Pasadena Workshops Teach Job Seekers to Beat the Bots

Artificial intelligence now screens resumes and evaluates candidates at a majority of U.S. companies before a human recruiter ever opens a file. Two free workshops in Pasadena today aim to help local job seekers adapt.

The Foothill Workforce Development Board is hosting a pair of sessions — “Tech Savvy Job Search Strategies” and “Advanced Interview Skills” — at its office at 1207 E. Green St. The morning session, running from 10 a.m. to noon, covers how AI and technology are reshaping the hiring process, including resume development and digital job search tools, according to the board’s announcement. The afternoon session, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., focuses on communicating effectively with employers, preparing for interviews, and handling digital interviews, according to the board.

The workshops are presented by ProPath, Inc., a California-based career consulting firm founded in 1988 that provides outplacement and career transition services through government-funded workforce programs, according to the company’s website.

The sessions arrive as AI reshapes not just how companies hire, but whether they hire at all. Fifty-seven percent of companies already use AI in their hiring process, and 79% of those use it to review resumes, according to an August 2025 survey of 1,399 U.S. workers by Resume.org. A more recent survey by the same organization, released this month, found that one in five companies has already frozen entry-level hiring because of AI.

Among the specific topics listed by the board for the morning session: understanding technology’s impact on the job search, building resumes and cover letters, and using AI to enhance a candidate’s search. The afternoon covers techniques for communicating with employers, questions candidates can ask during interviews, and strategies for digital interviews, according to the board.

The Foothill Workforce Development Board serves job seekers and employers across six San Gabriel Valley cities — Arcadia, Duarte, Monrovia, Pasadena, Sierra Madre, and South Pasadena — and assists more than 40,000 job seekers annually, according to the City of Pasadena. Pasadena represents over 53% of the population served by the board, according to a May 2025 presentation to Pasadena’s Economic Development and Technology Committee. The board is funded through the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and operates the Foothill Employment and Training Connection, an American Job Center of California co-located with the state Employment Development Department at the Green Street address.

During that same committee presentation, Paul Enge, a management analyst for the board, said approximately 6,000 individuals visited the Green Street center in a recent reporting period, and the agency delivered 46,000 services to those individuals.

Both workshops will be offered again on Friday, March 27, with the same morning and afternoon schedule. To reserve a seat, email fwdb@foothilletc.org. The Foothill Workforce Development Board can also be reached at (626) 796-5627.

“Employees without AI skills risk being sidelined as technologies augment or replace traditional functions,” said Kara Dennison, head of career advising at Resume.org, in a statement accompanying the organization’s March 2026 survey on AI-driven hiring changes.