Career development

Rita Dade

12h

Hi! In our branch all vacation requests have to be approved by head office. About six months ago I booked vacation for July. Now I'm getting married in August, and I'd really like to go on a honeymoon after the wedding. I asked if I could change my vacation dates and explained that my wedding plans came up after I had already booked my leave, but head office said no. They told me the rules don't... allow changes once vacation dates have been approved.
Does anyone know if there are any good reasons that would allow someone to take additional leave that wasn't planned in advance? Thanks!

more

Melanchtone Anzala
35m
Hi, it all depends on your company policy. Most companies have policies that guide vacations, leaves among others. My suggestion would be that you... have an intimate discussion with your line manager, provide necessary documentation like wedding invitation cards and /or proof from the artoney for back up. Rules are meant to be bent. Those that are too rigid will surely break and collapse at some point. There must be a way out! more

Career development

11h

Before Heated Rivalry: Every role Hudson Williams played - Film Daily

Hudson Williams logged years of quiet credits before the 2025 breakout role that turned him into a household name. The Canadian actor born in Kelowna and raised in Kamloops finished Langara College's film program in 2020 and spent the next stretch stacking short films and small television parts while still waiting tables. Those early jobs now read like a map of the work that shaped the performance... fans discovered in Heated Rivalry.

Short film foundation

Williams completed roughly twenty-five shorts between graduation and 2024. Projects such as Super Support, Chad GPT, Dogging, And...Release!, Hold Your Back, and Metal... gave him chances to play everything from a depressed young man to a humanoid chatbot. He also wrote and directed four of them, posting the results on his YouTube channel that now sits above fifty-one thousand subscribers.

The volume mattered. Every new short forced him to adjust tone, timing, and physical choices without the safety net of a long shooting schedule. Directors on those sets often worked with the same crew for years, so word of his reliability spread inside Vancouver's tight-knit independent scene.

That grind also kept him visible to casting directors who later needed a fresh face for episodic television. Without the short-film résumé, the jump to series guest spots would have taken longer.

Allegiance guest turn

In 2024 Williams booked the role of Junior on the episode IRL of the Canadian series Allegiance. The part placed him inside a weekly writers' room structure for the first time and required quick reactions to co-stars who had already locked their character arcs. One scene demanded he shift from light banter to sudden tension within a single take.

The credit mattered less for screen time than for the paperwork it generated. Agents could now point to a union-approved television appearance when pitching him for larger roles. Several Vancouver casting offices updated his file the week the episode aired.

Viewers who later searched Hudson Williams for Heated Rivalry context often land on this listing first, surprised to see the name attached to a procedural drama rather than a sports romance.

Nobody Dumps My Daughter assignment

That same year he played Sean in the television movie Nobody Dumps My Daughter. The project called for lighter comedic beats and a quick turnaround, typical of holiday-season cable scheduling. Williams shot his scenes over four days between two short-film commitments.

The role tested his ability to land punchlines without stepping on the leads. Reviewers noted the supporting cast's chemistry, and his name appeared in the end credits crawl that many viewers skip. Still, the credit added another line to the résumé that casting directors scan when assembling ensemble casts.

Streaming availability on Prime Video later gave international fans an easy way to trace his pre-fame work once Heated Rivalry pushed his earlier credits into wider circulation.

Tracker procedural stop

Early 2025 brought the single-episode guest spot on Tracker as Brandon Stokes in The Disciple. The part required him to convey both vulnerability and edge inside a tight procedural frame. Production filmed his scenes on a standing set already used for multiple seasons, so timing had to match an established visual language.

The booking arrived just weeks before Heated Rivalry began principal photography. Williams has said the schedule forced him to juggle table reads for one show while still memorizing lines for the other. The overlap sharpened his on-set focus.

Fans who discovered him through social-media clips of the hockey series sometimes backtrack to this episode for proof that he already understood how to hold focus in an ensemble without dialogue-heavy scenes.

Day job realities

Between auditions and short-film shoots, Williams kept shifts at an Old Spaghetti Factory location in Vancouver. The steady paycheck covered rent while he waited for callbacks that sometimes arrived months apart. Coworkers later told local reporters they recognized the name once Heated Rivalry clips started trending.

The routine also supplied material. Several of the shorts he wrote drew from overheard conversations at the restaurant, turning mundane complaints into scene starters. That observational habit carried into the more naturalistic moments of his later television work.

Industry peers note that many Canadian actors maintain similar side jobs well into their mid-twenties, and the pattern rarely surfaces until after a breakout moment reframes the timeline.

Training and preparation

Langara's Film Arts program emphasized on-set protocol alongside scene study, giving Williams a working knowledge of call sheets and coverage before he ever stepped onto a union production. Instructors encouraged students to rotate through every department, so he logged hours as a production assistant on classmate projects.

Those rotations taught him how lighting and sound decisions affect performance choices. When he later faced a night shoot on Tracker, the earlier experience reduced the learning curve. The same background helped him navigate the compressed prep schedule for Heated Rivalry.

Alumni from the same cohort point out that the program's emphasis on collaboration prepared graduates for the small crews typical of Canadian television, where actors often double as their own stand-ins during lighting tweaks.

Quiet industry notice

By late 2024 a handful of Vancouver casting directors began grouping Williams with a short list of actors who could handle both drama and light comedy on short notice. That reputation led to the Allegiance and Tracker bookings without open calls. Agents circulated a single updated reel that mixed two shorts with the television clips.

Outside the city the name stayed largely unknown. Trade coverage of Canadian series rarely travels south unless a project secures U.S. streaming rights, which none of his early credits managed at the time.

The gap explains why many American viewers first encountered Hudson Williams through Heated Rivalry press rather than earlier projects.

Contrast with breakout moment

Heated Rivalry offered Williams his first leading role in a multi-episode arc with extended emotional beats and physical demands tied to on-ice training. The part arrived after the supporting résumé was already in place, allowing him to bring practiced economy to each scene. Reviewers later credited that preparation for the performance that earned him the 2026 Canadian Screen Award.

The series also introduced him to a fandom that immediately scoured every prior listing. Clips from the short films began circulating on TikTok within days of the premiere, turning private student projects into public footnotes.

The sudden visibility underscored how little mainstream attention those earlier roles had received before the sports romance reframed the conversation.

Current fan interest

Search interest in Hudson Williams continues to climb as Heated Rivalry moves into its second season and awards season conversations pick up. Viewers looking for context now land on the 2024 and 2025 credits first, using them as quick proof of range. Streaming platforms have added the older titles to recommendation carousels tied to his name.

That pattern mirrors earlier Canadian exports whose pre-fame work resurfaced once a single project crossed the border. The difference here is the speed: social media shortened the timeline from obscurity to archive dives.

Williams has yet to comment at length on those early roles in recent interviews, keeping focus on the current production cycle.

Trajectory ahead

The pre-Heated Rivalry credits now function as both résumé and origin story. They show the incremental steps that turned a Langara graduate into a series lead without a single overnight leap. Future projects will likely reference this stretch as evidence of sustained craft rather than sudden arrival. more

Andrea Pollak

Career development

4d

Why does everyone tell me about their family? I spend the whole shift listening and I’m tired of it. Every person who sits in my chair starts talking. Do women think a hairdresser is a therapist or a place to cry? I can’t work properly. Maybe I should put a sign that says “Be quiet” not to go crazy?

1

Randall Giancaterino
15h
A hair-care specialist is a therapist, like it or not. It is a personal relationship like few others... built over time. If you think your role is... strictly about cutting hair, rethink. Pat yourself on the back for being a great listener, as you collect your tip. :) more
Ashiq Hussain
1d
If someone talks about his family than it means that he worth you to do this with you. Don't be irritating to someone if they are giving respect. It's... the part of life and you know the human is a social animal , without social activities, there will be no any difference between us and the other animals. 💡😊😁 more

Career development

17h

Comparably Announces 2026 Best Career Growth, Best Leadership Teams, and Best Departments Awards

Comparably, a ZoomInfo company and employee review platform for workplace culture and compensation, announced the winners of its 2026 Best Career Growth, Best Leadership Teams and Best Departments awards, recognizing top-rated companies across Sales, Marketing, HR, Product and Design, and Engineering.

The awards highlight organizations that employees rate highest across nearly 20 culture metrics,... including career development, leadership effectiveness, team collaboration and overall workplace experience. Rankings are based on anonymous employee feedback collected on Comparably.com during the past 12 months.

Paycom claimed the No. 1 ranking for Best Career Growth among large companies in 2026, rising from No. 6 the previous year. Adobe earned the top spot for Best Leadership Teams, climbing from No. 15 in 2025. Across the five Best Department awards, companies including Elsevier, RingCentral, ADP, TP and Calix earned recognition in multiple categories, demonstrating a consistent commitment to employee development, leadership excellence and workplace culture.

With more than 20 million ratings across 70,000 companies, Comparably's annual rankings provide insights into workplace satisfaction and employee experience across industries and company sizes. The awards reflect millions of employee ratings collected during the past year and represent one of the largest datasets on workplace culture and leadership available today.

"Candidates are paying closer attention to workplace reputation than ever before," said Jon Bischke, general manager of ZoomInfo Talent Solutions and Comparably. "Employees are evaluating companies through the lens of leadership, career development and culture, and employers are eing measured accordingly. These awards recognize the organizations that are consistently earning high marks from the people who know them best."

"Job seekers have access to more information than any generation before them," said Shannon Pritchett, head of marketing for ZoomInfo Talent Solutions. "The best employers understand that recruiting starts long before someone applies for a job. Employee sentiment, leadership reputation and growth opportunities all influence talent decisions. These rankings provide a transparent view into the workplace experiences candidates are actively seeking."

The Best Career Growth, Best Leadership Teams and Best Departments awards are among Comparably's most recognized workplace rankings, helping job seekers identify employers known for employee development, leadership excellence and strong workplace cultures.

2026 Best Career Growth - Large Companies (Top 10)

2026 Best Leadership Teams - Large Companies (Top 10)

2026 Best Sales Department (Top 5)

2026 Best Marketing Department (Top 5)

2026 Best HR Department (Top 5)

2026 Best Product and Design Department (Top 5)

2026 Best Engineering Department (Top 5)

About Comparably

Comparably, a ZoomInfo company, provides workplace culture insights and compensation data that help employees, job seekers and employers make more informed decisions. With more than 20 million anonymous employee ratings across nearly 20 workplace culture metrics and 70,000 companies, Comparably provides one of the largest datasets on workplace culture, compensation, leadership and employee experience. For more information, visit Comparably.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260616334830/en/ more

Career development

18h

The Job Interview Is Broken. Here's How AI Could Actually Fix It.

"USA250: The Story of the World's Greatest Economy" is a yearlong WSJ series examining America's first 250 years. Read more about it from Editor in Chief Emma Tucker.

A glimpse of the job interview of the future: virtual-reality headsets that immerse you in the day-to-day of the job you're applying for; an interactive videogame that you win, or lose, on your ability to perform certain tasks; a... virtual exam that tests your problem-solving prowess.

Ask any job applicant or manager about the hiring process today, and he or she will probably say the same thing: It's pretty much a crapshoot. In a survey of 2,200 U.S. hiring managers by staffing firm Robert Half last spring, nearly a third said they'd made a hiring mistake in just the past two years. Failing to accurately size up the candidate's skills or fit with the company's culture were the biggest reasons.

The idea among many hiring managers and technology experts is that if you take humans out of the equation -- and replace the early, flawed generations of technology assistance with more-advanced artificial-intelligence systems -- you'll get a vastly better sense of who's the best person for the role.

That's the hope, anyway.

The algorithm issue

The problems start well before prospective hires get to the interview stage. The online algorithms, or application tracking systems, that companies use to narrow the mass of applicants risk knocking out top talent early in the hiring process. And candidates' growing use of AI to craft applications means employers aren't necessarily shortlisting the best candidates, but those who present better, says Matthew Bidwell, a professor of management at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.

Then there are the unstructured interviews -- often stretched out over several rounds -- and clichéd questions like, "Where do you see yourself in five years?" Gut instinct, rather than a standardized interviewing process, ultimately drives many hiring decisions, which Bidwell calls a "terrible predictor."

Some research, in fact, suggests interviews often aren't just useless -- they can undercut what useful information about job candidates there is. "How would you like to know that the surgeon working on you was selected only because he's a hunter or something like that?" says Jason Dana, who on July 1 will become a professor of practice at the University of Pennsylvania's master's program for behavioral and decision sciences. His research has found unstructured interviews lead to poor predictive accuracy.

More structure -- and games

More companies are moving to structured interviews, which generally feature a set of standardized questions on both hard or soft skills. Greenhouse, a hiring-software company, says that the structured-interview part of its interview business has taken off: Customers conducted 15 million structured interviews last year, up from nearly 500,000 in 2015. Greenhouse provides interview kits that include scorecards where employers can identify specific attributes they want to evaluate candidates on.

"The more we rely on the structure and the skills that we're assessing, the more effective the interview is at finding out who's good at the job," says Greenhouse's chief executive officer, Daniel Chait.

Another potential solution is to use games to assess an applicant's skills. Richard N. Landers, a professor of organizational psychology at the University of Minnesota, offers a hypothetical example of a company's hiring for a software sales role. The company asks applicants to participate in an online simulation, in which they are presented with the main points of contact at a target company -- the manager, chief financial officer and IT director. The applicants are given brief introductions on their backgrounds. The challenge: Two of the executives being pitched have raised some serious concerns about the product.

It then asks the applicant: What do you do?

An AI interface simulates each step the candidate, or player, must make, from booking travel for a client visit to responding to pressure from a sales manager. All the while, the game is measuring an array of hard and soft skills.

"The scenario is constructed to force the player to think critically and respond in such a way that the sale is made within seven days of simulated game time," says Landers.

Landers stresses that the design of the game is crucial to be a fair assessment. For instance, he says, "it turns out boys tend to play those kinds of games a lot more than girls, and that plays out when you're an adult, and men, on average, are going to have more skill in that kind of game than women will," Landers says. "So [the games] have to be engineered to avoid those kinds of problems."

More-exacting AI interviews

Expect AI-powered interviews to also become more routine. Unlike the rudimentary AI tools that screen candidates based on the use of certain words in résumés, the AI interviews offer companies much more data to work with, allowing them to zero in on the skills that actually matter, says Euan Cameron, chief executive officer of Willo, a job-candidate assessment platform.

LinkedIn has been testing AI interviews in an automated hiring agent product it offers to small businesses. Companies can invite top applicants for a short, AI‑powered interview where the agent asks questions about the candidate's skills. These pre-interviews are faster and cheaper than flying potential candidates in, or having a human spend hours or days interviewing potential candidates.

The AI interview also improves companies' ability to identify candidates who are the right match more quickly, says Hari Srinivasan, LinkedIn's chief product officer. He says that is because the interviews can screen for top candidates based on objective questions focused on skills faster than a human spending time trying to determine whether each candidate has the capabilities to perform the job.

Another potential benefit of AI interviews is that they might not be as biased (read: human) as those done by a person. "I do like the idea that AI at least filters out some of the maybe personal biases that a lot of interviewers will bring with them to an interview," says Landers.

Immersive VR interviews

A little further in the future, Landers says, employers could shift to virtual-reality headsets to fully immerse job candidates in the simulations. A hospital hiring triage nurses, for example, could have candidates put on headsets that transport them to a simulated disaster site to see how they figure out who imminently needs attention.

"Do they actually notice what they're supposed to notice? Do they make the first steps they're supposed to take? All those options can be coded into those kinds of simulations," he says.

The cost of the hardware would have to come down to become more mainstream, Landers says. "So the bar is pretty high for VR to be worth it," he says.

But he adds: "Maybe the extra levels of immersion and fidelity can really get something out of understanding what that person would really do, not just what they say they would do." more

Career development

18h

Comparably Announces 2026 Best Career Growth, Best Leadership Teams, and Best Departments Awards

The awards highlight organizations that employees rate highest across nearly 20 culture metrics, including career development, leadership effectiveness, team collaboration and overall workplace experience. Rankings are based on anonymous employee feedback collected on Comparably.com during the past 12 months.

Paycom claimed the No. 1 ranking for Best Career Growth among large companies in 2026,... rising from No. 6 the previous year. Adobe earned the top spot for Best Leadership Teams, climbing from No. 15 in 2025. Across the five Best Department awards, companies including Elsevier, RingCentral, ADP, TP and Calix earned recognition in multiple categories, demonstrating a consistent commitment to employee development, leadership excellence and workplace culture.

With more than 20 million ratings across 70,000 companies, Comparably's annual rankings provide insights into workplace satisfaction and employee experience across industries and company sizes. The awards reflect millions of employee ratings collected during the past year and represent one of the largest datasets on workplace culture and leadership available today.

"Candidates are paying closer attention to workplace reputation than ever before," said Jon Bischke, general manager of ZoomInfo Talent Solutions and Comparably. "Employees are evaluating companies through the lens of leadership, career development and culture, and employers are being measured accordingly. These awards recognize the organizations that are consistently earning high marks from the people who know them best."

"Job seekers have access to more information than any generation before them," said Shannon Pritchett, head of marketing for ZoomInfo Talent Solutions. "The best employers understand that recruiting starts long before someone applies for a job. Employee sentiment, leadership reputation and growth opportunities all influence talent decisions. These rankings provide a transparent view into the workplace experiences candidates are actively seeking."

The Best Career Growth, Best Leadership Teams and Best Departments awards are among Comparably's most recognized workplace rankings, helping job seekers identify employers known for employee development, leadership excellence and strong workplace cultures.

2026 Best Career Growth -- Large Companies (Top 10)

2026 Best Leadership Teams -- Large Companies (Top 10)

2026 Best Sales Department (Top 5)

2026 Best Marketing Department (Top 5)

2026 Best HR Department (Top 5)

2026 Best Product and Design Department (Top 5)

2026 Best Engineering Department (Top 5)

About Comparably

Comparably, a ZoomInfo company, provides workplace culture insights and compensation data that help employees, job seekers and employers make more informed decisions. With more than 20 million anonymous employee ratings across nearly 20 workplace culture metrics and 70,000 companies, Comparably provides one of the largest datasets on workplace culture, compensation, leadership and employee experience. For more information, visit Comparably.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260616334830/en/ more

Career development

21h

Early Talent Hiring and Development: Now's the Moment for a Major Reset

How will organizations attract and develop the AI-native workforce they'll need tomorrow when entry-level roles are shrinking today? Here's the future-ready, early talent strategy you need.

Fewer opportunities for early talent

The job marketplace has contracted significantly for those with less than five years of professional experience. Research published by SAP shows that openings in the 10... most common entry-level job titles declined by 35% in just one year, from 2024 to 2025.*

Budget constraints, hiring freezes, and uncertainty around the ROI of early talent as AI increasingly takes on routine and manual tasks are among the reasons cited by HR leaders today.

Applications skyrocket

AI is also having a major impact on the recruitment process. With such limited opportunities available, more than half of early talent candidates use AI to help them land a job -- a process that now takes eight months on average and involves more than 300 job applications.*

HR is feeling the pressure managing the candidate pipeline, with the number of applicants per early talent job opening doubling since 2021. A high volume of candidates are submitting AI-generated résumés and applications, and it's becoming much harder to detect high-fidelity signals around skills, fit, and potential.

It's a painful scenario for everyone involved. Fragile and unsustainable. And the implications will be profound for enterprises that don't act quickly.

HR leaders voice concerns

Playing out the current trajectory to its natural conclusion, what happens when all the fresh talent eventually dries up? Already, HR leaders are alarmed by this risk. "Ultimately, if we stop investing in early talent, we will wind up eliminating our talent pipeline," one global head of early talent programs at a high-tech organization told researchers.*

A senior HR director at a high-tech organization commented: "If we continue down this path and don't provide a way for early talent to get started, it's going to lead to massive skill shortages in the future."

Widespread reductions in early talent hiring will lead to skills gaps that will prove expensive to remedy. Organizations will struggle to build company capabilities, retain knowledge, and develop future leaders.

But by far the most common concern from leaders was around not seeing early talent as AI-native. If the AI capabilities of this cohort are overlooked, companies may miss out on a key opportunity to scale AI innovation and adoption across the business.

What's the answer?

Today, there's an opportunity for HR leaders to be more intentional and strategic, to reimagine their approach to early talent from the ground up. With the right early talent strategy, organizations can gain a competitive advantage.

Here are three steps to consider.

Step 1: Rethink entry-level roles

Traditionally, junior employees have mainly been given routine, repetitive tasks. Combined with frustratingly slow career progression, the result is eroding morale and commitment.

This approach must evolve. The nature of work is changing rapidly, and early talent no longer need to take on those routine tasks. These employees need the opportunity to develop at speed and to be supported in performing work that meaningfully addresses business challenges.

HR has the chance to reshape entry-level positions, to provide support, guidance, and tools to enable junior staff to contribute in more impactful ways. This may involve them working with proper guidance to support more critical projects, interacting with customers, and even owning some tasks end to end.

This approach not only enables early talent to contribute more positively to the business at an earlier stage, but when combined with clear goals, regular feedback loops, and occasional coaching, it also fosters greater engagement and commitment.

Step 2: Support your strategy with technology

Hiring and developing early talent have become more complex -- from deciphering AI-generated applications, to redesigning roles and meeting their aspirations in a fast-changing business context. And with the nature of early talent work shifting, leaders need tools to help understand the new capabilities that will predict long-term success and demonstrate the value of early talent initiatives.

Here's where technology can help. During the hiring process, technology can help employers see beyond the noise of AI applications and rediscover the meaningful signals they need to create candidate shortlists and strengthen hiring decisions. Meanwhile, technology can also help to maintain engagement with other high-potential candidates who applied -- for when the next opportunities arise.

Once early talent begin work, today's technology can help you track their participation in early talent programs and progression towards their goals. It also helps facilitate individualized learning opportunities and demonstrate the ROI of your early talent investments. For research-based recommendations on the role of technology in early talent selection and development, check out this quick guide.

Step 3: Reframe the business case for early talent

As the nature of early talent work is changing alongside the technology used to support them, HR leaders agree that the old business case for early talent investments needs to be reimagined. Many organizations are focused on mitigating critical skill gaps and engaging in large-scale AI transformations. While early talent lack experience, they are eager to engage in continuous learning and understand how to work effectively alongside AI.

Research also reveals that -- as they work alongside modern tools and technologies -- early talent can contribute to high-value, meaningful work much faster than in the past.

A modern early talent business case is one that involves focusing on faster time to meaningful work, reducing critical skill gaps, and leveraging the AI-native capabilities of today's entry-level workers.

Build your early talent strategy

Will HR leaders watch on as a generation of AI-savvy talent remains underused, or act now and build the skills pipelines necessary for a future-ready workforce?

Get further insights on this topic by reading our report, "Early talent in peril: How HR can strategically select and develop the workforce of tomorrow." Visit our research library to stay tuned for when phase two of this research gets published later this year.

Dr. Autumn D. Krauss is chief scientist at SAP SuccessFactors. more

Career development

23h

An Assessment Of Career Development Affecting Factors In The Construction Industry From A Gender Perspective

The Vietnamese construction industry has experienced rapid growth in recent years, with an average annual growth rate exceeding 8.0%. At this pace, the construction workforce is projected to reach approximately 12-13 million workers by 2030, of whom women are expected to account for around 10%. Despite their increasing participation, women are widely perceived to face greater challenges in career... development than men within the construction sector. This paper aims to be an assessment of career development drivers in the construction industry from a gender perspective. A questionnaire survey was administered to 120 engineers to evaluate the influence of ten factors on career development motivation. An T-test samples was employed to examine gender-based differences. The results indicate that both male and female engineers exhibit a strong desire for career development, with no statistically significant differences observed between the two groups. Key factors exerting a substantial influence on career development motivation include self-development aspirations, opportunities for career advancement, company salary and benefits, and job security within the construction industry. more

Career development

1d

The One Interview Question Steve Jobs Used to Spot Real Talent

Jeff Haden argued specific ambitions beat clichés, shaping future hiring decisions.

At the D8 conference in 2010, Steve Jobs outlined an interview style that sliced through résumé gloss with a single prompt: "Why are you here?" The answers, he suggested, exposed the real fuel behind a candidate's work, the kind of personal ambition that often correlates with shipping hard things. Author and... former manager Jeff Haden echoes that view, arguing that concrete, self-driven goals beat canned lines about boosting company growth. Strip away the platitudes and you get a sharper hiring filter, one that pairs motivation with impact and leaves no patience for lateness.

Steve Jobs' enduring influence on hiring practices

More than a decade after his passing, Steve Jobs' management style continues to spark interest and guide corporate strategies. As the co-founder and former CEO of Apple, Jobs was known for his relentless pursuit of excellence, and his unique approach to identifying top talent. One defining example? A deceptively simple question he deployed in interviews: "Why are you here?"

The question that revealed more than simple qualifications

During the All Things Digital D8 Conference in 2010, Jobs provided a rare glimpse into his hiring philosophy. The question, he explained, was not a trap. It was designed to uncover candidates' core motivations and alignment with the company's mission. For Jobs, the content mattered less than the thought process and passion underneath it.

Job seekers who shared personal ambitions or distinct drives often left stronger impressions. Jobs believed such qualities signaled commitment to growth, the kind that could ultimately benefit Apple, then and now one of the world's most valuable companies.

Why personal drive mattered to Jobs

Asking "Why are you here?" allowed Jobs to home in on candidates whose goals overlapped with the demands of the role. Author and former industrial manager Jeff Haden has noted that vague answers like "I want to contribute to the company's success" rarely distinguish top candidates. Those who explain what the role will do for them tend to reveal a hunger that translates into results.

This approach mirrors Jobs' broader management style. Hire for motivation, empower the capable, and let outcomes speak. It also acknowledges a practical truth in hiring: in a short interview, clarity of motive is a powerful proxy for future performance.

A lasting legacy in corporate management

Jobs' attention to detail extended beyond product design and operations. It shaped how he led teams and chose people. His focus on punctuality, for example, was legendary. If a senior executive was late, Steve Jobs sometimes started without them, signaling respect for time and execution. more

1

Tuyishime Mechack
1d
Good answer

Career development

1d

Merit Teacher and Chennai DMIT Strengthen Focus on Personalized Career Guidance and Student Development Programs

All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here

As students and parents navigate an increasingly diverse educational landscape, the importance of structured career guidance and assessment-based counseling continues to gain attention. Chennai-based educational institutions Merit Teacher and Chennai... DMIT are expanding their efforts to support learners through personalized counseling, psychometric assessments, communication training, and career development programs.

Founded by educator and psychologist Mrs. Priyanka, the organizations work with students, parents, graduates, and professionals seeking guidance on educational pathways, career planning, skill development, and personal growth.

The institutions offer services that include career counseling, psychometric testing, spoken English training, public speaking programs, DMIT assessments, and individualized development plans designed to help learners better understand their interests, strengths, and learning preferences.

Educational experts note that students today face a wider range of academic and career opportunities than ever before. As a result, many families are increasingly seeking professional guidance to make informed decisions regarding education, skill development, and long-term career planning.

Mrs. Priyanka's academic and professional background combines expertise across psychology, education, teacher training, and counseling. Her qualifications include Cambridge CIDTT certification, MSc in Psychology, M.Ed, Montessori Diploma, Clinical Psychology (A Grade), and BA Triple Honours.

According to the organization, its approach combines assessment tools, counseling frameworks, and personalized mentoring to support learners at different stages of their academic and professional journeys.

Merit Teacher focuses on educational counseling, communication skills development, spoken English training, and public speaking programs, while Chennai DMIT provides DMIT assessments, psychometric evaluations, counseling services, and career development support.

The organizations state that the objective is to provide learners with structured guidance that can help them explore opportunities aligned with their individual interests and capabilities while supporting confidence-building and informed decision-making.

With growing awareness around career readiness, soft skills, and personalized learning pathways, educational guidance services are becoming an increasingly important component of student development across India.

For additional information, interested individuals can visit the official websites of Merit Teacher and Chennai DMIT.

About Merit Teacher

Merit Teacher is an educational guidance and training organization offering career counseling, psychometric assessments, spoken English coaching, public speaking training, and student development programs.

About Chennai DMIT

Chennai DMIT provides DMIT assessments, psychometric testing, counseling services, and career development programs designed to support educational and career planning for students and professionals.

Media Contact

Company Name: Merit Teacher

Contact Person: Mrs. Priyanka Swain

Email: Send Email

Phone: 9363739535

Address:950, 39th Street, Korattur

City: Chennai

State: Tamil Nadu

Country: India

Website: https://www.meritteacher.com/

Press Release Distributed by ABNewswire.com

To view the original version on ABNewswire visit: Merit Teacher and Chennai DMIT Strengthen Focus on Personalized Career Guidance and Student Development Programs more

Career development

1d

Highest and best aren't always the same thing

Strong terms are a competitive advantage, coach Darryl Davis writes, and a buyer's agent who packages and validates them is doing real work for their client.

When a seller asks, "Which offer is the best one?" most people assume the answer is whichever number is biggest. It feels obvious. The highest price wins.

But after 40 years of coaching agents in this business, I can tell you that the... highest offer and the best offer are not always the same thing. The real estate professional who understands the difference is the one who protects their seller and actually gets the deal to the closing table.

Here is the way I teach it to agents: Think of an offer like a job candidate. The salary they are asking for is the price. But you would never hire someone on salary alone. You want to know whether they will show up, whether their references check out and whether they can do the work without falling apart in the first week.

The terms of the contract are the résumé and the references. They tell you whether this buyer can actually deliver on the number they wrote down.

And the truth is that the number means nothing if the transaction never closes. According to the National Association of Realtors' most recent Realtors Confidence Index, about 5 percent of contracts were terminated in the latest three-month period, and roughly 14 percent had delayed settlements.

NAR has consistently found that the issues that sink or stall a sale come from the same handful of places: home inspections, the buyer's financing and appraisals. Every one of those is a terms issue, not a price issue.

So, let's walk through what you should actually be reading in an offer and how to explain it to your seller.

Does the buyer have a house to sell?

The first question is whether this buyer needs to sell their current home in order to buy yours. A home-sale contingency ties your closing to a second transaction you do not control. That is not automatically a dealbreaker, but it changes the risk, and your seller deserves to understand it. Here is how I would frame it:

"This buyer offered a strong price, and there's one thing I want you to understand. Their offer depends on them selling their own home first. So, we're not just betting on this buyer. We're betting on a buyer we haven't met yet, for a house we haven't seen. Let's talk about whether that's a risk worth taking, or whether we ask them to firm it up."

How strong is the financing?

A price is only as good as the loan behind it. Is the buyer pre-approved or merely pre-qualified? Those are not the same thing. What is their credit picture, and how much are they putting down? Just as important, who is their loan officer?

An experienced local lender that everyone in your market knows and trusts is worth real money to your seller, because that lender is going to get the file to closing. A name nobody recognizes from an online portal is a question mark. You are allowed to ask.

"Before we celebrate the number, let me make a couple of calls. I want to know who's writing this loan and whether they have a real pre-approval or just a pre-qualification. The price on paper doesn't matter if the financing falls apart in Week 3."

What contingencies are they asking for?

Every contingency the buyer keeps is a door they can walk out through. Inspection, appraisal, financing, attorney review, the sale of their own home. Some are completely reasonable. But you and your seller should know exactly which doors are open and what it would take to close them.

Interestingly, NAR's latest data shows buyers waiving contingencies less often than a year ago, with about 17 percent waiving the inspection contingency, so a clean offer stands out more than it used to.

Does the closing date line up?

This one gets overlooked constantly. A wonderful price on a wonderful contract can still be the wrong offer if the buyer wants to close in three weeks and your seller needs 90 days to find their next home. Or the reverse.

Timing is a term, and it is one your seller feels in their daily life, not just on the settlement statement. Always ask what date the buyer wants, and whether it synchronizes with what your seller actually needs.

What kind of inspection is coming?

Here is a quiet one that can blow up a deal late. There is a real difference between a buyer who inspects for major defects, the roof, the foundation, the systems, and a buyer who is going to nickel and dime every cracked outlet cover and ask for a credit on all of it.

You will not always know in advance, but the buyer's agent and lender often give you a feel for who you are dealing with. A reasonable inspection posture is a term worth weighing.

This cuts both ways

If you are the listing agent, your job is to investigate the whole offer, not just the top line. Who is on this buyer's team? What bank are they using? What inspector? You should be picking up the phone, learning those answers and then translating them for your seller in plain language.

And if you are the buyer's agent, this is your opening. When you submit an offer, do not just hand over a number and hope. Make the case for your buyer's terms. Tell the listing agent your buyer is fully underwritten, that their lender closes on time, that they are flexible on the date, that they are not going to chase every small repair.

Strong terms are a competitive advantage, and a buyer's agent who packages and validates them is doing real work for their client.

A high price gets a seller's attention. Solid terms get them to the closing table. more

Career development

1d

5 Ways to level up your career in a hybrid workplace

Sholina Durga, Managing Director: Distance Learning and MBA at Richfield, pens down that career growth in a hybrid workplace comes from making yourself visible in meaningful ways, noting that upskilling can no longer be ignored.

Also see: Hybrid working: Enhancing your health and lifestyle balance

With hybrid work now firmly embedded across many sectors, career advancement is no longer as... visible or automatic as it once was. To position yourself for promotion, it's no longer enough to just show up. You now need to be more intentional about the areas that sit beyond your formal job specification.

How we advance in our careers has changed. Before the pandemic, managers saw firsthand how we worked and interacted, and this physical

visibility often played a significant role in advancement. However, in today's hybrid and remote environments, these signals are less apparent.

To position yourself for promotion, you now need to be more intentional about the areas that sit beyond your formal job specification. Durga says that career development is no longer something that just happens. "You need to take ownership of your trajectory. You need to build the skills and visibility that move you forward."

Here are five areas she suggests will support career progression in the modern workplace:

1. Start with a self-assessment

You can plan your career more effectively when you understand your strengths and skills.

The first steps are to identify your current capabilities and review how they align with the direction your employer and industry are taking. The next step is to fill in any gaps. These reviews and adjustments should form a continuous, internal feedback loop that informs an ongoing action plan

2. Upskill, all the time

With the world of work in a constant state of flux, the qualification you earned 10, or even five, years ago may no longer be relevant. To add as much value as possible to your role, you need up-to-date career-focused qualifications designed to equip you with the skills and knowledge to succeed.

Qualifications in IT and business science have become foundational across industries and roles. If you understand the strategies and technologies shaping organisations, you are far more likely to stay relevant. Meanwhile, the Master's Business Administration (MBA)

qualification remains one of the most sought-after management qualifications, with employers continuing to signal rising demand.

In addition, micro-credentials from industry bodies like IBM, Amazon, Cisco, Oracle, Salesforce, and CIMA align with the skills employers are looking for. Durga advises that if you are considering a tertiary qualification, you should look for an institution that embeds these

courses into its curricula.

And, with numerous private tertiary institutions offering online programmes, you can balance work and life with flexible distance learning.

Also see: Work-from-home: Convenience versus consequence

3. Learn how to use artificial intelligence (AI)

With AI defining almost every aspect of professional environments, it is increasingly important to understand how and when to use it. Durga says, "AI can be invaluable for exploring ideas and comparing concepts. These tools can enhance efficiencies, but they are not a replacement for human capabilities.

"Developing the ability to use AI ethically while maintaining critical thinking skills is a core professional competency."

4. Build quality networks

Long considered essential for professional visibility, networking is more important than ever. Talking to the right people, at the right time, helps ensure that your name is mentioned in the right conversations before roles are even advertised.

Attending conferences, leading industry discussions, and engaging meaningfully on platforms like LinkedIn can help you access opportunities, strengthen your credibility, and open doors. Mentorship can also play an important role in career development.

Gaining insights and direction from experienced professionals can help you make better decisions and accelerate your growth with greater clarity and confidence.

5. Hone your professional reputation

Advancement is often influenced by how leaders perceive your reliability and expertise, and reputation has emerged as one of the most powerful career assets.

Being known for mastery of a specific area of expertise positions you better when new opportunities arise. Consistency and visibility also matter. Delivering quality work, meeting deadlines, and communicating effectively all contribute to your credibility, while sharing learnings and collaborating constructively allows you to demonstrate your capabilities more widely.

"In a hybrid workplace, it is not enough to just show up. Your career growth comes from making yourself visible in meaningful ways, taking deliberate steps to develop your skills, and creating the kind of impact that others cannot ignore," Durga shares.

Also see: Thriving in a hybrid world: Tips to succeed and achieve more

Be the first to know - Join our WhatsApp channel for content worth tapping into. Click here to join! more

Career development

1d

Civil organizations demand transparency and citizen participation in the election of Venezuela's Supreme Court of Justice

* The partial renewal of justices of the Supreme Court of Justice and other senior positions in the Judicial Branch is taking place in a context of serious questions about judicial independence in Venezuela. This process therefore requires clear rules, sufficient public information, and civil society participation.

* The signing organizations warn that it is essential for this new process to... follow a transparent, verifiable, and publicly accountable path, to avoid the abuses of discretion and citizen exclusion that have characterized other appointment processes for senior authorities in the country.

Caracas and Washington D.C., June 12, 2026.- The undersigned organizations express our concern regarding the process of partial renewal of justices of the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ), the recent reform of its Organic Law, and the selection of officials for the General Inspectorate of Courts and the Judicial School. We issue an urgent call to the National Assembly and the relevant bodies to conduct this procedure in accordance with the highest international standards on judicial independence, transparency, impartiality, and accountability.

The composition of the country's highest court has a direct impact on the rule of law, access to justice, and the protection of the rights of the population. Therefore, the appointment of its members cannot be driven by political loyalty but must be based on a rigorous evaluation of professional merit, legal track record, independence, and ethical integrity.

To ensure a legitimate and democratic process, our organizations urge the authorities in charge to strictly comply with the following demands:

* Timely publication of a clear timeline. It is essential that a detailed and definitive schedule be widely and accessibly disseminated, allowing all remaining stages of the process and their deadlines to be known.

* Full disclosure of candidates and résumés. The list of nominees must be made public, along with their résumés and supporting documents necessary to assess their background and compliance with established requirements. Public scrutiny is only possible if information about candidates' technical qualifications and integrity is fully accessible.

* Establishment of an objective scoring system. Prior to beginning evaluations, the relevant Committee must design and publish an objective and detailed scoring rubric or qualification criteria ("baremo"). Selection must be based strictly on professional merit, legal track record, and ethical suitability, closing the door to discretionary decisions.

* Challenge mechanisms and reasoned responses. The process must guarantee clear deadlines, channels, and bodies through which any person or civil organization may file duly substantiated objections or challenges regarding nominees who do not meet eligibility requirements. The Committee is likewise obligated to issue reasoned, public responses to each objection received.

* Guarantee of meaningful spaces for citizen participation. The process must include effective mechanisms allowing civil society to monitor each stage, submit relevant information, learn about the evaluation criteria, and access sufficient information about decisions made. This is essential to oversee and verify that the selection is carried out transparently, impartially, and in accordance with international standards.

The judicial independence of high courts is especially relevant for victims of human rights violations. An autonomous and independent TSJ is an indispensable condition for guaranteeing their access to truth, justice, and comprehensive reparation, as well as for preventing the recurrence of serious human rights violations. This is particularly important in a context where criminalization and arbitrary detentions on political grounds persist -- repressive practices that have not been eradicated and against which the Judicial Branch plays a decisive role.

In this context, the undersigned organizations call on Venezuela's parliamentary authorities to align their actions with the Constitution and with international human rights standards governing the selection of justice operators.

We likewise urge the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and other relevant international mechanisms to closely monitor this TSJ renewal process, given its definitive and direct impact on institutional independence, the fight against impunity, and the protection of fundamental rights in Venezuela.

Acceso a la Justicia

Aula Abierta

AlertaVenezuela

Centro de Derechos Humanos de la Universidad Católica Andrés Bello (CDH-UCAB)

Centro de Justicia y Paz - Cepaz

Centro por la Justicia y el Derecho Internacional

CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizenship Participation

CIVILIS

COFAVIC

Comisión Internacional de Juristas

Espacio Público

Fundación para el Debido Proceso (DPLF)

Oficina en Washington para Asuntos Latinoamericanos (WOLA)

Provea (Programa Venezolano de Educación Acción en Derechos Humanos)

Robert and Ethel Kennedy Center for Human Rights more

Career development

2d

I got laid off from IBM over 2 years ago and I'm still unemployed. I don't want my kids to feel like anything is wrong.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Fatema Ali, a job seeker in her 30s who lives in Texas. She previously worked for IBM as a project manager before being laid off in 2024. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

In early 2024, I began to worry that my time at IBM could be coming to an end.

I was a delivery project manager based in the Dallas area and had been... working remotely since joining IBM in 2018. That January, IBM announced that all US managers would be required to report to an office or client location at least three days a week or risk losing their jobs. There was an office about 15 minutes from my home, and I started going in regularly.

In February, my manager started warning me that broader layoffs could be on the horizon. By the time I was laid off in April, I wasn't completely surprised.

More than two years later, I'm still looking for full-time work.

My husband and I were suddenly both out of work at the same time

What made the layoff more difficult was that a few months earlier, my husband had left his job to pursue a startup idea that wasn't yet generating income. We had three children to support, and suddenly neither of us had a traditional full-time job.

One thing working in our favor was that we had already paid off our house. That gave us some breathing room and relieved some financial pressure.

Even so, there was a lot of financial uncertainty. We cut back where we could and tried to live more simply, including traveling less with the kids. For a period, we were largely living off savings and the severance I received, which amounted to about three months of salary.

I started looking for work immediately, both inside and outside IBM. There was one promising internal opportunity I applied for, but it would've required me to move to North Carolina. I had recently bought a home in Texas, had family nearby, and didn't want to uproot my three children.

Instead, I focused on finding opportunities closer to home, primarily in project and program management, while also applying for roles in higher education, nonprofits, and government.

The job search feels harder than it did during the Great Recession

When I graduated from college in 2008 during the Great Recession, the job market was difficult. Looking back, it almost feels like a walk in the park compared with what I've experienced over the last two years. Back then, I was getting more interview opportunities.

One of the most frustrating parts of the process has been dealing with applicant tracking systems. I have dozens of résumé versions for different roles because I know résumés can be filtered out if they're missing the right keywords. It feels like strong candidates can be overlooked before anyone has a chance to review their experience.

I can spend hours tailoring an application and never speak with a human recruiter. It's become a nightmare.

I try to reach out to people in my network. If I see a mutual connection who works at an organization where I'm applying, I'll try to reconnect with them directly. Simply applying online without a referral has become one of my least effective job-search strategies.

I've landed a few interviews over the last two years and have made it through multiple rounds with some employers. In many cases, companies ultimately chose an internal candidate or someone with more experience in a specific area. Occasionally, I check LinkedIn to try to figure out who ended up getting the role based on their title and start date.

I've tried to make the most of my time away from work

While I've been looking for work since my layoff, I haven't always been consistent with my applications. I spent time helping my husband with his startup and devoted a lot of time to caring for my youngest child.

Last year, my husband decided to focus less on his startup and return to the workforce, landing a new job in November. That provided some financial relief for our family.

As my children have gotten older, I've also had more freedom to focus on my career again. By the middle of last year, I became much more consistent with my job search.

While I'm still looking for work, I've scaled back my job search somewhat in recent months to spend more time pursuing projects with my husband, notably P1loop, an app we launched together. My husband used his experience as an iOS developer to help build it.

The app is designed to help teams communicate about urgent operational issues. It isn't generating any income yet, but we're hopeful. My layoff experience has forced me to rethink stability, take a risk, and try to build something meaningful from scratch.

The biggest lesson I've learned is patience

I've been working since I was 19, and I'm looking forward to returning to work.

My job search has been stressful, but I didn't want that pressure to show on my face. I don't want my children to feel like there is anything wrong. I want to carry on with the day and stay grounded as best as I can.

Being unemployed hasn't felt like much of a break. When you're dealing with financial uncertainty, caring for children, looking for work, and trying to build something new, your mind is always racing.

My best advice to anyone going through this is to stay patient, whether you've worked really hard and things are going exactly the way you hoped, or things aren't falling into place yet.

While I'm still looking for the right opportunity, I've learned the importance of staying the course. more

11

Debbie Satterfield
1d
I am in the same unemployed, physical, mental and financial situation for greater than a year. I've become numb to the rejection emails. Some days I... think it would be easier to get admitted to a mental institution. more
Christine Toma
2
1d
Continue being patient for it pays.
1