Gina Sloan


Career development 8h
Hello! I love baking and often bring cakes or cookies to share with my coworkers. At my last job everyone liked it. But at my new job some women in my department are upset. They say I’m trying to impress the boss and make them gain weight.
I just enjoy taking a break and having tea with something sweet. And I don’t want to eat it alone, so I share with everyone.
Now I’m wondering is it really a... bad thing to share baking with coworkers?

 more
3   

  • Paidamoyo Yvett

    21m

    There's nothing wrong with that at the same time those who don't want them just let them be

  • Kassim Mwalimu

    2h

    Life is a race and overtaking is allowed, if your cookies can help you rise in ranks so be it. If your boss loves the cookies please continue and... don't forget on your deliverables as an employee, secondly unless you have an AK47 pointed at your colleagues to eat the cookies, the choice is theirs to make. I pray I get a colleague who would carry cookies along to work more

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Career development

 2h

candidate used a slur during a job interview, co-manager is refusing to manage, and more


It's five answers to five questions. Here we go...

1. Candidate used a slur during a job interview

I'm the hiring manager for a position at a nonprofit. The role has a lot of in-person interaction with clients, so we are looking for people who are well-spoken. One of our candidates used a lesser known slur during her interview. I won't say what the slur was, but it's a term to indicate being... duped or swindled, and the word comes from the name of an ethnic group.

I didn't address it in the moment, but I can't stop thinking about it. How would you have handled this? And, should this error carry weight? On one hand, I understand that when you're speaking on the fly like in an interview, you can misspeak. However, she used a slur! During an interview! How much grace should be extended?

Assuming we're talking about the word that's a slur for the Romani people ... well, it would give me some serious pause! It's not quite as clear-cut as my response to a lot of other slurs would be because there are still a ton of people who have no idea the word is a slur at all, so my concern would be less "she deliberately used a slur in an interview!" (which is fully a deal-breaker on its own) and more "if she didn't realize this word is offensive, will there be other ways she offends people without realizing it," particularly in a job with lots of client interaction where she's presumably expected to be more polished.

At a minimum, if you hired her, it's something you should raise early on ("I'm sure you didn't realize this, but it came up in your interview and I want to make sure you know going forward"). But should it stop you from hiring her altogether? If she was otherwise a strong candidate and didn't give you other reasons to doubt her judgment (and again, we're assuming she doesn't know the etymology of the word, not that she knows and doesn't care), probably not ... but if you have other strong candidates, it's fair to factor it in.

2. My co-manager never had the title and is refusing to co-manage now

My supervisor left our unit and there was no clear successor. Her supervisor, Adam, decided that her work would be taken over by me and my coworker Jane as co-managers temporarily. It went well for a while. Jane had better knowledge of our work, while I have managerial experience, and we had a good collaborative relationship. Eventually, Adam told me he wanted me to take the official manager title. At the time, I questioned him about the decision since I was still learning the work and Jane seemed a better choice. He said Jane did not want to be a manager and I was more suited to the role. We would still be acting as co-managers reporting to him; I would just get the official title.

The job was posted, I interviewed and received the title. When Jane found out, it was like a switch flipped. She moved to a desk far from me, switched her WFH days to avoid me, and barely spoke to me. Adam told me she confronted him and said that even though she didn't want the job, she thought she should be forced to take it as the more experienced employee, because that's how it's done in her country of origin. She complained that she's a "co-manager" but has no supervisory duties. When offered them, she only agreed to take on approving timekeeping for half the staff. Adam made her take a few other tasks. He set up a weekly meeting for the three of us because she wouldn't collaborate without him as an intermediary and she wouldn't do her managerial tasks without his prompting.

It's been a few years and I have mostly gotten over the situation -- Jane does her work, I do mine, and everything runs as it's supposed to. She even started being somewhat nice to me lately. Then two weeks ago, Adam died unexpectedly. Despite his shortcomings with this co-manager situation, he was a great boss. We're devastated and panicking because he did a lot of things no one else knew how to do. In the aftermath, Jane has started deferring everything to me, including tasks she oversees. She gave me permission to approve her timesheets and leave requests since she knows I was Adam's backup in our timekeeping system.

Jane and I have the same salary, and she's never reported to me. I've been pushing back, but it feels like she's trying to give up her co-manager status now that Adam is not here to make her be a manager. I am stressed trying to figure out how to get things done without Adam. She won't talk with me and I'm not her supervisor, so I have no actual power over her. Adam reported directly to the CEO, who I have no relationship with. I don't know that HR can help. What can I do?

Adam really messed this up! While it's odd that Jane thought she should be forced to take the manager job despite not wanting it, it's way more of a problem that Adam expected her to deal with management-level work without the title, and Jane was justified in pushing back on that. She's also justified in declining to do those things now. (It does make it a little better that she's earning the same amount as you, but this is still a very dysfunctional set-up!)

Since Adam is no longer there to sort this out, you need to talk to his boss, the CEO. You'd need to do that anyway, even if you didn't have the co-manager mess to figure out, because the CEO needs to step in as your manager now or designate someone else to fill that role. When your immediate boss dies (or simply leaves), you're not supposed to just muddle through without talking to anyone higher up; it's very, very normal for you to need to talk to the CEO about how things should be handled now, and the Jane situation can be part of that.

3. Did my boss question my ability to discern reality?

I'm unsure if and to what degree a statement my boss made in a recent performance review is inappropriate. In addition to a lengthy upbraiding, he documented in my performance review that "I want you to pause and separate what happened from the story your brain is telling about it." He said that my sensitivity makes me care deeply but can also mean that I get more worked up about situations, and that is draining for others.

I think that this comment is inappropriate because it hints at mental health issues and lays the foundation for questioning my sanity and competency. Can you please tell me if this comment is inappropriate and if so, how exactly?

I don't think it's inherently inappropriate. He's not hinting at mental health issues or questioning your sanity. He's saying that you have a tendency to turn things into something more frustrating or upsetting than is actually warranted by the situation, and that it's taking a lot out of the people around you, and he's asking you to work on doing less of that.

It's pretty serious feedback -- particularly combined with the "lengthy upbraiding" -- and I would try to really think about what he's saying and what handling those situations differently could look like.

4. Can a business hire only women?

I recently listened to a podcast that mentioned a rehab center staffed only by women, with only women as patients. While I think that's awesome, and certainly informed by the trauma that the patients have experienced, I was wondering how that works, since companies can't discriminate based on sex.

The laws prohibiting discrimination based on protected classes (like gender, age, etc.) include an exception for what's called "bona fide occupational qualifications"; employers can make a job single-sex-only if it's truly necessary to the work. The law allows this exception in three circumstances: privacy (for example, you can preference women when hiring a women's locker room attendant), "authenticity in the arts" (like in casting for movies), and when the qualification "relates to the normal operation or essence of the business" (like the mandatory retirement age for pilots for safety reasons or requiring that priests be Catholic).

I don't know enough about this particular rehab center to know if it would qualify for one of the legal exceptions, but I can imagine situations where it could.

5. Planning a vacation during a job search

I've got a milestone anniversary coming up this summer and I'm job searching. We're planning a week-long trip to celebrate. Should I just go ahead and book the dates that work for us now? Or, should I wait? I have no clue how close I am to securing my next job. I'd hate to lose out on an opportunity because of our celebration -- but if we don't book, then we won't go.

Go ahead and book it. If you get a job offer before then, you can explain you have a trip booked for (dates) and ask if they can accommodate that, even if it means taking the time unpaid. If they say they can't, then you can decide at that point if you'd rather move forward with the job at the expense of the trip (and whatever nonrefundable deposits you might have paid), but this is a very common request when negotiating a job offer and the majority of the time employers can accommodate it. There are exceptions to that -- like if that's a really key week for the job for some reason -- but most of the time they can make it work. more

Career development

 11h

Opinion: 2025 films overlooked by the Oscars you should check out.


Here are a few choice films that will receive no recognition at this year's Oscars that you should watch anyways.

Job hunting is hard. Yoo Man-Su discovers this first hand after being laid off from his job at a paper making company following a corporate buy-out. Years of unwavering loyalty prove worthless as he struggles to find employment in an incredibly competitive job market. Unwilling to... lose his upper-middle class lifestyle to his wife's budgeting plans, Man-Su resolves for a simple solution. To permanently eliminate all of his competition by murdering every other qualified candidate.

"No Other Choice" is brilliant and darkly comedic anti-capitalist satire. As anyone who has tried to find employment recently can attest, the inhumanity of the job market as depicted in this film is barely exaggerated. It's a dog-eat-dog world out there and the path out is only big enough for one. Man-Su is driven by the ruthless self interest capitalism breeds. He picks himself up by his boot straps and shoves everyone else down on the way up. What else is he supposed to do? There is no other choice.

If you have never watched a film by Park Chan-Wook, stop what you're doing and change that. Park is credited with catapulting South Korean cinema onto the world stage with his seminal masterpiece "Oldboy." His films are like Steely Dan songs given visual form; telling meticulously crafted and incredibly cynical tales of pitiful losers careening to the ground like Icarus.

While all of Park's films sprinkle humor into extremely unfunny situations, "No Other Choice" cranks the dial up on the hilarity. Murdering innocent people is not very funny. Then you see attempted-murder played out with the physicality and timing of a Buster Keaton film and discover it is actually hilarious. But the humor is constantly contrasted with tragedy. Like a knife coated in sugar, it still cuts deep.

I would like to personally nominate Park Chan-Wook as the most snubbed director of the 21st century. Despite directing modern classics such as "Oldboy," "The Handmaiden" and "Decision To Leave" he still has yet to receive even a single nomination from the Academy.

I guess Park just has to direct yet another career-defining masterpiece so the Academy can notice him.

In order to save his home and resurrect his friend, the infernal spirit prince Ne Zha must conquer a series of trials to gain the blessing of the immortals. In the process coming into conflict with demons, dragons and even heaven itself.

Watching "Ne Zha 2" without any baseline for Chinese cinema is like jumping in a pool; shocking at first but delightful in the end. "Ne Zha 2" has the heart of a Disney renaissance film combined with the epic action of "God of War" minus the spines being ripped out. It is a fascinating combination that makes for one of the year's most memorable films.

It is odd to put a film seen by 300 million people on a list of overlooked movies, but despite being one of the biggest films of all time "Ne Zha 2" was overlooked at the U.S. Box Office. With well over $2 billion in the bank, it's obvious that China doesn't need an American award to validate the quality of "Ne Zha 2."

The Chinese were right, "Ne Zha 2" rocks. I laughed, I cried and I cheered. The film is an adaptation of an ancient cultural myth and in both look and feel lives up to the legendary nature of its source material.

Romance is confusing. One day everything is going well, she seems into you and you're into her. Then she bites your tongue out and explodes. Next thing you know you are riding a shark-man to battle the bomb-woman and a typhoon in the shape of a giant baby. Happens to all of us.

Denji is a hormone beguiled teenager who works as a government sanctioned Devil-hunter keeping the citizens of Japan safe from monsters born of human fear. His average day consists of killing inhuman nightmares and being sexually manipulated by his boss Makima. Seemingly by happenstance Denji finds himself in a picture perfect -- and age appropriate -- romance with a girl named Reze. But Denji's short burst of good fortune comes to an incredibly violent and bombastic end.

When Eadweard Muybridge captured "Sallie Gardner at a Gallop" in 1878, I like to think he pictured something like "Reze Arc" would exist someday. You can't prove he didn't.

"Reze Arc" is an unabashed gonzo-anime-action film with some of the most breathtaking, mind-bending action sequences ever animated. It is also the best superhero movie of 2025. While I admire "Superman" and "The Fantastic Four: First Steps," only "Reze Arc" captures the Superhero stories I grew up reading. It is imaginative, ambitious, epic and sincere. Violence and beauty clashing and then blending into a cacophony of color and movement. more

Career development

 12h

How to Create a Digital Portfolio That Visually Pops


Job searching can be tough, and so is standing out among the competition.

When putting together job applications, there's always that question: How should I describe myself? Will potential employers care more about past experience or a list of skills? A digital portfolio answers that question in a way a résumé alone can't. It shows what you're actually capable of.

That's why I put together this... digital portfolio demo project.

Instead of talking about performance, polish, and visual quality in theory, I wanted to demonstrate what that looks like in practice. This portfolio is built the way I'd recommend anyone build one today: fast, visually sharp, and optimized from the start.

In this guide, I'll walk you through how I build a frontend portfolio project using Cloudinary to handle all the image and video magic. No endless hours in Photoshop. No massive file sizes. And, no manual resizing for every device.

Before diving into the code, you can check out the live portfolio demo here:

View the live demo on StackBlitz

Feel free to explore it, then come back and see how everything works under the hood.

Building a great-looking digital portfolio is a no-brainer. However, the real question is: How do you make yours stand out? One of the biggest differentiators is focusing on performance and visual polish. When your portfolio feels fast, smooth, and thoughtfully built, it immediately comes across as more professional.

And when you build it efficiently, you're also signaling to future employers that you know how to work efficiently:

For my portfolio, I went with tools that are popular in the industry and honestly just fun to work with:

Feel free to clone my code and adapt it to whatever you're used to working with.

I'm sharing my portfolio with you as a starting point. Once you get a feel for how it works, you can customize the design to match your style and add sections that show off what matters to you.

I'm excited to see how you make it your own.

A portfolio that stands out needs to be fast, visually sharp, and responsive across devices.

Without automation, that usually means resizing images manually, generating multiple breakpoints, compressing files carefully, and managing large video assets.

Cloudinary handles image and video delivery, optimization, and transformations through simple URL parameters. In this project, cropping, resizing, blur effects, format conversion, and quality optimization are all applied directly in the media URLs.

Transformations run on the fly, and the right size and format are delivered automatically for each device and browser.

Instead of maintaining multiple asset versions or editing files manually, I define the transformation once and move on, without sacrificing quality or performance.

This project uses Cloudinary's demo account () with sample images and videos, so it works out of the box. When you're ready, switch to your own Cloudinary account to display your own images and videos.

Sign up for a free Cloudinary account (the free tier is more than enough for a portfolio).

After logging in, copy your cloud name from the dashboard. You'll use it in URLs like this:

That's it. Since CLOUDINARY_BASE is built from CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME, all image/video URLs that use CLOUDINARY_BASE will automatically point to your account.

In your code, you reference assets using public IDs -- for example:

That means Cloudinary is looking for an asset with the public ID in your cloud.

After you upload your own images/videos to Cloudinary, replace those image values with your own public IDs, for example:

Note: You don't need to change the transformations. Everything in the URL after (like ) can stay the same.

For the testimonials section, I needed consistent circular profile images that focused tightly on each person's face.

https://res.cloudinary.com/demo/image/upload/c_thumb,g_face,h_300,w_300/r_max/e_sharpen:80/f_auto/q_auto/docs/profile-pic.jpg

The result isn't just a circle. It's a consistent 300×300 headshot, centered correctly every time -- regardless of how the original photo was framed.

That means no manual cropping, guessing focal points, or layout inconsistencies.

For the hero section, I wanted a full-width background image that wouldn't compete with the foreground content.

https://res.cloudinary.com/demo/image/upload/vieste_italy.jpg

https://res.cloudinary.com/demo/image/upload/c_fill,g_auto,h_1080,w_1920/e_blur:800/f_auto/q_auto/vieste_italy.jpg

The original image is detailed and high contrast -- great for photography, not ideal for text overlays.

By blurring it at delivery time, I keep the color and atmosphere while removing visual noise. The background supports the content instead of competing with it. No separate "blurred copy" of the file is needed.

For the hero portrait, I wanted a clean, high-quality look -- even if the source image wasn't studio-perfect.

https://res.cloudinary.com/demo/image/upload/docs/profile-pic1.jpg

https://res.cloudinary.com/demo/image/upload/c_fill,g_face,h_300,w_300/r_max,bo_2px_solid_green/e_enhance/f_auto/q_auto:best/docs/profile-pic1.jpg

The enhancement isn't dramatic -- it's subtle. Skin tones are more balanced, contrast is cleaner, and the framing is consistent.

It looks like a designed component, not just an uploaded image.

In my project grid, the source images came from different industries -- fashion, e-commerce, outdoor photography -- all with different aspect ratios.

https://res.cloudinary.com/demo/image/upload/woman_mountain_ledge.jpg

https://res.cloudinary.com/demo/image/upload/c_fill,g_auto,h_400,w_600/r_20/e_saturation:20/f_auto/q_auto/woman_mountain_ledge.jpg

The original image has its own natural proportions.

The transformed version guarantees:

Even though the source images vary wildly, the layout stays predictable and clean. That's what makes the grid feel cohesive.

Video is usually where portfolios fall apart. Files are large, aspect ratios are inconsistent, and playback isn't optimized.

Here's the original full video:

https://res.cloudinary.com/demo/video/upload/v1731855790/guy_woman_mobile.mp4

And here's the version used in the portfolio:

https://cloudinary-res.cloudinary.com/video/upload/so_133,eo_147/c_pad,h_400,w_600/b_rgb:d4a520/f_auto/q_auto/guy_woman_mobile.mp4

Instead of uploading a separately edited clip, I trim and resize at delivery time.

That means:

It behaves like a designed component -- not a raw media file dropped onto a page.

Once layout and performance were handled, I added subtle refinements.

https://res.cloudinary.com/demo/image/upload/docs/profile-pic1.jpg

https://res.cloudinary.com/demo/image/upload/c_fill,g_auto,h_800,w_700/e_vignette:30/e_sharpen:100/r_20/bo_1px_solid_rgb:e0e0e0/f_auto/q_auto/docs/profile-pic1.jpg

None of these effects are dramatic, but together they:

You might be thinking, "All these effects must slow things down, right?" Actually, the opposite!

With Cloudinary:

When someone views your portfolio on their phone, they automatically get perfectly-sized images. On a 4K monitor, they get crisp, detailed versions. It just works.

Notice how much this image was optimized and what that means for your website stats and loading time! Reduced from a 21.30 MB JPG to a 18.26 KB AVIF.

Here's what I love about this whole process: The skills you use to build an impressive portfolio are the same skills you'll use every day in your job.

When you build this portfolio, you're learning how to:

Your portfolio becomes a preview of what you can do. So, you've shown you can build websites that look great, load fast, and feel professional. That's exactly what teams are looking for.

Making a portfolio that stands out doesn't have to be complicated or stressful. It's really about:

Using the right tools (like Cloudinary) to make your life easier.

If you're job searching right now, I hope this helps. You've got this. more

Career development

 12h

Building Professional Portfolio Online: Free Portfolio Website Guide


Building a Professional Portfolio Online: The Ultimate Free Portfolio Website Guide

The future of personal branding and career advancement is digital and within everyone's reach. Building a professional portfolio online is the key to showcasing your best work, standing out in competitive markets, and controlling your online presence. Forget outdated, paper-based collections -- today's most... ambitious students, professionals, and creative talents rely on free portfolio website platforms, advanced website builders, and customizable templates to craft a professional portfolio that doesn't just tell, but shows their capabilities.

Innovation in online portfolio website creation has erased the barriers once posed by expensive web design fees, complicated coding, and limited access to professional website builders. Anyone, from seasoned graphic designers to students building their first résumé, can now make a portfolio for free. These tools make it easy to choose the best portfolio template, customize layouts, and present your achievements with a fully customizable, visually stunning digital portfolio. This guide explores the modern portfolio website landscape, reveals best practices for online portfolio design, and provides actionable steps for building your professional portfolio for free -- no credit card required, no technical expertise needed.

Whether you're looking to create a portfolio website to attract potential clients, building a student portfolio to supplement your university applications, or simply interested in impressively sharing your work experience with the world, this educational resource will walk you through every stage. We'll compare popular free portfolio website builders, pinpoint design features that matter, answer frequently asked questions about portfolio creation, and demystify the digital choices so you can build a portfolio that propels your career forward.

Choosing the right platform is the foundation of any good portfolio. The current portfolio website builder market is brimming with user-friendly options that empower anyone to create a portfolio website for free or at a remarkably low cost.

When it comes to free portfolio websites, names like Framer, Adobe Express, Wix, and Squarespace frequently dominate the conversation. Each website builder offers unique customizable templates that cater to different career paths, from graphic design and photography to digital art or web development. Features such as drag and drop editing, integrated SEO tools, and the ability to add an online store are increasingly common, letting users showcase their best work with minimal barriers.

What sets a high-quality website builder apart is its balance of professional presentation, ease of use, and depth of customization. For example, Framer's portfolio website builder leverages AI-powered tools and professionally designed website templates to help users create a stunning portfolio in minutes, while platforms like Squarespace offer specific solutions for artists and photographers, including page layout and font control, domain name management, and even e-commerce integration.

The right portfolio maker or online portfolio builder provides a solid suite of tools for creating your online portfolio exactly how you want it. Look for platforms that:

You don't have to know CSS or advanced web programming to create a professional online portfolio. These website builders provide point-and-click controls, making it easier than ever to move elements, adjust buttons, upload your logo, and update your experience as your career evolves.

Academic data reveals: digital portfolios increase job placement rates by up to 23% compared to paper résumés alone. Today, a good portfolio isn't a luxury -- it's a necessity. Whether you choose Wix for its drag and drop builder or Framer for AI-powered design, your digital portfolio offers an unmatched potential to showcase your best work from any device.

Now that you've selected your portfolio website builder, it's time to focus on design features that maximize impact and personalization. Portfolio design bridges the gap between your abilities and your audience.

High-performing portfolios use customizable templates, allowing every user to control layout, font, imagery, and navigation. Templates are designed by professionals to highlight your best projects -- whether you're a photographer, an artist, or a software developer. Just as a graphic designer considers the principles of alignment, contrast, and hierarchy, your portfolio template should reflect clarity, simplicity, and creative flair.

The best portfolio layout is one that reflects both your personality and your professional accomplishments. Always keep your site organized -- categories for work experience, client testimonials, a short biography, and contact information are must-haves. Showcase your work visually: image galleries for photography, embedded video for motion design, PDF downloads for writing samples, and links for interactive digital projects.

Remember, the tools make it easy, but your creativity is the secret ingredient. Customize color palettes, update background images, and use call-to-action buttons to guide users through your portfolio site. Featuring an online store or adding an e-commerce integration is a powerful way to monetize your skills, whether you sell design consultations, digital art prints, or photography sessions -- building a portfolio online puts business tools at your fingertips.

Your portfolio website is your brand. The data is clear: portfolio shows that visual and organized digital showcases attract more attention from potential clients and employers. Investing energy in refining your portfolio design and layout pays dividends. Examples of your work tell your story -- curate only your best projects and update regularly. Make your portfolio site a living resume that grows with your skillset.

Access and speed are non-negotiable in today's fast-paced professional world. A free online portfolio builder should help you create a custom portfolio in minutes -- not days or weeks.

To get started, sign up for your chosen builder, select a fully customizable template, and complete your basic profile information. Many platforms allow you to connect directly to LinkedIn or upload your résumé as a PDF, ensuring consistency across your personal and professional digital presence.

Once your structure is in place, upload your best projects, include concise descriptions, and select a creative layout that enhances your portfolio's visual appeal. Portfolio website templates provide flexibility to highlight process notes, project timelines, or before-and-after images -- demonstrating your creative portfolio's depth.

A make a portfolio project should always include elements that are relevant to your profession. For a model portfolio, use high-resolution images, italicized project details, and easily accessible contact links. For designers and artists, emphasize logo mockups, client feedback, and samples that best represent your design process.

Finally, ensure your portfolio website builder offers options for sharing your portfolio link via email, social media, or even generating a branded QR code for networking events. A vital part of portfolio creation is maintaining its relevance -- schedule periodic updates, solicit client or mentor feedback, and keep your domain name active to maintain your impressive online reputation. A professional online portfolio is as much about evolution as it is about presentation.

Digital accessibility is driving the democratization of professional branding and career advancement. Building a professional portfolio online using a free portfolio website builder allows anyone -- students, job seekers, artists -- to create a portfolio website, showcase work experience, and reach new audiences effortlessly. By choosing the best platform, leveraging customizable templates, and following best practices for design and content, your portfolio becomes a gateway to both opportunity and recognition in every field.

As online learning and career markets evolve, portfolios are no longer an optional add-on -- they're the critical advancement every modern learner and professional needs. Explore the future possibilities: create your online portfolio, refine your personal narrative, and unlock the doors to educational and career opportunities worldwide. The future of accessible achievement is here. Build your portfolio in one afternoon -- and change your trajectory forever.

Can I create a free portfolio website?

Yes, you can easily create a free portfolio website with industry-leading builders like Wix, Framer, and Adobe Express. These platforms provide customizable templates, drag and drop editing tools, and free hosting -- no credit card or coding required. This gives you the power to build a portfolio, showcase your best work, and share your professional presentation across any device.

What makes a good portfolio website?

A good portfolio website combines a clean, customizable design, outstanding examples of your work, concise content, and intuitive navigation. It should be mobile-responsive, SEO-optimized, and feature clear contact options. Custom portfolio layouts, feedback from experts, and regular updates ensure your site remains engaging and effective in impressing potential clients or employers.

How do I share my portfolio?

Sharing your portfolio is simple. After publishing your online portfolio, copy the portfolio link and distribute it via email, social media, LinkedIn, or embedded QR codes. Many portfolio site builders also offer tools for integrating with job boards or connecting to your personal website, maximizing your online presence and professional reach. more

Career development

 2d

I Trusted My Friend to Help With My CV and Application -- But She Was At My Interview When I Walked In


The fluorescent lights in the waiting room hummed with a clinical, predatory energy that made the sweat behind my neck turn cold. I clutched my leather folder, my knuckles white, staring at the woman sitting directly across from me in the plush charcoal armchair. It was Leah.

She was wearing the power suit she'd bought last month, her hair lay in a sharp, professional bob, looking every bit the... corporate conqueror. My heart didn't just throb; it felt like it was trying to exit my chest through my throat.

"Leah?" I whispered, the name catching on the dry roof of my mouth. "What are you doing here?"

She didn't flinch. She didn't look guilty. Instead, she offered a thin, practised smile that didn't reach her eyes and adjusted the identical navy-blue company folder resting on her lap.

"Oh, Naomi! You applied for this, too?" she asked, her voice airy and casual, as if we were bumping into each other at a grocery store rather than at the one job interview that was supposed to save my life. "That's so funny. Small world, isn't it?"

"Funny?" I choked out, the air in the room suddenly feeling too thin to breathe. "You told me the role wasn't really your 'vibe' when I showed you the listing. You spent three days 'fixing' my CV for this exact position."

She leaned forward, the scent of her expensive, musky perfume hitting me like a physical blow -- a sharp contrast to the antiseptic smell of the office. "I just thought I'd throw my hat in the ring at the last minute, babes," she said, her tone hardening just a fraction. "May the best woman win, right?"

We had been inseparable since our first year at university.

Leah was the fire to my water. While I spent my nights in the library perfecting my syntax, she was out networking, building a bridge to the career she wanted. She landed a solid role at a marketing firm straight after graduation.

I, on the other hand, had spent the last eight months staring at the peeling paint on my apartment ceiling. The bills had started to feel like physical weights pressing down on my shoulders.

Every time my mother called from the village to ask how the job hunt was going, I felt a fresh wave of shame. "Don't worry, Naomi," Leah had told me over a plate of steaming tilapia last month.

"I'm going to see you win. Your brilliance just needs the right packaging." She held my hand across the table, her grip firm and reassuring.

"I've got the connections, and I know exactly what these HR managers are looking for," she'd insisted. "Just send me your drafts. I'll polish them until they shine." I felt a surge of genuine gratitude that brought tears to my eyes. "You'd really do that for me?" I asked, my voice trembling.

"Of course," she laughed, waving away my thanks. "What are friends for if not to pull each other up?" I sent her my CV that night, feeling like a massive burden had been lifted.

I told her everything about the mid-sized firm I'd found. I told her about the salary, a figure that was significantly higher than what she was currently earning.

"It's a bit of a jump for you, isn't it?" she'd remarked, her eyes flickering over the job description on my phone. "But hey, if you think you can handle the pressure, go for it."

I trusted her completely because she was the one who already had her foot in the door of the world I was trying to enter. She was my mentor, my sister, and my safety net. Or so I thought.

The first red flag appeared a week before the application deadline. Leah had been "working" on my CV for five days, claiming she was too swamped at her own job to finish the edits.

"I need to submit it by Friday, Leah," I told her over the phone, pacing the narrow hallway of my flat. "The portal closes at midnight."

"Relax, Naomi," she snapped, her voice uncharacteristically sharp. "I'm making sure it's perfect. Do you want the job or not?" I went quiet, swallowed by the fear of offending the only person helping me.

When the document finally landed in my inbox on Thursday evening, I opened it with trembling fingers. As I scrolled through the pages, a cold knot began to form in the pit of my stomach.

She had removed my two-year stint at the regional consultancy -- the very place where I'd managed a team of six. "Why did you take out the consultancy lead role?" I texted her immediately.

"It makes you look overqualified and expensive," she messaged back seconds later. "Trust the process. I've rephrased your skills to make you seem more 'trainable'."

I looked at the laptop screen, bewildered. She had replaced my active, leadership-focused bullet points with passive, administrative language.

"It doesn't sound like me, Leah," I whispered to the empty room. I called her, hoping for clarity, but she didn't pick up.

A few minutes later, a voice note arrived. "Naomi, you're overthinking. I know these recruiters. They want someone who won't clash with the current manager."

I looked at my original draft -- full of achievements and high-level strategy. Then I looked at her version -- muted, simplified, and almost invisible.

The pressure of the deadline felt like a physical hand squeezing my throat. If I didn't submit this now, I'd lose the chance entirely.

If I ignored her advice and failed, I'd have no one to blame but myself. "She knows better," I whispered, trying to convince my pounding heart.

I uploaded her version of my life and hit 'submit'. The confirmation email felt less like a victory and more like a surrender.

Two days later, the invitation for an interview arrived. I was ecstatic, screaming into my pillow before calling Leah to share the news.

"That's great, bestie," she said, though her voice sounded strangely flat. "I told you my edits would work."

"I'm so nervous," I admitted. "Do you think I should brush up on the project management software they mentioned?" "Don't bother," she replied quickly. "They told me -- I mean, I heard -- they're moving away from that system."

I paused, the air suddenly still. "How did you hear that?"

"Just industry chatter, Naomi. Focus on being 'personable'. That's your strength." I sat on my bed after we hung up, the silence of the apartment feeling heavy and suspicious.

The light outside was fading into a bruised purple, casting long, distorted shadows across the floor. I felt like I was walking through a fog, unable to see the cliff edge until my foot was already hovering over the drop.

I decided to do a quick search on the company's recent LinkedIn posts. There, featured in a "Meet the Team" video from that morning, was the exact software she told me to ignore.

My heart gave a sickening thud. Why would she lie about something so small?

I shook it off, telling myself she was just misinformed. Friends don't sabotage friends.

I spent the next forty-eight hours rehearsing the "personable" answers she had coached me on. I wore the modest navy dress she suggested, even though I felt more powerful in my tailored blazer.

"You don't want to intimidate them," she'd warned. I walked into that office building feeling small, prepared to be the "trainable" girl she had created on paper.

Then the elevator doors opened. And there she was.

The receptionist called Leah's name first. She stood up with a grace that felt like a calculated insult, smoothing her skirt without looking back at me.

I sat in that chair for twenty minutes, the silence of the lobby ringing in my ears like a physical siren. Every time the heavy oak door opened, I expected to see her walk out with a look of shame.

Instead, when she finally emerged, she looked radiant. She caught my eye and gave a small, triumphant nod that made my stomach do a slow, sick flip.

"Good luck, Naomi," she whispered as she passed, her voice dripping with a pity that felt sharper than any blade. "They're looking for someone very... specific today."

When I finally walked into the boardroom, three panellists sat behind a glass table. I sat down, my hands trembling as I laid out my "diluted" CV in front of them.

"So, Naomi," the lead interviewer began, flipping through the pages with a bored expression. "Your profile seems a bit... entry-level for a role with this much responsibility."

I felt the blood drain from my face. "I've actually managed teams before," I said, my voice sounding thin and desperate in the large room.

"It's not listed here," he replied, pointing to the gap where Leah had deleted my consultancy experience. "We're looking for a leader, not someone we have to hand-hold through basic operations."

I looked down at the paper -- the paper Leah had "polished" for me. It was a map leading me directly into a dead end.

"I can explain those gaps," I started, but I could see their interest fading like a dying ember. They began asking technical questions about the very software Leah told me to ignore.

I tried to pivot, to show my personality as she'd coached me, but they weren't looking for a "friend." They were looking for the expert I had been before I let her touch my career.

The air in the room felt heavy, smelling of stale coffee and the ozone of high-end air conditioning. I realised then that I wasn't just fighting for a job; I was fighting the version of myself Leah had invented to ensure I'd fail.

The floor beneath my feet felt as though it had turned to water. I stumbled out of the interview room, the heavy oak door clicking shut behind me like a gavel.

Leah was still there, leaning against the glass windows of the lift lobby. She was silhouetted against the harsh afternoon sun, watching the city traffic crawl below.

"How did it go?" she asked, her back still turned. Her voice was steady, devoid of the nervous energy I was currently drowning in.

"They thought I was a junior, Leah," I said, my voice cracking as the humiliation finally broke through. "They literally laughed when I mentioned strategy. The edits you made -- they erased everything that made me a contender."

She turned around slowly. For the first time in ten years, the mask slipped completely. The warm, supportive sister-friend was gone. In her place stood a woman with eyes as cold and calculating as a high-frequency trader. There was no sympathy there; only a hard, metallic ambition.

"Maybe you just aren't ready for this level yet, Naomi," she said. Her tone was clinical. "I did you a favour, really. I kept you from overpromising and crashing out in the first month. You would have been out of your depth."

"You applied for it yourself," I whispered, the realisation hitting me with the force of a physical blow. I looked at the identical folder in her hand.

"You didn't just 'fix' my CV. You harvested it. You took the leadership highlights you deleted from mine and pasted them into yours, didn't you?"

She didn't even have the grace to flinch. She simply adjusted the strap of her designer handbag and looked at me as if I were a piece of outdated software.

"I saw the salary range on that listing, Naomi. It is double what I make now," she said flatly. "Why should I let you leapfrog over me? I've spent years networking while you were just... waiting. You haven't paid your dues."

The betrayal felt like a thick, oily slick in my throat. The soundscape of the office -- the ringing phones, the rhythmic tapping of keyboards -- suddenly muffled, as if I had been plunged underwater.

"You knew I was desperate," I gritted out, my eyes stinging. "You knew my landlord was calling every day. You used my vulnerability to scout a better deal for yourself."

"It's just business, babes," she said, her voice dropping to a low, cold hum as the lift doors chimed and slid open.

"Don't take it so personally. In this city, you're either the one holding the ladder or the one being stepped on." She stepped into the mirrored carriage, the doors closing on her calm, unbothered reflection.

I didn't cry on the bus ride home. The betrayal was too deep for tears; it felt more like a cold, clarifying frost.

I reached my apartment and sat in the dark for a long time, listening to the distant hum of traffic. My phone buzzed with a notification from her on social media.

"So proud of us for putting ourselves out there today! Lunch soon? x" I stared at the screen until the light dimmed and went black.

I didn't reply. I didn't demand an explanation; I already had. Instead, I went to my settings and clicked 'Block' on every platform we shared.

The silence that followed was the first bit of peace I'd felt in months. The next morning, I opened my laptop and pulled up my original, "overqualified" CV.

I restored every achievement, every leadership role, and every technical skill she had tried to bury. I realised that by trying to make myself "palatable" for her, I had made myself invisible to everyone else.

A week later, I saw a LinkedIn update from the company. The role was being re-advertised; neither of us had been "the right fit."

I felt a grim sense of satisfaction knowing her sabotage hadn't even bought her the prize she'd sold her soul for. I hit 'apply' again -- this time with the real version of me.

I haven't heard back yet, and the bills are still piling up on my kitchen counter. But the air in my apartment feels lighter, stripped of the toxic expectations of a "friend" who wanted me to stay small.

I used to think that loyalty was a debt you paid to people just because you'd known them a long time. I thought that a friend's success was my success, and I assumed they felt the same.

But I've learned that some people only want to see you do well as long as you aren't doing better than them. They will offer you a hand to help you up, only to ensure they can control how high you climb.

True friendship doesn't require you to shrink so the other person can feel tall. It doesn't ask you to hide your strengths to protect their fragile ego.

I am still looking for work, and the uncertainty is terrifying. But I would rather be unemployed and standing on my own two feet than successful and leaning on a snake.

I've reclaimed my voice and my history. And I've learned the hardest lesson of all: trust is a gift, but discernment is a survival skill.

If the person closest to you is the one holding the scissors, how can you ever expect to grow? more
2   

  • Susan Basch

    13h

    As long as you feel yourself now, that is what counts.

  • Steward Tony Pacheco

    65
    1d

    Mistake One: Putting You Career, Your Money, Your Relationship, Your Dreams, Your Sspirations, Or Your Personal Whatevers In Someone Elses Hands....
    Based On The Length Of The Short Novel You Wrote, I Cant Help But Wonder "WHY?"
    So, What You Do From This Point On Will Determine If You Have The Ability To Protect Your Most Valuable Assets? Your Dreams!     more

Load more...

Career development

 14h

'AI killed the cover letter.' This Wharton economist says the hiring ritual's days are numbered | Fortune


Sending your resume into the void has never felt more useless.

Employers cut 92,000 jobs in February alone. Unemployment among entry-level employees peaked last July at 13.3%, the worst entry-level market in 37 years. Two-thirds of companies have put hiring on pause while they wait to see where AI can fill the gaps, and in the meantime, 1.17 million jobs have been cut since last year.

So you do... what everyone does: You turn to AI to write a cover letter that slightly exaggerates the role you held in your junior year of college. That's totally fine, since three-quarters of resumes never reach a human's eyes anyway. This means you're using AI to write something that gets read by AI, fulfilling some twisted ouroboros that Socrates and the lot would have had a doozy explaining to their students.

For Wharton Business Economics Professor Judd Kessler, there's a simple alternative: Toss the fake enthusiasm and pick up the phone. The University of Pennsylvania professor and author of Lucky by Design: The Hidden Economics You Need to Get More of What You Want instead thinks the cover letter's days are numbered.

"I expect that in the not too distant future, cover letters are gone," Kessler told Fortune. "Either cover letters will be required and everybody will have AI write good ones and they'll be ignored, or employers will stop asking for them because they realize they're not looking at them and they're not adding value."

Kessler says job hunting is starting to look a lot like the good ol' days: It's all about who you know. At the heart of his argument is the concept of a hidden market: any system that has to allocate something valuable without simply letting the highest bidder win. Think of Taylor Swift pricing concert tickets at $99 when millions of fans would pay 10 times that, or a university with 50,000 applicants for 2,000 freshman seats. Price alone can't decide who gets what, so other rules take over -- rules like knowing a roadie who can get you behind the stage, or having an alumni vouch for you. These are all signals in a hidden market.

And the labor market is one of the biggest hidden markets of all.

"We want to allocate scarce resources, and we don't want to let price do the job on its own," Kessler said. "We find it more efficient to have a search process where we identify the best person for the role."

In this dynamic, signals like the cover letter used to matter, because it meant candidates were spending the time and making the effort to show their enthusiasm.

"It was a costly signal that a job candidate could send that they were really interested in a particular role," Kessler said. "And it was costly because writing a good one was hard and took time, and you couldn't do it for every firm." The signal was hard to ignore: This candidate was serious; after all, they wrote a cover letter.

That all changed when AI made it a quick snap to fake enthusiasm in three frivolous paragraphs.

"Generative AI comes, and something that used to take a few hours to do well now takes a few seconds, or maybe a few minutes," Kessler said. "And all of a sudden that signal that used to be costly is now very cheap. Economists would call it cheap talk: You can make it look like you are really motivated to join that firm, that the job was designed for you, but you can create that signal very cheaply."

The research backs him up. Kessler pointed to a study by economists Jingyi Cui, Gabriel Dias, and Justin Ye that tracked what happened when a major job platform introduced an AI cover-letter writing assistant. Letter quality improved because they were better targeted, and well-targeted letters led to more interviews. But as the tool spread, "employers stopped relying on cover letters in their hiring decisions," Kessler said. "The cover letters got better, and they became a less useful tool overall."

"In the old days, there used to be a few good cover letters, and that was how you could identify the best-fit candidates," he said. "Now, all the cover letters pass some threshold. They become a prerequisite rather than a differentiator."

Once every application looks polished, none stand out -- and the rational employer either outsources the reading to AI or stops reading altogether. "That's when you would hand it off to AI to be responsible," Kessler said.

Kessler has watched it happen in his own hiring. Despite selecting research assistants at Wharton for the last 15 years, "all of the best cover letters have come in the last 12 months," he said with a laugh, all of which suddenly reference his research papers.

"That used to be a way that I could tell who was actually motivated," he said. "But now everybody does that, and my guess is it's not because everybody has read that research. Everybody has figured out that AI can write a good summary of what I work on and weave that into a narrative. And that means I can't use the cover letter as a good indication that somebody's motivated to work with me."

Instead of relying on an AI-written CliffNotes summary of his own research, Kessler now points to other hidden market signals: "Do they take my course? Do they come to office hours? Do they try to meet with me in person? Those are the signals I start to rely on more, because the cover letter is insufficient."

The cover letter is dead, Kessler says and as a result, the signals are going old school: reaching out and classic networking.

"For the specific signal of 'I really want to work at this firm,' which is a signal that the applicant themselves can send, it's going to be more things that cannot be replicated with AI," he said.

"It's going to be doing in-person networking with members of the leadership team at the firm, taking people that work at the firm out to coffee, going to the coffee chat that the firm has. And those are real costly signals, because they can't be replicated with AI," he added. "When I choose to go talk to people at a firm, I'm using hours that I can't spend talking to people at another firm."

While the coffee chat isn't new, Kessler said the return to meeting people and showing other signals spells the cover letter's inevitable end.

"I often describe this as the age of the cover letter being over," Kessler said. "AI killed the cover letter." more

Career development

 17h

Life is lived mostly in ordinary moments, not in major achievements.


We plan for future successes but rarely consider how we'll actually live day to day. Yet, happiness, and a meaningful life, may depend more on how we spend our ordinary days.

When students, or professionals, sit down across from me for what I call a "Flourishing Chat," which is a mix between life, professional, and health, they rarely begin with a crisis. More often they say something like, "I... know what I want to do... I just don't feel that great about it.

"roles at major companies. The plans are polished. The résumés are strong. From the outside, everything looks ready to go. Then I ask a different question: "What would your ordinary Tuesday look like at this job?" I don't want to know about the title on their business cards or their starting salary. I want them to tell me what time they'll wake up, who they will spend their days with, what kinds of problems they will solve, what their evenings feel like when they come home tired. At this point in the conversation, every time, students, and sometimes even professionals, can't answer my questions. The conversation turns into silence. They have thought about what role they want, but they haven't yet thought about what the role entails - or how it fits with the activities they like to do and the people they care about. We are taught early to think of success as a possession. We accumulate credentials, milestones, promotions, and recognition. We pursue outcomes that can be measured and displayed. Yet even if we mark our life journey with milestones, most of our time travelling will be in the everyday steps we take along our way. How we travel will not only determine which path we take, it will also determine which milestones are worth marking., which is what today we call flourishing or living a good life rooted in activity rather than possession. Flourishing isn't something you own; it's something you do - consistently and as a way that speaks to your gifts and. It is a way of living that aligns one's actions with one's character and in accord with their values. When I talk about this type of flourishing, most people agree that it sounds nice in theory. Yet when it comes to making personal and professional decisions about their lives, they often revert to their old habits of choosing the path that looks most successful from the outside rather than one they can get excited about actually living day to day. I see this tension regularly with students who feel pulled toward careers they are not sure they will enjoy, but I also see it with professionals at almost every stage of their. Ambition is framed as climbing a ladder rather than finding better ways to act on one's values so that you can have greater impact on oneself and others. Success is an external metric rather than an internal measure of alignment.compresses lives into highlight reels: the graduation photo, the new job announcement, the promotion. We see the trophies, not the ordinary weekday mornings that make up a life.I learned this lesson myself early in my career. Like many ambitious young professionals, I believed that hard work meant sacrificing the present so that futurecould eventually arrive. Like the lesson of the famous "marshmallow test," I thought it demonstrated the capacity to achieve success: A noble ability to endure now so I can enjoy later.important to put in the time to become great at what we do - it is equally important to consider what we are enduring for. Is it to achieve for the sake of achievement, or is it to be able to successfully accomplish the things we truly care about doing? Psychologists sometimes talk about the "arrival fallacy," which is the belief that reaching a certain goal will bring lasting fulfillment. The problem is that achieving theseMeanwhile, the real question remains unanswered: Do I actually like how I spend my days? This is why, in these flourishing chats, I push my conversation partners toward the details - towards painting as complete a picture as they can. Not because I want to discourage ambition, but because ambition is healthier when it is grounded in reality and in self-reflection.These questions shift the frame. They ask us to stop seeing success as something you possess and to start seeing it as something you practice. They ask us to payThis perspective doesn't make decisions easier. In fact, it can make them harder, because we now have to think beyond external validation and ask ourselves what actually sustains us. We must be honest about tradeoffs we are willing to make and have the courage to choose paths that may not look impressive from other people's vantage points. Yet, taking this view of success also offers something liberating, because now our everyday isn't a means to a few momentary milestones. Life is embraced through the ordinary days we spend living it., is an associate professor at the Emory University School of Medicine and the executive director of the Emory Purpose Project.Self Tests are all about you. Are you outgoing or introverted? Are you a narcissist? Does perfectionism hold you back? Find out the answers to these questions and more with Psychology Today.

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Jessica Miller


Career development 4d
I just got back from a job interview and have mixed feelings. They kept trying to confuse me and make me feel bad. At the start, they asked me to tell them about myself. I began talking about my duties at my last job, but they said they didn’t want memorized answers, they wanted real achievements.
Then they asked if I had taken a certain test. I said no (I’d never even heard of it) and they told... me that meant I failed it and got the lowest score. At the end the HR person said they had wasted their time talking to me and that their time is valuable.
Is this how interviews are done now to test how well people handle stress?

 more
1   

  • avion glah

    17h

    Sorry, it was harsh the HR could have a little bit empathetic.

  • Steward Tony Pacheco

    1d

    As an HR professional myself, I have issues with your explanation of how this interview went. From what you have written and what I have interpreted,... you missed the point of the interview. As a professional, you should leave your feelings with your feelings and lean on facts as well as sharing those facts with a business mindset.
    They did not try to confuse you as you were already confused. By what, I do not know. Maybe attempting to figure out your interviewer instead of focusing on what is being asked of you. Don't worry, many do the same which if not realized quickly, can cause undue anxiety because the process of the interviewer's questioning does not match the visuals you have already, without reason, placed in your minds eye. Now you're stuck in that cycle of confusion. 
    You are not the first candidate to their rodeo, so the interviewer went through the motions, by the numbers and determined the result. My advice to you is learn from it and move forward. Finding work is a full time job in itself, but launching a career is life absorbing. When you fall, fall forward, get up and move out! leave the tears on the ground behind you.     more

    -4
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Career development

 17h

The Rise of "Resume Botox": Over One in Four Canadian Workers and Job Hunters Admit to Downplaying Their Experience, as Many Don't Want to Appear Overqualified


Botox might be best known for smoothing wrinkles to look younger, but a growing number of Canadians are applying the same philosophy to their resumes. New research from Employment Hero, the global AI-powered employment platform, finds 28% of Canadian workers and job seekers have downplayed their work experience - on their resume, LinkedIn profile or in job interviews - with many wanting to avoid... appearing overqualified.

The behaviour is part of a growing trend dubbed "resume botox," where candidates subtly smooth out their professional history by trimming earlier roles, removing graduation dates or dialing down senior experience that could make them seem older or overqualified.

The data suggests Canadians are being strategic about what signals their resumes send. Only half of Canadian workers and job seekers (50%) say they would include their graduation date on their resume if applying for a job today, and that transparency drops sharply with age. Two-thirds of Canadians aged 18-34 (67%) say they would include their graduation date, compared with 45% of those aged 35-54 and just 33% of workers aged 55 and older.

Among those who admit to downplaying their experience, the motivations arelargely tactical: avoiding the perception of being overqualified (41%) and keeping the focus on recent achievements (41%) were the most common reasons cited.

Underlying these choices is a broader concern about age bias in hiring. More than three-quarters of Canadian workers and job seekers aged 55 and older (77%) say their age makes them a less attractive candidate in today's job market, with nearly half (47%) strongly agreeing. Among workers aged 35-54, 41% say their age works against them, compared with 29% of those aged 18-34.

Real-world perspective

After 26 years with a manufacturing company in Mississauga, Ontario, Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CGA) Bayla Greenberg-Consitt learned her employer was moving its operations to the U.S., eliminating her role. Re-entering the job market in her mid-fifties, Bayla hired a recruitment coach who advised her to remove graduation dates from her resume and trim 10 to 15 years of her work history to appear more aligned with the roles she was targeting.

"Re-entering the job market after almost thirty years, I knew my age would work against me," Bayla said. "Despite my experience, I was willing to take on a more junior position that I was overqualified for, but employers seemed to struggle with looking past my age and recognizing the value I could bring with my extensive experience."

While the "resume botox" approach landed her several interviews, it ultimately failed to secure a job offer. In the end, a personal connection led to a new position where the depth of her experience was fully valued.

For KJ Lee, CEO of Employment Hero Canada, the findings highlight a tension many job seekers feel between presenting their full experience and positioning themselves strategically for modern hiring processes.

"When talented people feel the need to 'botox' their resume just to get a fair shot, it tells you something about the system," said Lee. "Experience shouldn't be treated like a liability. The reality is that businesses benefit enormously from people who've seen more cycles, solved tougher problems and know how to get things done."

Lee says the findings should serve as a reminder to employers that experience and adaptability often go hand in hand.

"The best hiring decisions come from looking at what someone can do today and the impact they can have on your business," he said. "If companies filter out candidates simply because their experience looks 'too long' on paper, they risk overlooking some of the most capable people in the workforce."

Notes to editors

About Employment Hero

Employment Hero is the global authority on employment, offering a world-leading Employment Operating System (eOS) that simplifies and optimises every stage of the employment process. Its award-winning platform combines HR, payroll, recruitment, and employee engagement tools with the groundbreaking employment superapp, EH Work, which integrates career management and financial wellbeing. Serving over 350,000 businesses and managing more than 2.5 million employees worldwide, Employment Hero reduces administrative burdens by up to 80%, enabling organizations to focus on their goals and create more productive, engaged teams. By revolutionising the employment marketplace, Employment Hero is making employment easier, more valuable and rewarding for everyone.

Survey Methodology

These findings are from a survey conducted by Employment Hero from March 11th to March 13th, 2026, among a representative sample of 1034 adult Canadians who are working or looking for work who are members of the Angus Reid Forum. The survey was conducted in English and French. For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of +/-3.0 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260323952353/en/ more

Rita Morton


Career development 2d
Hello! We’re a small travel agency with a close team of women. Recently, a young guy was hired as a sales manager. But he has no basic knowledge, he doesn’t even know where China or South America are. I don’t understand how he’s going to sell tours to clients.
The owner thinks he’ll learn and do fine. But maybe he doesn't realize how little he knows? Should I tell the owner or stay out of it? I’m... worried we could lose customers because of him. Thanks

 more
10   

  • Lucas Mwago

    17h

    Interest scenario. but first thing first, 'you are a team of women', that statement talks volume. Why women alone? are you dealing in women... merchandise that require mostly expertise from that gender? Is his presence offsetting the equation? You noted that he has no work experience, this might be so, since you are a team, pull together. That is what teams do. Help the new employee get his footing. Team leaders inspire, they mentor and build skills and confidence of team members. You haven't indicated any efforts you've made to understand the challenges the new employee might be facing. Explore deeper, perhaps there is something you can do. should there be family connections between the boss and him, i advise that you slow down and play your part intelligently devoid of antagonistic approach. He may turn out to be the missing cog for your organization. more

  • Ziba Clayton

    22h

    I see he should be the one to start building capacity and make him get know all the areas of their interest

Load more...

Career development

 17h

Career Development And Training Market Size, Share and Trends Analysis Report by Product | Weekly Voice


The Business Research Company's Career Development And Training Market Report 2026 - Market Size, Trends, And Global Forecast 2026-2035

LONDON, GREATER LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, March 23, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The career development and training sector has seen impressive growth lately, reflecting the increasing importance placed on skill enhancement and professional advancement. As more... individuals and organizations seek to improve workforce capabilities, this market continues to evolve, driven by technological advancements and changing educational preferences. Let's explore the current market size, key growth drivers, leading regions, and trends shaping this dynamic field.

Career Development and Training Market Size Showing Strong Expansion

The career development and training market has experienced significant growth over recent years. It is projected to rise from $196.68 billion in 2025 to $210.38 billion in 2026, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.0%. This growth during the historical period is fueled by increased efforts toward workforce upskilling, a surge in demand for professional development programs, wider adoption of classroom-based training, enhanced collaborations with higher education institutions, and a stronger emphasis on employability and job preparedness.

Download a free sample of the career development and training market report:

https://www.thebusinessresearchcompany.com/sample.aspx?id=33428&type=smp&utm_source=EINPresswire&utm_medium=Paid&utm_campaign=Mar_PR

Future Outlook and Continued Growth Trends in Career Development and Training

Looking ahead, the market is expected to maintain robust growth, reaching $277.86 billion by 2030 at an accelerated CAGR of 7.2%. This anticipated expansion is largely driven by the rising use of online learning technologies, growing interest in AI-powered training solutions, greater focus on personalized career development paths, expanded corporate reskilling initiatives, and increased use of gamification and immersive learning tools. Key trends projected to influence the market include the growing popularity of online and blended learning formats, rising demand for career coaching and mentorship, more integration of aptitude and personality assessments, broader internship and apprenticeship programs, and a heightened focus on developing soft skills and leadership abilities.

Understanding Career Development and Training as a Concept

Career development and training encompasses structured programs and initiatives aimed at enhancing individuals' skills, knowledge, and professional abilities. These efforts support continuous learning, career progression, and workforce preparedness. The goal is to improve employability, job performance, leadership capabilities, and adaptability to evolving industry demands through systematic learning and development interventions. Such programs benefit both individuals and organizations by fostering long-term growth, productivity, and professional excellence in a rapidly changing economic and technological landscape.

View the full career development and training market report:

https://www.thebusinessresearchcompany.com/report/career-development-and-training-market-report?utm_source=EINPresswire&utm_medium=Paid&utm_campaign=Mar_PR

Digital and E-Learning Platforms as Key Growth Catalysts in Career Development and Training

One of the strongest drivers behind the market's expansion is the growth of digital and e-learning platforms. These platforms deliver, manage, and support educational content and training via digital technologies, enabling flexible, remote learning experiences. The rise of such platforms is tied to increased internet accessibility, smartphone penetration, and demand for adaptable learning formats. Career development and training leverage this growth by providing structured, scalable frameworks for online and blended professional courses, certifications, and skill-building programs. For example, in January 2024, Eurostat reported that 30% of internet users aged 16 to 74 had utilized online courses or learning materials, up from 28% in 2022, illustrating how digital platforms are fueling market growth.

North America Leading the Career Development and Training Market with Asia-Pacific Growing Rapidly

In 2025, North America held the largest share of the career development and training market. However, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to experience the fastest growth during the forecast period. The market report covers several major regions, including Asia-Pacific, South East Asia, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, the Middle East, and Africa, providing a comprehensive perspective on global market dynamics.

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Career development

 18h

Hungarian Job Seekers Finding Work Faster Than a Year Ago, Survey Shows - Budapest Business Journal


The average time from starting a job search to filling a new position has dropped significantly. In the first quarter of 2025, job changes took slightly more than five months on average. That has now fallen to 3 months and 22 days, the survey found.

At the same time, more respondents said job hunting now takes up a substantial part of their daily routine. The share of people who began searching... while unemployed also increased compared with last year.

High Activity Among Job Seekers

The data points to strong activity levels: 40% of active job seekers said they spend several hours a week searching for work, while another 35% dedicate about an hour weekly. The remaining 25% review opportunities only when time allows.

The proportion of people searching for jobs while not employed rose notably. This year, 61% of active job seekers said they were unemployed when they began applying, up from 53% a year earlier.

Companies Focus on Optimizing Recruitment

A separate, recent survey by Profession.hu among employers found that while companies remain optimistic about hiring prospects this year, they are increasingly focused on optimizing recruitment resources.

More employers -- 26%, up from 21% last year -- said they prefer hiring channels that offer tools to help identify the right candidate by the end of the process.

Job portals remain the most popular channel for both employers and employees, followed by referrals, which have become more common over the past year, and social media platforms.

"The average time from the start of a job search to filling a new position has shortened significantly compared to last year," said Nikoletta Szigeti, head of Profession Services. "In recent months, however, job seeker activity -- while still high -- has moderated and become more deliberate. Candidates are applying more selectively, while employers are increasingly narrowing the candidate pool based on role-specific expectations. For higher-level positions, retention remains dominant, while there is more movement in high-volume roles with higher turnover. As a result of this duality, the meeting of supply and demand has become more efficient, which may play a significant role in the shortening of the average job search time."

What Matters Most to Workers

The survey found that 13% of workers are currently actively seeking a new position, while 21% changed jobs in the past year.

A sizable group -- 33% -- are passive job seekers: they do not regularly browse listings but are open to offers and would consider switching for the right opportunity.

When evaluating potential roles, respondents cited salary and benefits as the most important factor (84%), followed by workplace location (68%) and a work schedule that matches their preferences (58%). more

Career development

 19h

How Firms Can Use Personality Assessments For Financial Advisors


Assessing personality and aptitude through the lens of the workplace is challenging for managers, team members, and interviewees alike. One of the most-Googled questions about job interviews is how to answer the infamous "Tell me about yourself" question (and how to explain strengths and weaknesses!). On the other end, hiring managers are trying to evaluate what the candidate would 'really' be... like to work with. And advisory teams struggle to articulate their own differences and preferences in a uniform and productive way, which can lead to long-term dissatisfaction and even resentment.

The commonly-offered answer to any of these problems is personality assessments: a 2023 Deloitte study found that 80% of Fortune 500 companies used personality assessments in the workplace. These assessments influence hiring, promotions, or refining someone's current job responsibilities - in other words, these results influence very real business decisions.

Personality assessments are common for a reason: a good team member is about more than 'just' competence. Managers and leaders are also searching for people who are pleasant to work with and have an intrinsic inclination towards their work. High job satisfaction in the role is a key determinant in long-term retention - and the easiest way to ensure job satisfaction is to ensure that people like what they do.

Yet while these assessments are prolific, it is less common to use them well. For managers and team members alike, these surveys may feel one-and-done: that is, they are taken, but is anything actually being done with that information?

It is one thing to talk about work preferences on a one-to-one scale - odds are, team members have various ways of working and aspects about their role they would like to change. But it can be challenging to express this consistently in a way that drives change, or to evaluate weaknesses across the organization. Put another way, personality assessments are less concerned with articulating an individual's work style. Instead, they are powerful inasmuch as they create a shared language for advisory teams to discuss individual role fit, from workload to personality. This makes it easier to raise issues - and therefore, enact change in a timely manner.

The latest Kitces Research on What Actually Contributes To Advisor Wellbeing (2025) highlights this well. Advisors with higher levels of well-being were more likely to want to stay at their job. Perceptions of work - that is, how advisors felt in their day-to-day roles - were key to higher well-being. Advisors with high well-being were more likely to feel like they could be themselves at work, effective at their job, and that what they did in life is worthwhile.

Some of these traits are rooted in firm culture. However, many of them are rooted in the specific activities an advisor performs within their specific firm. Some advisors enjoy the face time of working with clients; others may prefer to focus on spreadsheets; still others may prefer prospecting and growth-focused work. No one preference is inherently better than another - but overall, spending time on work that is engaging and enjoyable leads to higher well-being and decreases the odds of burnout.

Personality assessments can be powerful tools for discussing team strengths and weaknesses - but there are many solutions out there, and they're not all created equal.

Good personality assessments are usually psychometric, meaning that the same person will get the same results each time they complete the assessment. They are also proven to more consistently predict performance than non-psychometric assessments. For workplace purposes, assessments also need to be contrastable and discrete. That is, a score can be expressed as a numeric value or an ordinal ranking, such as a point-based scale or a "high versus low" framework. At the same time, these assessments need to be focused: if they aim to capture too many data points, they become unwieldy as both a point of discussion and contrast. Without the ability to intuitively compare results for a few concrete insights, the results are neither actionable, nor do they foster productive discussion.

An effective personality assessment also provides some level of nuance. It is not helpful to grade someone as an 'either/or'. For example, 'extroverts versus introverts' is often used as a point of comparison, but extroversion (or lack thereof) is better discussed as a spectrum, given that people are neither 100% extroverted nor introverted.

Finally, personality assessments need to be resonant. No assessment will capture the full complexity of a human being, but the aggregate results should feel 'mostly right', especially if the end goal is to use them to inform business decisions!

Personality assessments have a number of uses for advisory firms. First, they can be used by hiring managers to assess candidates on their own inclinations and how they may jive with the established team members. Assessments can also be used to evaluate individual role satisfaction and create a shared language between the employee and their manager. Finally, they can be used to evaluate teams and firms on a more holistic level for potential opportunities, strengths, or weaknesses. In short, a personality assessment can solve a lot of jobs. Yet while a single assessment can be used in a number of ways, starting with a single problem and seeking just one insight will keep the firm focused (and will yield more fruitful discussions).

In the same vein, advisory firms do not need to use all of the below assessments - truthfully, using all of them would be impractical. Certain assessments are particularly well suited to specific problems. At most, advisory teams may opt for two assessments: one about communication style and one about aptitude. Pairing two assessments together can lead to complementary insights, but if the advisory firm has to choose just one, aptitude assessments tend to capture insights about work styles that are harder to articulate.

Regardless of the number of assessments intended to ultimately be used, it is best to start with one assessment at a time and space out personality assessments by at least 9 months. (Candidly, while managers and leaders tend to be quite enthusiastic about the assessments, team members only want to discuss these topics so much.) If intercommunication issues have been a consistent pain point, start with the communication styles assessments. If there have been issues with team retention, or if roles have shifted dramatically recently, then start with the aptitude assessments.

Given that effective personality assessments are focused and nuanced, they typically deliver one of two types of information: insights into a respondent's communication style or their aptitudes toward different types of work. The former focuses on conflict avoidance (or lack thereof) and how a person shows up at work; the latter emphasizes which types of work people gravitate toward and how they solve problems.

This list does not include every Communication Style or Aptitude assessment. However, these are the assessments that lend themselves particularly well to the consistency, comparability, and nuance needed for informed decisions. and are formatted in ways that allow for particularly useful comparison, allowing teams to highlight both points of strength and opportunities to improve.

As a part of the research for this article, I took all of these assessments (and many more besides). Sample assessment results will be linked below for those who would like a real example of what these assessments look like.

Best for: Analyzing Intrapersonal Team Dynamics

The Insights Discovery assessment is all about communication styles, which are divided into four primary groups: sunshine yellow, fiery red, cool blue, and earth green. The assessment scores people as 'higher' or 'lower' than a central neutral line in various aptitudes. For example, someone who is very above the line in red will be assertive and to the point, while someone who is below it is more conflict-avoidant.

Insights' strengths primarily lie in highlighting potential points of conflict - for example, sunshine yellows are naturally the 'opposite' of cool blues. This provides a powerful framework for team communication styles - and for potentially resolving some team communication challenges!

Example 1: Insights Discovery gave Dani (sunshine yellow) and Roy (fiery red) a great avenue to discuss their work preferences - Dani felt frustrated that Roy was so 'combative', whereas Roy described his communication styles as 'direct' since he "hates wasting time". They used Insights Discovery discussed their differences and agreed to meet in the middle: they would open the meeting with discussing business (so that Roy could feel that the meeting had been productive), then allocated five minutes at the end specifically to catch up (so that Dani could feel better connected to the team).

CliftonStrengths is the longest assessment in this lineup, coming in at 200 questions. At first glance, the CliftonStrengths results can be dizzying - their design purposefully mimics a DNA sequence, ranking 34 possible traits from highest to lowest. More helpful than any individual result is their four themes: Executing (making things happen), Influence (taking charge), Relationship Building (building strong relationships), and Strategic Thinking (absorbing and analyzing information). Each trait is linked to a corresponding theme, so respondents can quickly review their results and see which theme they 'lead' in.

With CliftonStrengths, it is common to lead in one theme and have a very low score in another - for example, someone may be high in Strategic Thinking and low in Relationship Building. When comparing and contrasting results as a team, it may be less helpful to focus on individual traits and more helpful to focus on the thematic findings. That said, the assessment ultimately strikes a helpful balance between big-picture trends and granular ideas for improvement.

View a sample report (provided by CliftonStrengths) here.

Example 2: When Rebecca reviewed her CliftonStrengths results, she had a moment of clarity. She had been struggling with prospecting calls for months - they felt 'salesy' to her. Her CliftonStrengths revealed that she had very few Relationship Building traits, but she had high Influence and Strategic Thinking traits. She resolved to discuss with her manager whether there was an alternative approach to prospecting that better aligned with her communicative strengths.

The Kolbe Index is unique in its focus on how different people initially approach work problems, sorted into four categories: Fact Finder (how people gather and share information), Follow Thru (how people organize and design), Quick Start (how people deal with risk and uncertainty), and Implementor (how people handle space and tangibles). Surveyors can be 'long' or 'short' in their results, with 'long' representing a higher score. Someone who is long in Fact Finder may be inclined toward finding all the details, whereas someone who is short in Fact Finder may just want the key facts.

Several of the Kolbe A Index results are not immediately intuitive - for example, Follow Thru and Implementor can feel like misnomers compared to their actual, functional definitions. However, the Index's measurement of traits like Quick Start can be phenomenally helpful, especially in conversations about how workloads are allocated across a team.

View a sample report (provided by Kolbe Index) here.

Example 3: When Keeley reviewed her team's results from Kolbe, she realized that she only had one team member with a long Quick Start (someone who enjoys novelty and responds well to change). Suddenly, she realized why her new initiatives had been stressing out the rest of her planning team. She adjusted her workflows: she tested out new initiatives with the long Quick Start team member, then rolled out only the confirmed changes with the shorter Quick Starts in a gradual, planned way.

Working Genius is all about organizing the types of work people do into six categories: Wonder, Ideation, Discernment, Galvanizing, Enablement, and Tenacity. Results are grouped into two Geniuses (the work we do best and find energizing), two Competencies (the work we do well), and two Frustrations (the work we do poorly and find draining).

Working Genius is intuitive and easy to understand - just by reading over the six categories, one can reasonably assume which tasks fit into which categories, such as brainstorming being associated with Wonder and Ideation. However, in its quest for simplicity, its structure can also feel constraining - many people report that they have three areas of Genius or Frustration. That said, Working Genius lends remarkably clarifying language to discussing work tasks!

View a sample report (provided by Working Genius) here.

Example 4: Jamie's results revealed he had a frustration in Tenacity - detail-oriented, manual work. Worse, many of those tenacious tasks were administration and compliance-focused - not planning-focused. He realized he would need to utilize a blend of delegation and automation to take some of that work off his plate - allowing him to focus on Enablement and Galvanizing-focused client work. While some of his 'Tenacity tasks', as he called them, had to remain with him, just having a label for that work helped him stay cognizant of when suboptimal work was being placed on his plate.

Whether a firm is using the assessment as a hiring tool or within an established tool, it's best to start by explaining why the group ought to bother with the assessment at all. This explanation doesn't have to be overly elaborate, but it is important to share some fundamental reasons regarding why team members are being asked to fill out questionnaires about how they approach tasks, conflict, or change. Even an explanation as simple as "We're aiming to understand how communication styles vary by role at work" can go a long way!

If the assessment is used in hiring, then ensure that a deadline is provided with the assessment that fits with the hiring timeline and give the candidates a chance to review their results and speak to them in the next round of the interviews.

On the other hand, if the assessment is used internally, give the team members a few weeks to complete their assessments and ensure that everyone has the time to review their results. Then, gather everyone together for a synchronous debrief.

Ideally, the first time an advisory team takes an assessment, a consultant leads the discussion. Many of these assessments offer certified consultants who can facilitate and lead the discussion! The consultant will be able to explain the results with much more detail while allowing management to join the discussion alongside the rest of the team.

Depending on the size of the team, it can be helpful to start with the entire company together, then divide into smaller teams or departments. If there are only a handful of people, divide into pairs.

The following questions can help get the discussion started:

These questions can get the conversation started, but the best discussions will come from observation and follow-up questions. Aim to keep these discussions open-ended - envision the conversation to be a brainstorming meeting on how to optimize workflows.

During the conversation - and afterwards - be mindful not to box in team members too much. Avoid absolutes (e.g., don't say, "He cannot do that task") - instead, use language like "inclined toward" or "stronger with" to describe strengths and weaknesses. And keep in mind that everyone's strengths and scores will manifest differently. Team members may have similar results, but those results may manifest differently in their work preferences and behaviors. This is why it's important to ask team members how they understand the results as well as their work. To paraphrase the Working Genius language, some work may seem like a detailed, laborious task to one team member, and another may see that work as team-supporting Enablement. The real power to personality assessments, more than individual analytics, is how they create a shared language for work and work preferences.

Below is a sample agenda of an hour-long team discussion - though, if time permits, these conversations can easily go for longer!

A one-off team discussion about personality assessments can be fun and enlightening while helping to set expectations for how assessments will be used going forward - but it is after the conversation that the real work begins.

The first point to focus on is the existing team. Is there any visible tension between team members' responsibilities and their scores? Odds are, managers are already aware of some of the tensions their team members feel - so ideally, these results simply offer a better way to articulate those tensions. For obvious reasons, this discussion is best in a one-to-one conversation, rather than as a part of the team discussion.

The manager can start by noting potential points of tension between the team member's assessment score and their workload - or the team member may decide to bring it up themselves. Regardless, keep the conversation oriented around role adjustments for retention; if the employee feels that their place on the team is at stake, then they will be far less forthcoming about their struggles, which makes it harder to move towards resolution.

This is where a group assessment can be especially helpful - the work that one team member struggles with, another likely enjoys. Managers can take a big picture overview of workloads, aptitudes, and opportunities for growth as they help their team members determine how to redistribute assignments in a way that is both fair and more enjoyable.

If a personality assessment is to be used in the hiring process, before listing the role, review the team's results for any gaps that may need to be filled. Not every team needs to be perfectly balanced, but one or two counterweights can help neutralize the weaknesses and inefficiencies of having too many 'birds of a feather'. For example, in Kolbe, a short Fact Finder can help the long Fact Finders get to the point (and avoid rabbit holes).

Managers can probably guess which assessment results are likely to be effective in a role. When hiring, choose just one 'must have' and one 'cannot have' from a personality assessment; for example, if Working Genius is used, then choose one area of Genius and one Frustration that the ideal candidate would have. Near the end of the hiring process, it can pay to ask applicants to take assessments and see where there is a match - or potential points of tension - that can be addressed further in the final round interview.

Ultimately, the key point is that personality assessments can be a powerful tool for advisory teams in a variety of ways, from hiring to team assessments. Simply taking the assessment is the first step - the longer-term question is how an advisory firm can use the results to 'level up' the entire team.

Perhaps the most important result of an assessment is that they create a shared language to discuss individual strengths and work issues. At the end of the day, when the entire team can productively discuss issues, identify weaknesses, and work together in a way that is synchronized with their inclinations, long-term well-being and retention will likely be impacted in very positive ways! more

Career development

 19h

BCG Attorney Search Advantage Improves Legal Hiring Success


BCG Attorney Search has announced its "Attorney Search Advantage," a comprehensive, data-driven system designed to help attorneys secure interviews and job offers more efficiently in an increasingly competitive legal market.

Learn more from this report: The BCG Attorney Search Advantage - Candidate Education Report

The system represents a shift away from traditional job-hunting methods, such as... job boards and passive applications, toward a more proactive and strategic placement model. According to BCG Attorney Search, the approach focuses on identifying both publicly available roles and the largely untapped "hidden" job market, where many law firm opportunities are never formally advertised.

One of the defining features of the BCG Advantage is its ability to uncover opportunities beyond standard listings. Industry insights suggest that public job postings represent only a portion of available legal roles, leaving many opportunities inaccessible to attorneys relying solely on conventional search methods.

BCG Attorney Search addresses this gap by leveraging a proprietary database of law firms and historical hiring trends. This allows recruiters to identify potential openings even before firms formally announce them. This "total-market" approach enables candidates to be considered for positions that align closely with their experience, practice area, and career goals, often with less competition.

The Advantage system operates through a layered methodology designed to maximize exposure and interview opportunities. These layers include:

* Exclusive roles managed directly by BCG

* Verified active openings across law firms

* Targeted outreach to firms with known hiring patterns

* Analysis of historical hiring data to predict recurring needs

* Strategic submissions to firms without current postings

This structured process allows attorneys to access a broader range of opportunities while maintaining control over which firms are contacted on their behalf.

A key feature of the system is "mass approval," which allows candidates to authorize outreach to multiple firms at once. This streamlined approach significantly accelerates the hiring process, increasing the likelihood of securing interviews within a shorter timeframe.

In addition to its data-driven infrastructure, BCG Attorney Search emphasizes personalized recruiter support. Attorneys are paired with experienced recruiters, many of whom have legal backgrounds, ensuring that each candidate's qualifications and experience are presented effectively.

The firm also provides comprehensive support throughout the hiring process, including résumé refinement, interview preparation, and assistance with offer evaluation and negotiation. This combination of advanced technology and individualized service is designed to improve both the efficiency and success rate of placements.

BCG Attorney Search reports that its system can significantly reduce the time it takes for candidates to secure interviews, with some attorneys seeing results shortly after activating their search.

By focusing on timing, market intelligence, and targeted outreach, the Advantage system aims to position candidates ahead of the competition. Attorneys are introduced to opportunities earlier in the hiring cycle, often before roles become widely known, increasing their chances of securing desirable positions.

With decades of experience and an extensive network of law firms, BCG Attorney Search continues to refine its placement strategies to meet the evolving demands of the legal industry.

The introduction of the Attorney Search Advantage highlights the firm's commitment to helping attorneys navigate the job market with greater precision, confidentiality, and success, setting a new standard for legal recruiting services. more

Career development

 19h

Software Development RPL Report


I need a complete Recognition of Prior Learning report in Information Technology, focusing specifically on Software Development. My goal is to present my professional background -- projects, responsibilities, and achievements -- in a way that matches the formal RPL template used by the assessing authority. You'll receive my résumé, employment references, and brief project summaries. From there,... I'm counting on you to craft a clear narrative that demonstrates depth across the full software-development life-cycle, highlights the technologies I've mastered, and shows measurable results I delivered. The language must read naturally in Australian English, be entirely original, and align with any plagiarism-checking standards. Deliverables * A polished RPL report (editable DOCX and ready-to-submit PDF) * One round of revisions for factual or formatting tweaks The report must: * Map my skills accurately to the authority's competency criteria * Showcase real projects, tools, and outcomes without exaggeration * Follow the required section headings and word limits If you have experience writing successful IT RPLs -- or come from a technical writing background with solid knowledge of software engineering practices -- I'll be able to move quickly once I share the source material. ICT 263212 Support Engineer more

Career development

 20h

The 93% mandate: Why skin of colour care demands more than clinical skill


Dermatologists should act as advocates of diversity at the clinic, research, and institutional level, says Dr. Bolu Ogunyemi (Issue #532, 1,600 words, 8 minutes)

Approximately 93% of Canadian dermatologists report providing caring for patients of colour. Physicians also play a role as advocates for patients in systems that can influence those patients' health outcomes. Those same physicians are... in a position to contribute to diversity within the specialty itself. As a result, dermatologists play a pivotal role in ensuring Canadian dermatologic care is equitable and inclusive for citizens with skin of colour.

This message was part of a presentation by Dr. Bolu Ogunyemi [pictured below] at the 2025 Skin Spectrum Summit in Toronto.

Dr. Ogunyemi is a Clinical Associate Professor of Dermatology at Memorial University in St. John's, NL, and president-elect of the Canadian Medical Association.

In the presentation, Dr. Ogunyemi noted that dermatologists are uniquely positioned to be leaders in social accountability and health equity. He noted dermatologists are:

Dermatologists are responsible not only for patient care, but also for engaging with the systems that influence health outcomes, Dr. Ogunyemi said. "We have an obligation to ensure institutions, educational materials such as medical textbooks, and clinical research reflect all patient groups -- particularly those from underserved groups."

There is also a need to support diversity within the medical profession, Dr. Ogunyemi said. "Data shows we don't have a true meritocracy," he noted. "Across recruitment, training, promotion, and compensation -- at every single level, there's well-documented evidence of bias."

This bias can also influence career opportunities. Dr. Ogunyemi noted that applicants with names or experiences perceived as "ethnic-sounding" receive significantly fewer interview callbacks than those with names perceived as White. As a result, some racialized applicants resort to "Résumé Whitening," intentionally concealing or downplaying ethnic cues in their résumés to avoid anticipated discrimination in the hiring process.

Dr. Ogunyemi said that he once felt pressure to do the same. "Early in my career, when I was trying to get my foot in the door, I sometimes went by 'Bo' instead of using my full first name," he said. "I even removed certain undergraduate activities that might reveal too much about my background."

He cited a study that showed that Black applicants who "whitened" their résumés increased their callback rate from 10% to 25%. (Kang SK, et al: Whitened Résumés: Race and Self-Presentation in the Labor Market: Race and Self-Presentation in the Labor Market. Administrative Science Quarterly 2016; 61(3):469-502).

A key resource in combating inequality is good data. However, despite Canada's population becoming increasingly diverse, a tendency to a "colourblind approach" has left significant gaps in systemically collected health data across ethnic groups, said Dr. Ogunyemi.

If race- or ethnicity-specific data isn't being collected, it is impossible to determine what proportion of people from different backgrounds are experiencing different opportunities or different outcomes, he said. "We need disaggregated data."

"Tracking which populations are encountering barriers is essential," he explained. "Data alone won't fix the system, but will provide a clear way to hold systems accountable and move us toward meaningful change."

As a profession, dermatologists should work to make diversity, equity, and inclusion projects more recognized as legitimate efforts to improve patient outcomes, Dr. Ogunyemi said. "Whether it's academic, educational, professional, clinical outreach, training, doing clinics in rural areas, mentorship and sponsorship, community involvement, those are things that have a real and important impact. And institutions, including academic institutions, need to recognize that when we talk about promotion [of diversity]."

Bottom line: Diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts have real impacts on health outcomes. Effectively improving diversity will require disaggregated data and recognition of the importance and legitimacy of these efforts at the institutional level.

This study evaluates response to narrowband ultraviolet-B (NB-UVB) across Fitzpatrick skin type (FST) groups in a multi-institutional mycosis fungoides (MF) cohort.

Investigators retrospectively analyzed data from MF patients treated with NB-UVB monotherapy at Columbia, Emory, and Johns Hopkins Universities between 2010 and 2025. Among 114 patients, 63 had FST I to III, and 51 had FST IV to VI. Primary outcomes were percent change in total body surface area (TBSA) involvement and complete/partial response (CR/PR) rates.

Patients with FST IV to VI were younger and more frequently had hypopigmented MF. FST I to III patients achieved greater TBSA reduction (-73% vs -35% at mid-year; -78% vs -26% at year-end) and higher CR/PR rates, with differences persisting after multivariable adjustment. Rapid response (CR/PR within four months or less) occurred more often in FST I to III (53% vs 34%), while non-response was more frequent in FST IV to VI (39% vs 16%). Mixed-effects models confirmed that both groups improved over time, but FST I to III demonstrated significantly greater TBSA reduction at multiple time points.

The authors conclude that NB-UVB benefits patients across all Fitzpatrick skin types but yields earlier and more complete clearance in FST I to III. They say that the findings warrant prospective studies to guide individualized treatment strategies.

From "J Am Acad Dermatol"

Researchers characterized the clinical spectrum of facial melanosis, and delineated dermoscopic patterns, including atypical features. They evaluated health-related quality of life using Skindex-16 in a skin of colour population in Northeast India.

For the hospital-based study, investigators recruited 150 untreated adults with facial melanosis. Participants underwent detailed clinical evaluation, dermoscopic assessment with a polarized video dermoscope, and quality-of-life assessment with the Skindex-16. Diagnoses were classified as standalone or overlapping entities.

The authors identified 22 clinical conditions, with melasma being the most prevalent diagnosis (n=102, 68.0%), showing a marked female preponderance. Overlapping presentations, particularly melasma with a topical steroid-damaged face, were common. Dermoscopy revealed predominant pigmentary patterns, including brown, structureless areas and globules, alongside vascular and appendageal changes. The investigators also documented infrequent atypical dermoscopic features, rarely reported in facial melanosis. A quality-of-life analysis demonstrated a disproportionate emotional burden despite relatively low symptom scores.

The authors conclude that facial melanosis in skin of colour is clinically complex, frequently overlapping, and psychosocially impactful.

From "Cureus"

To explore the experiences of eczema, acne, and psoriasis among adults with skin of colour in the U.K., researchers conducted a qualitative study of 20 individuals with these conditions, recruited online. Participants took part in online, one-to-one, semi-structured interviews.

Investigators used NVivo qualitative data analysis software to code and organize the data, and reflexive thematic analysis to generate themes.

The participants were mostly female (65%), Asian/Asian British ethnicity (45%) and had eczema (55%). From the responses, the researchers identified eight themes: (i) delayed or missed diagnosis; (ii) preferences regarding healthcare professionals; (iii) lack of online information and social media use; (iv) misunderstanding in cultural communities; (v) concerns about treatment and lack of research in skin of colour; (vi) complementary and alternative medicine use; (vii) experiences and impact of dyspigmentation; and (viii) challenges with structural racism.

The themes generated highlight the unique experiences and challenges faced by U.K. adults with eczema, acne, and psoriasis, the authors write. "The findings can help guide diagnostic approaches, culturally sensitive communication and treatment discussions for patients with skin of colour. Further research is needed in this under-represented group."

From "Br J Gen Pract"

McMaster University PhD student Albert Ashong [pictured below] was awarded the Canadian Black Scientists Network (CBSN) Excellence in Research and Innovation Award during the National STEM Summit in Toronto in February, according to a press release from the university. The Award recognizes exceptional innovation and leadership within Canada's Black STEM community.

Ashong conducts advanced biosensing research in the Niko Hildebrandt Lab, developing technologies for detecting cardiac and renal biomarkers with greater speed and sensitivity. His work combines FRET-based immunoassays with microfluidic systems to help clinicians detect kidney and cardiac injury much earlier than current diagnostic tools allow -- potentially within the first week of onset.

In his acceptance speech, Ashong said the honour reflects far more than scientific achievement. It acknowledges a journey shaped by cross-continental study, formative mentorship and a commitment to fostering research spaces where everyone feels they belong.

Receiving the Award, he said, "affirms the resilience, discipline, and persistence that have shaped my journey as a Black scientist navigating spaces where representation is still limited."

Ashong said he believes the most meaningful progress in STEM depends on shifting from simply increasing representation to ensuring meaningful inclusion.

That philosophy carries into his own research practice: "Innovation must be inclusive. When we build inclusive systems, we build better science," he said.

"Ultimately, this is about improving patient outcomes," he says. "Giving clinicians the ability to act early, not years later."

Now an active part of McMaster's interdisciplinary research community, Ashong said he sees the CBSN award not as a finish line, but as motivation to keep moving forward with purpose.

"This is a reminder to keep going, to keep building, and to help open doors for others," he said. "It's about the work and the people it serves."

March 24 is Diabetes Alert Day in the U.S.

March 24 is International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims

March 25 is International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade

Researchers compared the UV protection habits and preferences of patients with cutaneous immune-mediated inflammatory dermatoses in patients with a range of skin phototypes.

Established in 1995, The Chronicle of Skin & Allergy is a scientific newspaper providing news and information on practical therapeutics and clinical progress in dermatologic medicine. The latest issue features:

You can read a recent digital edition of The Chronicle of Skin & Allergy here. To apply for a complimentary subscription or to request a sample copy, please email health@chronicle.org with your contact information.

The Women in Dermatology e-newsletter updates readers with new findings concerning dermatologic issues affecting women and the female dermatologists who care for them. Read the current issue here.

Season three of the Vender on Psoriasis podcast, featuring Dr. Ron Vender, has begun. Listen to the new season here. In episode five, Dr. Vender discusses whether vitamin D influences the severity of psoriasis, sex differences in psoriatic inflammation and itch, and the risk of psychiatric disorders associated with acitretin. more

Career development

 21h

'Was he hired?': Man goes for job interview, accidentally appears on live TV as expert. Internet reacts- Moneycontrol.com


The video remains popular, sparking memes and nostalgia online

A 2006 video of a man going viral on social media shows him accidentally appearing on BBC News 24.

Guy Goma, who went to the BBC for a job interview in 2006 and ended up on air when he was mistaken for IT expert Guy Kewney.

Business presenter Karen Bowerman thought she was speaking to Kewney for analysis, which led to confusion... between her and Goma.

In 2023, he revealed that he was not paid for his infamous appearance on BBC News 24, and he plans to sue the broadcaster for a share of the royalties, according to a report by The Guardian.

When asked if the BBC had reached out after the incident, he said, "I contacted them. They didn't respond."

"I am going to go because of the money they made from it. They didn't give me a single penny," he said.

The clip has been screened repeatedly over the last 17 years, and Goma and people even call me an "accidental celebrity."

Today, 20 years on, the video of Goma's accidental BBC appearance remains popular. Recently, an X user @TheFigen_ reshared the clip, where online users reacted with memes, jokes and nostalgic comments.

One user wrote, "That looks on his face, the moment he realises he's on live TV. Then he really leaned into 'fake it till you make it. The best part is he actually made some decent points about the future of music downloads!"

Another X user said, "Not fair at all, at least give the man a heads up."

Guy Goma became an unexpected viral sensation after accidentally appearing on BBC News 24 in 2006. He had gone to the BBC for a job interview for an IT position but was mistaken for IT expert Guy Kewney. Initially, some thought he was Kewney's taxi driver, but the truth soon emerged. more

Anonymous member


Career development 3d
Hi, I need some advice about hygiene at work. In our office WC there is liquid soap, but since many companies share the floor, it keeps disappearing- someone is taking it. I suggested bringing our own soap but that’s not very convenient. I also asked my boss to put a soap dispenser on the wall so no one can take it, but he said no.
This week, about half of our team got a stomach virus and I think... the reason is simple - people aren’t washing their hands.
How can we fix this problem? How is it done at your workplace? Thanks!

 more
1   

  • Steward Tony Pacheco

    1d


    Just bring your own soap. The owner is already being inconvenienced by an employed kleptomaniac.
    Sharing soap dispensers is also a contaminated hub... when used by multiple end users. Even hand sanitisers have been proven to have the opposite effect on body parts washed. Many carcinogens in their formulations​.

    Your boss is not responsible for your hygiene nor is he/she not aware of property being stolen. the price of doing business. Perp will be fired for integrity issues once caught in the act.     more

    1

  • Anthony Lawton Sr

    2d

    I think you should buy a personal small pocket size bottle of sanitizer. Save yourself and perhaps others also.

    1
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Career development

 1d

I Built 26 AI Career Tools for Claude Code -- Here's What I Learned


Job hunting is a second full-time job. And if you're a developer, it's a particularly strange one -- because you spend your days building tools that make other people's work easier, and then you go home and manually tailor your resume for the fifteenth time this month.

I got tired of it. So I built something.

placed-skills is a collection of 26 AI career tools that live inside Claude Code and... Cursor. Resume builder, ATS checker, interview coach, salary negotiation, job tracker -- all in your terminal, all accessible through natural language.

The existing tools aren't bad. But they all have the same problem: they live in the browser. When you're in the middle of a job search, you're constantly context-switching. Five context switches for one task. Multiply that by every resume tweak, every interview prep session, every application you want to track.

I wanted something that lived where I already was.

Claude Code has a skills system. You put a SKILL.md file in , and Claude activates it automatically when you describe relevant tasks. No slash commands. No configuration. It just works.

The MCP angle came later. By packaging the same tools as an MCP server, I could reach Cursor users, Cline users, Continue.dev users, Zed users, Windsurf users -- anyone with an MCP-compatible client.

26 tools across 5 categories:

Resume Builder (12 tools): Create and edit resumes with AI, 37 professional templates with ATS scores, export as PDF/DOCX/Markdown

ATS Optimizer (7 tools): Real ATS compatibility scoring (not generic tips), keyword gap analysis vs. specific job descriptions, match score with apply/don't-apply recommendation

Interview Coach (8 tools): Company-specific mock interviews, 13 system design cases, behavioral question banks with STAR format guidance, answer bank

Career Tools (12 tools): Cover letter generation, salary data by role + location, LinkedIn profile generation, salary negotiation scripts, offer analysis

Job Tracker (5 tools): Full pipeline (WISHLIST → APPLIED → INTERVIEWING → OFFER → REJECTED), conversion analytics

The skills format is powerful but the ecosystem is small. ClawHub is early. MCP is winning in terms of adoption. I'd probably lead with MCP next time and treat skills as a bonus.

The job tracker was the most requested feature. People want to track applications without opening Notion or a spreadsheet.

System design cases are the most used interview prep feature. 13 cases isn't enough -- I'm adding more.

MIT licensed. PRs welcome. Happy to answer questions in the comments. more