeting?
Like tomorrow?
Instead of starting fromscratch, you start at 90% done.
Your VP asks you to presentquarterly results tomorrow.
You drop your notes into gammaand it builds a polished deck

(10:01):
with visuals.
You spend your time rehearsingdelivery, not formatting slides.
Number eight, MyAssist fromDeloitte, integrated AI
inspiration.
Now you might not work atDeloitte, but here's why I'm
bringing them up.
Their internal AI tool, MyAssist, is built right into
their workflows.

(10:21):
It handles research, reporting,meeting summaries, all without
anyone leaving the platform.
The takeaway?
Start thinking about AI not justas something you open in a
separate window, but somethingbuilt into the way you already
work.
Here's how to reframe yourthinking.
Your company doesn't have itsown AI yet, but you create a

(10:44):
shared AI workspace in GPT.
You add saved prompts forproject updates, SOW summaries,
and client memos.
Now your whole team saves timeusing AI where they already
work.
Number nine is Zoho People,Bamboo HR, smart people

(11:06):
management.
If you manage a team, even asmall one, Zoho People can be a
lifesaver.
Let's say you're leading afive-person department and one
of your top performers startsshowing up late, missing
deadlines, and seems disengaged.
Instead of you having to noticeit weeks later, Zoho's AI flags

(11:28):
changes in attendance patterns,tracks productivity metrics, and
even gives you a potentialburnout alert.
You can step in early with acheck-in conversation, offer
flexible scheduling, or adjustworkloads, potentially saving
both the employees' well-beingand your team's output.
You get an alert in Zoho thatsays three employees showing

(11:51):
early signs of disengagement.
You set up one-on-one check-ins,discover one needs training and
another needs flexible hours,you catch issues before they
become resignations.
Number 10, uBooks.
Turn your knowledge into a book.
You have expertise, years of it.
Why not turn that into a book,report, or guide?

(12:12):
uBooks helps you outline, draft,fact-check, and format it.
You end up with aprofessional-looking product
without spending years wrestlingwith Microsoft Word.
You've led workshops for yearsand have slides, notes, and blog
posts.
uBooks turns that into a100-page guide on leadership
lessons from the mid-careertrenches.

(12:34):
Suddenly you're not just aprofessional, you're a published
thought leader.

SPEAKER_03 (12:38):
Are you ready to break through the noise and
build a career that trulyreflects your potential?
In Think Like a Leader to builda career brand that accelerates
your success, Lavon McKyverJames shares the proven
strategies behind her brandbreakthrough system.
Learn how to think like aleader, craft your unique value
proposition, and tell a storythat commands attention.

(12:58):
Whether you're looking to standout in your current role or land
your next big opportunity, thisbook is your guide to taking
control of your career and yourfuture.
Don't wait for success to findyou.
Create it.
Get your copy of Think Like aLeader to build a career brand
that accelerates your successtoday, and start building the
brand and life you deserve.

(13:18):
Available on Amazon.

SPEAKER_01 (13:21):
Tired of being the best kept secret in your
industry?
It's time to build a brand thatgets you noticed.
Go from invisible toirresistible in 90 days with the
brand breakthrough system.
In just 90 days.
Whether you're job searching,pivoting, or aiming higher, this
system gives you the strategyand confidence to own your
career.
All in just 90 days.

(13:42):
Ready to break through?
Learn more atBrandbreakthroughsystem.com.
Step up, stand out, and lead.
Your career is worth it.

SPEAKER_00 (13:52):
Alright, let's recap the top 10 AI tools mid-career
pros should be using to boostproductivity and visibility.
Number one, ChatGPT 5 is yourall-around assistant.
Number two, Lumio AI, all thebig AI models in one place.
Number three, Jasper, polishedstrategic writing.

(14:15):
Number four, Fathom, meetingnotes without the headache.
Number five, perplexity plus N8NResearch Plus Automation.
Number six, Tab Nine, FasterCoding with a Copilot.
Number seven, my favorite,Gamma, presentations that build
themselves.
Number eight, my assist, AIthat's baked into workflows.

(14:39):
Number nine, Zoho People, BambooHR, Smarter HR, and Team
Management.
Number ten, UBooks, publish yourexpertise.
And don't forget our mindsetshift from the start.
Ask AI to ask you questions.
Let it help you uncoverpossibilities you didn't even
know were there.

(15:00):
Okay, so for your mid-careeraction step, pick one of these
tools and commit to using it fora week.
Just one.
Then ask it to interview youabout your role and see what new
ideas it gives you.
Because mid-career success isn'tabout doing more, it's about
doing smarter.

(15:21):
And the people who lean intothese tools now, they're the
ones shaping the future, notchasing it.
Thank you for joining me todayon the Mid-Career Makeover Show.
If this episode resonated withyou, share it with someone who
needs to hear it.
And don't forget to subscribe.
Leave a review.

(15:41):
Until next time, dream big, takebold action, and own your
success because the best is yetto come.
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