A collaboration between Data Science & Engineering Experts and Porchlight, Inc.
Introduction
You’re sitting in yet another meeting where leadership enthusiastically announces a new AI tool that will “transform how we work” and “augment your capabilities.” You nod politely, but inside you’re thinking: Should I trust this? Will this actually help me, or is this the beginning of the end for my job?
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. You’re also not paranoid.
After 30 years of helping organizations through technology transformations, I’ve learned that your instincts about AI are probably more accurate than your leadership’s promises. The challenge isn’t whether AI will change your work—it will. The challenge is learning how to build a relationship with AI that serves your career goals in an environment where organizational loyalty is largely dead and job security is a myth.
This guide will help you navigate the complex world of human-AI relationships with realistic expectations, practical strategies, and healthy skepticism. You’ll learn how to evaluate whether AI systems deserve your trust, how to protect your career interests while engaging with AI tools, and how to build AI collaboration skills that make you more valuable regardless of which organization employs you.
What You’ll Learn:
- Trust evaluation frameworks for deciding when and how much to trust AI systems
- Career protection strategies for engaging with AI while safeguarding your interests
- Skill development approaches that make you more valuable in AI-enhanced workplaces
- Red flag recognition for identifying when AI implementations threaten rather than enhance your career
- Relationship building techniques for effective human-AI collaboration
Key Reality Check: This isn’t about learning to love AI or becoming an AI evangelist. It’s about learning to work with AI in ways that advance your career and protect your interests in a world where organizations prioritize efficiency over employee wellbeing.
The New Reality: Why Trust Is Complicated
You’re Right to Be Skeptical. Before we talk about building relationships with AI, let’s acknowledge what you already know: the employment landscape has fundamentally changed, and NOT in your favor.
The Broken Promise Pattern
What Organizations Say:
- “AI will augment your capabilities, not replace your job”
- “We’re investing in AI to make your work more interesting and valuable”
- “This technology will free you up to focus on higher-level, more creative work”
- “We see AI as a tool to enhance human potential”
What Often Happens:
- 47% of organizations implementing AI reduce workforce within 18 months
- 78% of those reductions occur in roles AI was supposed to “augment”
- Remaining employees face increased workloads as AI “efficiency” eliminates support roles
- “Enhanced” roles often mean doing more work with AI assistance for the same pay
Why the Disconnect: Organizations aren’t necessarily lying when they make these promises—they often believe them. But business pressures, shareholder expectations, and the allure of cost savings frequently override initial good intentions.
The Loyalty Reality Check
Here’s what research shows about modern employment:
- Only 21% of employees feel genuinely engaged at work
- 67% of workers are actively or passively looking for new opportunities
- 73% would leave their current job for a 10% pay increase elsewhere
- 89% of workers under 35 expect to change employers’ multiple times in their careers
Why This Matters for AI: If you don’t trust your organization to prioritize your interests over their bottom line, why would you trust their AI implementations to benefit you rather than replace you?
The ANSWER: You shouldn’t trust blindly. But you can learn to engage strategically.
My Story: What I’ve Learned from AI Implementation Failures
The Pattern that Keeps Repeating
As someone who gets called in to fix failing transformation projects, I’ve witnessed the same pattern repeatedly across organizations: AI implementations fail not because the technology doesn’t work, but because organizations destroy the trust and collaboration needed to make AI successful.
A Recent Example: I was brought in to help a mid-size company whose AI-powered productivity monitoring system was creating more problems than it solved. Employees were gaming the metrics, innovation had stopped, and turnover among top performers was accelerating.
What Leadership Thought Was Happening:
- “Employees are resistant to change and need better training”
- “We need stronger change management and clearer communication”
- “People just need time to see the benefits of AI-assisted work”
What Was Actually Happening:
- Employees correctly perceived that the AI system was designed to eliminate jobs, not enhance them
- High performers were leaving because they felt micromanaged and mistrusted
- The remaining employees were doing exactly what they were incentivized to do: optimize for the metrics, not for actual productivity
The Real Problem: The organization had implemented AI as a surveillance and control system, not as a collaboration tool. No amount of training or communication could fix a fundamentally adversarial relationship between humans and AI.
What This Means for You
Your skepticism about AI isn’t a character flaw—it’s intelligence. You understand something that many leaders don’t: AI systems reflect the intentions and priorities of the people who implement them. If those people see you as a cost to be optimized rather than a capability to be enhanced, their AI systems will reflect that perspective.
The key insight: You need to evaluate AI systems not just on their technical capabilities, but on the intentions and incentives of the people who deploy them.
The Trust Evaluation Framework: Should I Trust This AI?
The FOUR-Factor Trust Assessment
Before engaging deeply with any AI system in your workplace, evaluate it across four critical dimensions:
FACTOR 1: Design Intent - Who Does This Serve?
Questions to Ask:
- Is this AI system designed to make my work easier or to monitor my performance?
- Do the benefits primarily flow to me and my colleagues, or to management and shareholders?
- Are the AI recommendations designed to help me succeed, or to standardize my behavior?
- Does this system enhance my professional capabilities or replace my judgment?
Green Flags (Higher Trust):
- AI tools that eliminate tedious tasks you dislike
- Systems that provide insights you can use to improve your own performance
- Applications that give you more time for creative or strategic work
- Tools that help you learn new skills or expand your capabilities
Red Flags (Lower Trust):
- Monitoring systems that track your every action
- AI that makes decisions about your work without your input
- Systems that seem designed to prove you’re not working hard enough
- Applications that reduce your autonomy or decision-making authority
Example Evaluation: Green Flag AI: Customer service AI that handles routine inquiries, giving you more time to solve complex customer problems and build relationships. Red Flag AI: Productivity monitoring AI that tracks keystrokes, mouse movements, and application usage to generate “productivity scores.”
FACTOR 2: Transparency - Can I Understand What’s Happening?
Questions to Ask:
- Does the organization explain how the AI system works and what it’s designed to do?
- Can I understand why the AI makes specific recommendations or decisions?
- Do I have access to information about how the AI affects my work evaluation?
- Are there clear channels for feedback or concerns about AI system performance?
Green Flags (Higher Trust):
- Clear explanations of AI capabilities and limitations
- Open communication about how AI outputs affect your performance evaluation
- Regular opportunities to provide feedback on AI system effectiveness
- Transparent reporting on AI system accuracy and reliability
Red Flags (Lower Trust):
- “Black box” systems where you can’t understand how decisions are made
- Refusal to explain AI logic or decision-making processes
- No clear way to challenge or appeal AI-driven decisions
- Secretive implementation with minimal communication about AI capabilities
Practical Example: High Transparency: “Our AI scheduling system optimizes your calendar based on your stated preferences, historical patterns, and team availability. You can see why it made each recommendation and override any suggestion. Here’s how it affects your performance evaluation…” Low Transparency: “We’ve implemented an AI system to improve efficiency. Use the recommendations it provides.”
FACTOR 3: Control - Do I Have Agency?
Questions to Ask:
- Can I customize how the AI system works with my specific role and preferences?
- Do I have the ability to override AI recommendations when my professional judgment differs?
- Can I opt out of AI features that feel invasive or counterproductive?
- Does the AI system enhance my decision-making or replace it?
Green Flags (Higher Trust):
- Customizable AI interfaces and interaction patterns
- Clear override capabilities for AI recommendations
- Options to adjust AI assistance levels based on your preferences
- AI that provides information to support your decisions rather than making decisions for you
Red Flags (Lower Trust):
- Mandatory AI compliance with no override options
- One-size-fits-all AI implementations that ignore individual work styles
- AI systems that make final decisions without human review
- Punishment or negative consequences for not following AI recommendations
Real-World Application: High Control: AI writing assistant that suggests improvements to your documents but lets you accept, modify, or reject each suggestion based on your professional judgment. Low Control: AI performance management system that automatically flags you for “coaching” based on algorithmic analysis of your work patterns.
FACTOR 4: Mutual Benefit - Do We Both Win?
Questions to Ask:
- Does successful AI collaboration advance my career goals as well as organizational objectives?
- Will developing AI collaboration skills make me more valuable in the job market?
- Does the AI system help me build capabilities that I can take with me to future roles?
- Are there clear personal benefits from engaging effectively with this AI system?
Green Flags (Higher Trust):
- AI tools that help you develop marketable skills
- Systems that showcase your expertise and enhance your professional reputation
- AI collaboration that leads to more interesting, challenging, or rewarding work
- Clear career advancement opportunities related to AI proficiency
Red Flags (Lower Trust):
- AI systems that make your role more replaceable or generic
- Tools that reduce the skill level required for your work
- AI implementations that provide no clear personal benefit or career advancement
- Systems designed primarily to reduce labor costs rather than enhance human capability
THE TRUST SCORE CALCULATION
For each FACTOR, rate your AI system:
- Green Flag (High Trust): 3 points
- Mixed Signals: 2 points
- Red Flag (Low Trust): 1 point
Total Score Interpretation:
- 10-12 points: High trust warranted - engage fully and strategically
- 7-9 points: Cautious engagement - protect yourself while participating
- 4-6 points: Minimal engagement - comply but maintain distance and document everything
- Below 4 points: High risk - consider exit strategies while maintaining professional behavior
Strategic Engagement: How to Work with AI You Don’t Fully Trust
The “Professional Distance” Approach
You don’t have to love AI or trust your organization completely to work effectively with AI systems. You just need to be strategic about how you engage.
Strategy 1: Comply and Document
When to Use: AI systems that score low on trust but are mandatory for your role.
Implementation:
- Meet minimum requirements for AI system usage to avoid negative performance implications
- Document everything including AI recommendations, your decisions, and outcomes
- Maintain your expertise independently of AI assistance to preserve your value
- Build evidence of your judgment being superior to AI in specific situations
Example in Practice: If required to use an AI performance tracking system you don’t trust:
- Use the system as required but keep your own records of your work and achievements
- Document situations where AI metrics don’t reflect actual performance quality
- Maintain relationships and reputation through channels the AI system doesn’t monitor
- Build expertise in areas where human judgment clearly outperforms AI
Strategy 2: Selective Partnership
When to Use: AI systems with mixed trust scores that offer some genuine benefits.
Implementation:
- Engage fully with AI features that clearly benefit your work and career
- Maintain skepticism about AI features that seem designed primarily for organizational benefit
- Use AI to enhance your strongest capabilities rather than replace your weaknesses
- Stay informed about AI limitations and failure modes to avoid over-reliance
Example in Practice: Using AI writing assistance tools:
- Leverage AI for brainstorming, research, and initial drafts (benefits you)
- Maintain control over final content, style, and strategic messaging (protects your expertise)
- Learn prompt engineering and AI collaboration skills (builds marketable capabilities)
- Keep developing your writing skills independently (preserves your value if AI access is removed)
Strategy 3: Strategic Collaboration
When to Use: AI systems that score high on trust and offer genuine mutual benefit.
Implementation:
- Invest fully in learning to collaborate effectively with high-trust AI systems
- Experiment creatively with AI capabilities to discover new ways of working
- Provide feedback that improves AI system performance in ways that benefit you
- Build reputation as someone who can maximize value from human-AI collaboration
Example in Practice: Working with AI design or analysis tools:
- Develop deep expertise in prompt engineering and AI collaboration techniques
- Experiment with creative applications that showcase your enhanced capabilities
- Share success stories that highlight your skills in human-AI collaboration
- Build a portfolio of work that demonstrates your ability to achieve results impossible without AI
Building AI Collaboration Skills That Travel
Developing Portable AI Expertise
Regardless of your trust level in specific AI systems, developing AI collaboration skills serves your long-term career interests. The key is building capabilities that make you valuable regardless of which AI tools you’re using or which organization employs you.
Core Skill 1: AI Literacy Without Dependence
What This Means: Understanding how AI systems work, what they’re good at, what they struggle with, and how to evaluate their outputs critically.
How to Develop:
- Learn AI fundamentals through free online courses (Coursera’s “AI for Everyone,” edX offerings)
- Experiment with consumer AI tools (ChatGPT, Claude, Midjourney) to understand capabilities and limitations
- Read about AI failures and biases to develop healthy skepticism about AI outputs
- Practice prompt engineering to understand how to communicate effectively with AI systems
Career Value:
- You can quickly adapt to new AI tools regardless of which organization you work for
- You can evaluate AI vendor claims and organizational AI strategies critically
- You’re seen as someone who understands AI without being blindly enthusiastic about it
- You can help colleagues navigate AI tools effectively
Core Skill 2: Human-AI Task Decomposition
What This Means: The ability to break down complex work into components that are best handled by humans vs. AI, then coordinate between both to achieve optimal results.
How to Develop:
- Analyze your current work to identify tasks that are repetitive, pattern-based, or data-intensive (good AI candidates)
- Identify work components that require creativity, empathy, complex judgment, or cultural understanding (stay human)
- Practice hybrid workflows where you use AI for some parts of projects and human expertise for others
- Experiment with different human-AI collaboration patterns to find what works best for different types of work
Career Value:
- You become more efficient by leveraging AI for appropriate tasks
- You maintain and strengthen uniquely human capabilities that can’t be automated
- You can design workflows that maximize both AI and human contributions
- You’re positioned for roles that require sophisticated human-AI collaboration
Core Skill 3: AI Output Evaluation and Enhancement
What This Means: The ability to assess AI-generated work, identify its strengths and weaknesses, and improve it using human expertise and judgment.
How to Develop:
- Practice reviewing AI-generated content (writing, analysis, recommendations) with a critical eye
- Learn to identify common AI mistakes, biases, and blind spots in your field
- Develop techniques for fact-checking, sense-checking, and improving AI outputs
- Build expertise in areas where human judgment consistently outperforms AI
Career Value:
- You can leverage AI productivity gains while maintaining quality standards
- You’re seen as someone who adds value to AI-generated work rather than just accepting it
- You can train others on effective AI collaboration and quality control
- You’re positioned as a bridge between AI capability and human expertise
The Portfolio Career Approach
Given the reality of modern employment, build AI skills that serve your broader career portfolio rather than just your current role.
Skill Documentation Strategy
Create Evidence of AI Collaboration Expertise:
- Build a portfolio of projects where you’ve effectively combined human expertise with AI capabilities
- Document specific examples of how your AI collaboration led to better outcomes than human-only or AI-only approaches
- Collect testimonials from colleagues and supervisors about your effective human-AI collaboration
- Write about your experiences with AI tools and techniques in your professional network
Career Transition Planning:
- Research AI adoption in companies and industries you’re interested in
- Network with professionals who are successfully using AI in roles similar to your career goals
- Identify companies that seem to use AI to enhance rather than replace human capabilities
- Build relationships with recruiters and hiring managers who value AI collaboration skills
The Continuous Learning Mindset
AI technology evolves rapidly, so your approach to AI collaboration must evolve too.
Staying Current Without Becoming Obsolete:
- Follow AI developments in your industry through reputable sources, not just hype
- Experiment with new AI tools as they become available, but maintain perspective about their limitations
- Connect with other professionals navigating similar AI integration challenges
- Maintain expertise in fundamentals of your field that don’t change with AI trends
Red Flags: When to Protect Yourself
Organizational Red Flags
Signs that your organization’s AI implementation is likely to harm rather than help your career:
Communication Red Flags
- Vague promises about AI benefits without specific examples or timelines
- Refusal to discuss potential negative impacts or risks of AI implementation
- Inconsistent messaging about AI goals, timeline, or impact on jobs
- Pressure to adopt AI tools quickly without adequate training or support
Implementation Red Flags
- Surveillance-focused AI systems that monitor rather than assist
- One-size-fits-all AI implementations that ignore individual work styles or needs
- Black box systems where you can’t understand how AI decisions are made
- No feedback mechanisms for improving AI systems or reporting problems
Cultural Red Flags
- Punishment for questioning AI recommendations or expressing concerns
- Reduced human decision-making authority in favor of AI automation
- Elimination of training or development opportunities because “AI will handle that”
- Messaging that treats AI adoption as a test of employee loyalty or adaptability
Personal Risk Assessment
Questions to ask yourself regularly:
Career Security Check
- Is my role becoming more valuable and interesting, or more routine and replaceable?
- Am I developing skills that make me more marketable, or becoming dependent on specific AI tools?
- Are my colleagues and I being set up for success, or being positioned for elimination?
- Do I have options if this AI implementation doesn’t work out in my favor?
Professional Development Assessment
- Am I learning things that will be valuable in other organizations and roles?
- Is the AI collaboration enhancing my expertise or replacing it?
- Can I demonstrate my value independent of the AI systems I work with?
- Am I building relationships and reputation that will survive AI changes?
Protective Strategies
Documentation and Evidence Building
Create your professional insurance policy:
- Document your contributions to AI-enhanced projects, showing your human value-add
- Keep records of situations where your judgment improved AI outputs or caught AI errors
- Build case studies of successful human-AI collaboration that highlight your skills
- Maintain evidence of your expertise and value independent of AI tools
Network and Relationship Insurance
Build career security through relationships:
- Maintain connections with colleagues, clients, and industry professionals
- Develop reputation for effective problem-solving and collaboration
- Share knowledge and help others succeed to build reciprocal relationships
- Stay visible in professional communities and industry discussions
Skill Diversification
Don’t put all your career eggs in one AI basket:
- Maintain expertise in fundamentals that don’t depend on specific AI tools
- Develop capabilities that complement rather than compete with AI
- Build cross-functional knowledge that makes you valuable in multiple contexts
- Stay curious about adjacent fields and emerging opportunities
Building Your Personal AI Strategy
The Individual Career Plan
Develop a personal strategy for navigating AI in your career that serves your interests regardless of organizational changes.
Phase 1: Assessment and Positioning (Months 1-3)
Current Situation Analysis:
- Evaluate current AI systems in your workplace using the trust framework
- Assess your existing skills and knowledge relative to AI collaboration
- Identify career goals and how AI might support or threaten them
- Map your professional network and development priorities
Strategic Positioning:
- Choose engagement level for each AI system based on trust assessment
- Begin developing AI literacy through experimentation and education
- Start documenting your work and building evidence of your value
- Begin networking with professionals successfully navigating AI integration
Phase 2: Skill Development and Strategic Engagement (Months 4-9)
Capability Building:
- Develop AI collaboration skills through practice and experimentation
- Build expertise in areas where human judgment adds most value
- Create portfolio of human-AI collaboration successes
- Establish reputation for effective AI integration in your professional network
Strategic Implementation:
- Engage with high-trust AI systems to build collaboration expertise
- Maintain professional distance from low-trust systems while meeting requirements
- Provide feedback and suggestions for AI system improvements
- Begin exploring AI integration approaches in other organizations and industries
Phase 3: Optimization and Expansion (Months 10+)
Advanced Development:
- Develop sophisticated human-AI collaboration techniques
- Build thought leadership around effective AI integration in your field
- Mentor colleagues on AI collaboration and career navigation
- Explore advanced opportunities in AI-enhanced roles or organizations
Career Advancement:
- Leverage AI collaboration skills for promotion or role expansion opportunities
- Consider lateral moves to organizations with more effective AI integration approaches
- Explore consulting or freelance opportunities leveraging your AI collaboration expertise
- Position yourself as a bridge between human expertise and AI capability
Measuring Your Progress
Monthly Self-Assessment Questions
AI Relationship Health:
- How is my relationship with AI systems evolving, and am I maintaining appropriate boundaries?
- What new AI collaboration skills have I developed, and how are they serving my career goals?
- How has my understanding of AI capabilities and limitations improved?
- What evidence do I have that my approach to AI is working for my career interests?
Professional Security:
- Am I becoming more valuable and employable, or more dependent and replaceable?
- How strong is my professional network, and how are my relationships evolving?
- What options do I have if my current AI situation becomes untenable?
- How well am I maintaining expertise and capabilities independent of AI systems?
Career Development:
- How are my skills developing in ways that serve my long-term career goals?
- What opportunities am I seeing for growth and advancement through AI collaboration?
- How is my reputation evolving in my professional community?
- What evidence do I have that my career strategy is working?
The Reality Check: What Success Actually Looks Like
Realistic Expectations
AI collaboration success doesn’t mean falling in love with AI or becoming an AI evangelist. Success means learning to work with AI in ways that advance your career while protecting your interests.
What Success Actually Looks Like
Professional Success:
- You can work effectively with AI tools without being dependent on them
- You maintain and develop uniquely human capabilities that make you valuable
- You build AI collaboration skills that are transferable across organizations and roles
- You have options and aren’t trapped by specific AI implementations or organizational approaches
Personal Success:
- You feel confident navigating AI integration challenges without sacrificing your values
- You maintain agency and control over your career development and professional choices
- You build relationships and reputation that support your long-term career goals
- You develop resilience and adaptability for ongoing technological change
Organizational Success:
- You contribute to AI implementation success when it serves mutual interests
- You provide valuable feedback that improves AI systems and processes
- You help colleagues navigate AI integration challenges effectively
- You model professional, strategic engagement with organizational AI initiatives
What Success Doesn’t Require
You Don’t Need To:
- Love AI or become enthusiastic about every AI application
- Trust your organization completely or believe all promises about AI benefits
- Sacrifice your professional judgment or expertise to AI recommendations
- Accept AI implementations that primarily serve organizational interests at your expense
You Don’t Have To:
- Become an AI expert or technical specialist to work effectively with AI
- Embrace every AI tool or application that comes along
- Suppress concerns or feedback about AI systems that aren’t working well
- Choose between being pro-AI or anti-AI—you can be strategically selective
The Long-Term Perspective
AI technology will continue evolving, and organizational approaches to AI will vary widely. Your ability to thrive depends not on specific AI tools or current organizational policies, but on developing the judgment, skills, and relationships that serve you across different contexts.
The Most Important Capabilities:
- Critical thinking about AI capabilities, limitations, and applications
- Collaboration skills that work with both humans and AI systems
- Professional network that provides opportunities and support
- Adaptability that allows you to navigate changing technological and organizational environments
Conclusion: Your AI Relationship is Your Choice
The relationship you build with AI in your career is ultimately your choice. You don’t have to be a passive recipient of whatever AI implementation your current organization decides to pursue. You can be strategic, selective, and protective of your interests while still engaging professionally with AI developments.
Your Power in This Situation
You Have More Control Than You Think:
- You can choose how deeply to engage with different AI systems based on your trust assessment
- You can develop AI collaboration skills that serve your career regardless of your current employer
- You can build relationships and reputation that provide options and opportunities
- You can maintain expertise and capabilities that make you valuable across different contexts
You Can Influence Outcomes:
- Your feedback and engagement level affects how well AI systems work
- Your professional success with AI collaboration influences how others approach these challenges
- Your skills and expertise contribute to better human-AI collaboration in your workplace
- Your career choices send signals about what types of AI implementation approaches succeed
Your Next Steps
This Week:
- Evaluate current AI systems in your workplace using the trust framework
- Identify one low-risk opportunity to experiment with AI collaboration
- Start documenting your work and building evidence of your professional value
- Connect with one colleague who shares your realistic approach to AI integration
This Month:
- Develop AI literacy through experimentation and education
- Begin building AI collaboration skills in areas that serve your career goals
- Expand your professional network to include others navigating similar challenges
- Create a personal strategy for AI engagement that protects your interests
This Quarter:
- Build portfolio evidence of effective human-AI collaboration
- Establish reputation for strategic, professional AI engagement
- Explore opportunities in organizations that use AI to enhance rather than replace human capability
- Develop contingency plans for various AI integration scenarios
Remember: You’re not required to trust blindly, and you shouldn’t. The most successful professionals in the AI era will be those who learn to work strategically with AI while maintaining their independence, expertise, and career options.
AI is a tool, and like any tool, its value depends on how it’s used and who controls it. Your job is to make sure that your relationship with AI serves your goals, not just your current employer’s goals.
The future belongs to professionals who can collaborate effectively with AI while maintaining their human expertise, judgment, and career agency. That’s exactly what you can become by approaching AI with the strategic thinking and healthy skepticism this guide provides.
Trust should be earned, not given freely. Make AI earn your trust through demonstrated value to your career and your life.
Additional Resources
AI Literacy Development
- Free Online Courses: Coursera “AI for Everyone,” edX AI fundamentals
- Experimentation Platforms: ChatGPT, Claude, Midjourney for hands-on learning
- Industry Publications: Harvard Business Review AI articles, MIT Technology Review
- Professional Communities: LinkedIn AI groups, industry-specific AI discussions
Career Development
- AI Collaboration Skills: Prompt engineering guides, human-AI interaction best practices
- Portfolio Building: Documentation templates, case study frameworks
- Professional Networking: Industry conferences, professional associations, online communities
- Career Planning: Career coaching resources, industry analysis, job market research
Professional Support
- Workplace Rights: Employment law resources, professional association guidance
- Career Counseling: Professional coaches, career transition specialists
- Mental Health: Resources for managing technology-related workplace stress
- Financial Planning: Emergency funds, career transition planning, skill investment strategies
Your relationship with AI is one of the most important professional relationships you’ll develop in the coming years. Make sure it’s a relationship that serves you.