Career development

Anonymous member

14h

Hi! I work in an all-women team and no one has a car. My husband picks me up every day and my coworkers often ask for a ride too. They got used to it and if I say no, they get upset. But I’m tired of driving everyone home. How can I stop this without arguments? Thanks

Rita Ennin
2h
My kind opinion, let your husband stop picking your for a while. When they question you tell them the car broke down or something.
Pick public... transport for the time being. Thank you more
1
Carolyn Lowe
9h
Start charging them. If they need to pay…they will not be so eager to ask for a ride. Gas is expensive, now! By the way, how do they get to work, in... the first place? more
1

Career development

17h

7 Best Cybersecurity Tools for Remote Recruitment Teams: Guard Candidate PII

A promising résumé can hide malware. In 2025 a mis-configured cloud server leaked 26 million CVs, exposing names, emails, and work histories to anyone online.

Breach fallout is costly: average incidents cost $4.88 million, and HR databases are prime targets.

Scammers even impersonate candidates; Proofpoint saw "just checking in" emails with malware links that recruiters clicked.

Security can't... wait. The next sections rank seven remote-ready tools so you can shield candidate data without wading through tech jargon.

Ready to close the back door before the next fake résumé arrives? Keep reading.

We cast a wide net, reviewing scores of security vendors, analyst reports, and user forums. Then we pushed every contender through a filter built for remote-recruiting realities, not generic IT wish lists.

First, we asked a blunt question: Does the tool shield candidate data in every scenario? If any edge case left PII exposed, we removed the product.

Next, we checked day-one usability. Recruiters ignore software that forces them to learn new workflows or babysit settings. Cloud delivery, single sign-on support, and a set-and-forget interface all scored high.

Integration came next. We inspected how easily each product plugs into the hiring stack: ATS, HRIS, email, and video-interview services. Smooth connections mean you safeguard the process without slowing it down.

Cost mattered, though not in a race-to-the-bottom sense. We balanced sticker price against breach-prevention impact and favored tools that give small and midsize teams meaningful protection. Pricey showpieces with features no recruiter needs did not survive.

We also wanted outside proof: analyst-leader badges, 4-plus-star user ratings, and a clean record in recent breach news. Marketing claims alone never made the cut.

Only products that met every test (data protection, remote fit, integration strength, compliance support, and real-world praise) earned a place in the final seven.

Technology blocks plenty, yet most breaches still start with an employee who trusts the wrong email. That pattern will not change until we train the people behind the screens.

KnowBe4 treats security education like a marketing campaign. Short, video lessons land in each recruiter's inbox, followed by realistic phishing tests that reveal who clicked and why. Over time you watch the "phish-prone" rate sink from double digits to low single digits, a shift HRStacks ties to sharp drops in real-world incidents.

KnowBe4 security awareness training dashboard screenshot for phishing simulations

Recruiters appreciate the relevance. Modules cover résumé malware, bogus CEO requests for W-2 data, and tips to spot deep-fake candidates. Lessons take minutes, not hours, so they fit between sourcing calls.

Administrators enjoy the automation. New hires enroll on day one, simulated attacks roll out on a schedule, and reminders chase anyone who falls behind. Reports satisfy auditors and give leadership proof that security is more than a checkbox.

Yes, a few employees will groan the first time they fail a test. That fades once everyone understands the stakes. A culture where people brag about catching the latest spoofed LinkedIn invite is a culture that keeps data safe.

Bottom line: tools guard the perimeter, but trained humans guard everything else. KnowBe4 turns that soft spot into a reliable last line of defense, paying for itself every time someone hovers over a shady link and clicks Delete instead of Open.

Recruiting lives on files. Portfolios, offer letters, passport scans, and interview recordings all bounce between laptops, inboxes, and chat threads. Each bounce risks leakage.

Box turns that chaos into a single encrypted cabinet in the cloud. Shield, its security layer, auto-labels sensitive content and enforces your rules. If a document holds 30 Social Security numbers, Shield can block external sharing outright. If a recruiter tries a mass download at 2 am, the platform flags the anomaly and, if you choose, kills the connection on the spot.

The experience stays friendly. Recruiters drag a file into Box Drive and share a link instead of an attachment. Hiring managers open the link, view the document, and Box logs every click for your audit trail. No one fiddles with VPN paths or remembers to password-protect a PDF; Box handles it behind the scenes.

Collaboration even speeds up. Multiple reviewers can add notes to a résumé in real time, confident that version history tracks every edit. When the requisition closes, automated retention rules purge old candidate data so you stay on the right side of GDPR or CCPA.

Yes, Box costs more than free cloud drives. Balance that against a single lawsuit from an exposed medical form and the math flips fast. Deploy Shield for recruiters and HR admins first, then expand to hiring managers once the workflow feels second nature.

Secure storage may not feel glamorous, but it quietly erases a huge attack surface. With Box Shield guarding the documents, you stop the "lost laptop" horror story before it can headline your next all-hands.

Email delivers every offer letter, interview link, and salary discussion. It also delivers 9 of 10 cyber-attacks. Proofpoint stands at the door, disinfecting messages so recruiters only see the genuine stuff.

The platform inspects each inbound message in milliseconds. Attachments open in a sandbox; malicious macros never reach the inbox. Links are rewritten on the fly, and if a previously safe URL turns hostile later, Proofpoint blocks the click in real time.

Impersonation scams are its specialty. The system studies writing style, header quirks, and reply-to tricks to spot a fake CEO or a "candidate" pushing a poisoned résumé. When it senses spoofing, it stamps a bold warning banner across the message or moves it to quarantine.

Outbound mail gets equal scrutiny. If a recruiter tries emailing a spreadsheet of Social Security numbers, Data Loss Prevention rules can force encryption or stop the send entirely. Candidates stay safe from leaks they would never see coming.

Deployment is straightforward. Point your MX records to Proofpoint, tune a few policies, and you are live. From day one you watch junk and attack attempts drop, giving recruiters back the time they once spent sorting inbox debris.

Proofpoint is not the cheapest filter, yet its catch rate saves far more than it costs. By removing weaponized emails before humans have a chance to trust them, you close the single most common breach path in HR.

A single recruiter laptop now holds thousands of résumés, offer letters, and background reports. Lose that endpoint to ransomware and the whole hiring engine stalls.

CrowdStrike Falcon plants an impossibly light agent on Windows or macOS, then watches every process in real time. No old-school signature files; the cloud brain hunts for behavior that screams intrusion. A macro-laden résumé spawns PowerShell in the temp folder? Falcon stops the process, quarantines the file, and alerts you before the user even notices.

Remote control is where it shines. From a web console you can isolate a compromised device with one click, cutting attacker command channels while the recruiter keeps working offline on local docs. When the machine reconnects under VPN, policies reapply automatically.

Falcon also spots insider trouble. If someone tries a midnight mass-copy of candidate PDFs to a USB stick, the agent logs it and, if you wish, blocks the transfer. Every action writes to a tamper-proof timeline, a lifesaver when auditors ask, "Who touched that data?"

Deployment takes minutes. Email installers, drop them in an RMM, or bake them into your MDM images. The agent updates itself silently, so there is no "please leave laptops overnight for patching" ritual that recruiters like to ignore.

Yes, Falcon costs more than the antivirus bundled with your operating system. It also removes the dread of waking up to encrypted laptops and a hacker's ransom note. That trade is an easy sell in any budget meeting focused on uptime and candidate trust.

Every new SaaS the talent team adopts adds another username, another password, and another off-boarding step someone might forget. That sprawl is a gift to attackers.

Okta collapses the maze into a single front door. Recruiters sign in once, then launch Greenhouse, Slack, Zoom, or your background-check portal from the same dashboard. Adaptive multi-factor checks location, device health, and time of day before opening the latch, so a stolen password alone goes nowhere.

Okta Workforce Identity SSO dashboard screenshot for talent teams

The admin view is pure control. Create a contractor account, tick the apps they need, and Okta pushes credentials out in seconds. When the contract ends, one disable switch yanks access from every system -- no frantic hunt for lingering logins.

Risk signals run constantly in the background. A sign-in from a new country prompts a second factor. Five rapid failures on an ATS API token lock the account and, if you choose, block that IP range. An immutable audit log shows who touched which app and when, delighting auditors.

Setup sounds daunting, yet most HR tools already sit in Okta's integration catalog. Paste two SAML values, test, and move on. Start with email and the ATS, then phase in niche sourcing apps once the team is comfortable.

Yes, there is a price per user, but the math is simple. Count the hours recruiters waste on password resets, the fines for an ex-employee still lurking in payroll, and the brand damage from one hacked mailbox. Okta's subscription looks modest next to those bills.

Identity is the new perimeter. With Okta guarding the gateway, every other control in your stack gains a reliable foundation, and recruiters enjoy the luxury of logging in once and getting straight back to hiring.

Passwords still unlock every system we use. When they are weak, reused, or parked in spreadsheets, attackers do not need zero days; they just sign in.

1Password replaces that chaos with an encrypted vault the whole hiring team can share. Each recruiter keeps a single master key (ideally backed by biometrics) and 1Password fills every login with a random 30-character string no one could guess or remember.

Shared vaults solve the "Can you DM me the Indeed password?" routine. Drop an account into the Recruiting vault, grant junior sourcers read-only access, and watch Slack credential requests vanish overnight. When a contractor finishes the project, removing them from the vault instantly locks them out everywhere.

Security runs quietly in the background. Watchtower scans the dark web and alerts you if an email-password pair tied to the team shows up for sale. Two-factor codes live beside each login, so no one is hunting for an authenticator app on interview day.

Adoption is simple. Install the browser extension, import existing passwords, then flip the switch that blocks plain-text storage elsewhere. Most recruiters never open the desktop app again; autofill just works.

Price comes in at about the cost of one fancy coffee per user each month. Stack that against the $4.88 million average breach bill and the return is obvious. Strong, unique passwords everywhere, zero friction, zero excuses -- that is why 1Password earns silver on this list.

Recruiters travel. Coffee-shop Wi-Fi, airport hotspots, the spare bedroom. Each jump exposes logins and résumés to anyone listening on the same network.

TorGuard encrypts every packet the moment it leaves the device, so snoopers see gibberish instead of candidate data. The dedicated IP option is the game changer: your team appears to every SaaS from the exact same address, no matter where they work.

TorGuard dedicated IP VPN product page screenshot for recruiter network security

That single feature lets IT lock critical tools such as ATS, HRIS, and payroll to one whitelisted IP. Even if a password leaks on the dark web, an attacker's unknown address hits a brick wall.

A fixed IP also ends the daily annoyance of CAPTCHA storms and geo-blocked logins that plague shared VPNs; see the details on how TorGuard's anti-blocking architecture makes banking sites and streaming services treat the connection like a regular home network.

Recruiters connect once, then cruise through Gmail, LinkedIn, or banking portals as if they were at HQ.

Setup is two steps: install the app and choose your dedicated location. TorGuard allows unlimited devices per account, so laptops and phones stay protected without juggling licenses. Speeds remain snappy thanks to a network built for torrent-level traffic.

Budget? Roughly 10 dollars a month plus a small annual fee for the static IP, less than a coffee run on that risky café network. In return you get encrypted traffic, stable reputation IPs, and the peace of mind that comes from shrinking your attack surface to a single, known doorway.

Network security is the foundation of every control above it. Start with a solid tunnel, and the rest of your stack stands stronger.

We covered a lot of ground. Before you sketch a rollout plan, use the cheat sheet below to see where each tool shines, what unique perk it gives recruiters, and one trade-off to keep in mind.

*Public list pricing. Bundles and volume discounts often apply.

Scan the table, spot the gaps in your current stack, and address them in priority order. Most teams start with the network, password, and identity layers, then add email and endpoint defences, secure storage, and finally ongoing training to cement culture.

Security projects stall when they feel impossible. Break deployment into clear, bite-sized waves and momentum follows.

Start with TorGuard, 1Password, and Okta. These three lock down networks, passwords, and identity, the entry points attackers hit first. Rollout is fast: a VPN install link, a vault invite, and SSO connections to your top two apps. Within a week you remove the biggest risks without altering daily flow.

Next add CrowdStrike and Proofpoint. Protect the endpoints recruiters carry and the email they trust most. Push the Falcon agent on Monday, update MX records on Friday, and watch dashboards the following week. Users barely notice except for a cleaner inbox.

Finish with Box Shield for file governance and KnowBe4 for ongoing awareness. Migrate active requisition folders first, then older archives. While that transfer runs, launch the first phishing-simulation campaign. Celebrate every "I caught it!" message in Slack; positive reinforcement turns training into habit.

By handling one wave each quarter, you spread costs, avoid change fatigue, and keep leadership cheering quick wins instead of worrying about an all-or-nothing overhaul.

Attackers automate scans. They do not check company size before dumping leaked résumés for sale. The 26-million-CV breach came from a mid-tier vendor, not a tech giant. Small teams with thin defenses are easier, faster wins.

The opposite usually happens. Single sign-on cuts daily logins, password resets vanish, and email noise drops. Recruiters spend more time courting candidates and less time fighting IT friction.

Our ATS vendor says they're SOC 2 compliant. Isn't that enough?

Vendor compliance secures their servers. It does nothing for the café Wi-Fi your sourcer uses, the phishing email in her inbox, or the USB someone finds at a job fair. Shared responsibility means we must lock down access, devices, and people on our side of the fence.

So are breach fines. The first layer -- VPN, password manager, and SSO -- costs about the price of lunch per user each month and removes the easiest attack paths. Spread the rest over three waves and you protect revenue instead of gambling with it. more

Mvuselelo B Nzama

Career development

1d

How can a newly employed individual maintain financial and career independence without becoming trapped in the rat race?

1

Randall Giancaterino
22
17h
Treat yourself as if you are "a business" when employed by someone or a company, and that will guide you. Businesses do not view employees as being... singular, as an entity who owns their own "business." more
1
Linda Makokha
2
23h
Starting a career is a high-energy phase, but it’s also when the "lifestyle creep" trap is easiest to set. Maintaining independence requires a dual... strategy: building a financial moat and treated your career as an asset you own, rather than a place where you belong.
more
1

Career development

18h

You Did Everything Right -- So Why Aren't You Getting Hired?

You did everything right: You got the degree, tailored your résumé, applied to 30, 40 or maybe even 50 jobs. You followed every rule the system told you to follow -- and you still ended up hitting a wall.

This experience is more common than anyone wants to admit. A recent New York Times focus group of 12 Gen Z job seekers revealed a generation that has largely stopped trusting in the idea that... effort gets rewarded. The rules they followed aren't delivering on the promise of security, and now young people are adjusting. They're pulling back socially while unemployed, choosing safety over growth, or coming into the workforce already disengaged.

The system genuinely appears to be broken. AI screening tools filter out qualified candidates before a human ever sees their résumés. Employers reward connections over credentials. But knowing all of this doesn't solve the immediate problem: You still need a job.

So what can you do? Build real-world experience to show employers. One of my students spent two years calling alumni donors for his university's fundraising office and arrived at graduation with cold-call experience, rejection tolerance and professional contacts. Another student worked a few afternoons a week at a consulting firm while still taking classes. The degree got her in the door, while everything she built along the way got her the job.

Don't be afraid to reach out to professionals for informational conversations. This is less uncomfortable than you think. Find mentors who can give you honest guidance, and find peers who are navigating this well and study what they're doing.

None of this fixes a broken system. But it can be the difference between graduating with options and graduating with a degree and a pile of unanswered emails.

This is a published version of Forbes' Careers newsletter. Click here to subscribe and get it in your inbox every Tuesday.

WORK SMARTER

Practical insights and advice from Forbes staff and contributors to help you succeed in your job, accelerate your career and lead smarter.

Learn five smart ways to use AI, including how to experiment with new skills to build a backup career and how to solve problems at your current job, according to business expert Diane Hamilton.

Feeling worried about your career? Sometimes digging into a new book can help you face uncertain times, executive coach Caroline Ceniza-Levine says. Here are five books to expand your thinking.

Working for a former employer may be the best way forward in your career, says psychologist Bryan Robinson, who shares why a "boomerang" move can be a great strategy in a tight job market.

Not interested in management? You're not alone. Over 40% of job seekers don't want to be managers, according to a new survey. Discover why from career expert Caroline Castrillon.

Careers Q&A: What To Do When Your Career Hits A Wall

I recently wrote about why mid-career malaise is more common than anyone admits, and what workers can do about it. I discussed the insights with Forbes careers editor Anjelica Tan.

Anjelica Tan: A lot of accomplished professionals hitting their late 30s and 40s are suddenly feeling flat about their careers. Why?

Andy Molinsky: They've outgrown the ambition that got them there. The goals that drove them for 15 years have been met, or quietly abandoned, and nothing has replaced them. Meanwhile, they have a mortgage, a lifestyle calibrated to their salary, and deep expertise in something they aren't sure they want to keep doing. At 25, that uncertainty feels normal. But at 45, it feels like a whole new problem they need to solve.

What is the biggest mistake people make when they hit this wall?

They assume they need to blow up their career. The burned-out banker who walks away from it all to make artisanal cheese in Vermont makes for a great story. But that's rarely the right move. The answer is usually more targeted than people expect.

So what can professionals in this position do to move forward?

Start with the job you have. Research on job crafting shows that employees who proactively reshape their tasks and relationships report significantly higher engagement, often without changing their title or employer. Before you conclude the job is the problem, ask honestly whether you've tried changing it from the inside.

Say they give that a real try and they still feel stuck. What then?

Run experiments on the side while you're still employed. Try doing something adjacent to what interests you and see what it reveals. The clarity comes from doing, not deliberating. Then pick a direction and start moving. That's usually enough to get unstuck.

TOUCH BASE

News from the world of work.

Will middle management soon be a thing of the past? Billionaire Jack Dorsey thinks so. In a recent blog post, the Block chairman argued that AI can handle much of what managers do today: gathering updates from executives, passing along instructions to teams and coordinating projects. If he's right, the impact on the job market could be significant -- about 21 million Americans currently work in management roles, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

March marked the strongest job growth in over a year, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released last week. The U.S. added 178,000 nonfarm jobs, well above expectations of 60,000, with health care driving more than half the gains. The unemployment rate edged down to 4.3%, beating forecasts of 4.4%. Still, the labor force participation rate -- the share of Americans working or seeking work -- fell to its lowest level since 2021.

Health care's job boom is partly due to its status as a reliable path to the American middle class, according to the Wall Street Journal. The median annual salary for nurses is $93,600, compared to $49,500 for all occupations, Labor Department data shows. And while automation and AI have reduced factory and office jobs, health care has grown steadily since the 1980s.

Thanks for reading! This edition of the Careers newsletter was edited by Anjelica Tan and Chris Dobstaff. more

Career development

3d

My Husband Can't Get a Job. Should I Divorce Him?

My husband is a very smart and capable person, but he became very sick in early 2020, and he has barely worked since then, despite tirelessly applying for positions. What can he do?

We recently moved so I could go to graduate school for music, but the stress of trying to make enough money to live on (even with help from my mom) has made it nearly impossible to focus and develop my skills. It's... literally ruining my life.

Currently he is doing an online master's program in computer science, but I worry that this will not improve his prospects. I don't really want to get divorced, but I think about it constantly. It's just too hard trying to support two adults as a nonprofit administrator. I can't live this way for the next 30-40 years.

Thanks for your help,

more

1

Boniface Ombati
2
18h
Very sad. I have been under care by my wife for a year now
1
rotich toroitich
3
2d
if you were the one jobless,would you want divorce
3

Teresa Livesey

Career development

2d

I haven’t been working at a small company for long and like to give my coworkers small gifts on holidays. It helps make the workplace friendly. Everyone is happy to get my gifts, but no one gives me anything back. It’s not about the price, even a cheap gift would be fine. It's the thought that matters. But my coworkers don’t seem to want to spend money. I don’t understand, are they just cheap or... do they not want to give gifts to me? I think I might stop giving them presents.

more

Al Leonard
19h
A reciprocal gifting culture doesnt exist in the way you want. Youre coping with that reality.
It's hard when we engage in a behavior that makes us... feel not-valued. You could set that desire aside and think about what benefits you recieve from giving without expectations. Do you enjoy seeing recipients happy with your gift? If thats not enough - Are there other less -grand ways to appreciate them that would set THEM up for success ? Less cost to you, less (unknown?) pressure on them?
If you want to give AND recieve gifts think about why that is. It seems this is taking space in your mind and something unpleasant is surfacing -agitation? confusion? When that happens I try to step back and hold those emotions tenderly. When we give gracefully to appreciate the recipient it's a beautiful gesture. When we recieve gracefully we shouldnt feel pressure . Your gifts are a kindness you put out there. We dont always get gifts exchanged tit for tat. more
Uma Aggarwal
19h
My attitude on gifts is simple. I give gifts because it makes me happy and, since I do not expect anything, any gift to me is a pleasant surprise.... Since it is no longer making you happy, you can taper them off and replace with having cookies or candy on your desk. Anybody can come and get it from your desk and will also talk to you. more

Career development

20h

New Research: Workers Pause Plans Amid Economic Uncertainty - HRTech Cube

* Economic uncertainty reshaping workforce benefits landscape: New research from Economist Enterprise on the evolving employee benefits landscape reveals how economic uncertainty is freezing career mobility, deepening retirement insecurity, and widening the benefits divide across America's workforce.

* Retirement and other milestones delayed: Financial pressures are forcing workers to delay... retirement by nearly four years, postpone major purchases like homes, and lead 35% to have taken hardship withdrawals.

* Job-hugging: 62% prioritize long-term security over higher pay and better benefits, and 30% have stopped job searching in the past five years.

New research from Economist Enterprise focused on employee benefits entitled, "Benefits 2.0", exposes three forces business leaders can't afford to ignore: economic uncertainty is freezing career mobility, pushing retirement out of reach, and forcing employees to raid savings and delay life decisions just to stay afloat -- at a real cost to both employees and employers.

The research -- supported by Nuveen, a TIAA company -- surveyed 2,063 full-time employed Americans aged 18-62, providing insights across industries including energy and utilities, manufacturing, sports, media and entertainment, financial services and insurance, and government. The findings reveal three forces reshaping how Americans work, save, and plan for the future -- and why business leaders can't afford to look away.

The great stay: job security over career mobility

America's workers are holding onto their jobs at a decade-low quit rate of 2%, and it's not always because they love their work, but instead are staying put out of fear of losing job security.

Caution, not confidence, characterizes how most American workers are approaching their careers, with 62% choosing long-term job security over seeking out new opportunities. The research paints a picture of a risk-averse workforce navigating economic uncertainty.

Job-search hesitation has become increasingly widespread, with 30% of workers reporting that they have stopped looking for new opportunities over the past five years due to concerns about job security. This trend is even more pronounced in certain sectors, rising to 35% among those in financial services and insurance and 34% in manufacturing. In contrast, government employees appear less affected, with 23% saying they have paused their job search for the same reason.

"America's workers are prioritizing job stability and a strong benefits package, signaling a shift in how workers weigh risk versus reward in today's competitive labor market," said Matt Terry, who led the research at Economist Enterprise. "This cautious approach reflects a broader trend: workers are increasingly valuing predictability over advancement, which could have lasting implications for career growth and economic mobility."

For most Americans, retirement is a moving target

Holding onto a stable job may feel like the safe choice, but for many workers true financial security remains out of reach. With respondents now expecting to retire nearly four years later than planned, the gap between expectations and reality is stark, nowhere more so than in retirement:

* Working longer out of necessity, not enjoyment: Of those who expect to work past their ideal retirement age, only 20% cite job satisfaction as the primary reason. Instead, rising living costs (47%) and healthcare expenses (41% -- rising to 50% among low-income workers) are the primary drivers of expected delays.

* Income shapes retirement expectations: Lower-income workers expect the largest gap, anticipating retiring roughly six years later than their ideal age.

* Retirement anxiety starts early: Even Gen Z -- many of whom just entered the workforce full-time -- expect retirement to be delayed by an average of five years.

* Retirement delays hit finance and manufacturing hardest: Workers in financial services & insurance expect the longest delay (5.1 years), followed by manufacturing (4.5 years). Government workers anticipate the shortest gap between ideal and expected retirement (2.9 years).

Raiding savings and delaying life decisions

To cope with financial pressures, workers aren't just adjusting their expectations. They're pulling from retirement savings and deferring major life milestones to stay afloat today:

* Borrowing from the future: About one-third of workers (35%) have, at some point, taken hardship withdrawals or loans from retirement accounts. Rates are highest in financial services & insurance (44%) and manufacturing (41%), and lowest among government workers (23%).

* Reduced retirement contributions: Thirty percent of workers say they have cut back retirement savings, rising to 36% among high-income workers.

* Major life purchases delayed: Three-quarters of workers (73%) have postponed buying a home or car, with millennials most affected (82%). Delayed purchases are highest in manufacturing (79%) and lowest among government workers (69%).

* Healthcare and family decisions deferred: Forty-three percent of workers say they have delayed or skipped medical care to avoid costs -- rising to 51% in manufacturing and financial services -- while one in four (25%) have postponed having children.

"The data in this report should give every employer pause. When workers feel financially insecure, they delay retirement, and that has real costs - both administrative and financial - for organizations carrying expensive, experienced employees who are ready to move on but don't believe they can afford to," said Brendan McCarthy, head of Nuveen Retirement Investing. "Employers have more power to change that than they might realise. At a time when employees are craving stability and certainty, employers can stand out as an employer of choice by delivering a more modern approach to benefits that can help employees navigate key life milestones with more confidence." more

Barbara Rivera

Career development

1w

I've been applying for work amd its going to be a year in July. IVE HAD ZERO LUCK. Even applied at fast food places and I still get denied.

Anyone else having this kind of luck ad can lend some guidance?

1

Leilani Barnett
1
1d
Barbara, take a look at your social media accounts, like Facebook. Make sure your posts are "business like" or "family oriented." No low-top pictures,... no silly poses, etc. People WILL look before hiring, so your posts need to be in line with the image the company wants to project. more
11 reply
The Bridal Party
1
5d
Do not put all your eggs in one basket. Apply for 10 jobs at a time, you'll probably get 4-5 interviews invitations. When attending interviews, do not... sound desperate. Just say you are very keen as you like the copany (and if you don't, do not accept the offer as you'll be jumping out of the frying pan into another fire). BUT make sure you tell them you have other interviews lined up and make it sound like you are in demand. I always had 5 interviews in hand and I was never desperate. Usually when I walk into an office, they won't let me out. Instead, they tell me to sit down and start work - immediately. BTW, NEVER mention you had or have any personal problems. Employers will select the one who is happy, smiley and has no problems. GOOD LUCK. more
11 reply

Career development

21h

Empower Your Future: Transformative Lessons from Career Development Conferences - Oconall Street

In the contemporary professional landscape, career development conferences play a pivotal role in shaping the trajectory of individuals' careers. These events are not just about networking; they are a cradle of innovation, learning, and personal growth. Attendees leave with a wealth of knowledge, actionable insights, and a renewed sense of purpose. The transformative power of these conferences... lies in their ability to provide both strategic and tactical guidance, tailored to a myriad of industries and roles. As the future of work continues to evolve, understanding and leveraging these opportunities becomes increasingly crucial.

Key Takeaways from Career Development Conferences

Career development conferences offer a multitude of lessons that can significantly impact one's professional journey. These include:

* Networking Opportunities: Engaging with industry leaders and peers can open doors to new opportunities and collaborations. Developing a robust professional network is essential for career advancement.

* Industry Insights: Conferences provide a platform to gain insight into industry trends and future directions. This knowledge can inform career decisions and strategic planning.

* Skill Enhancement: Workshops and sessions often focus on skill development, helping attendees to refine existing skills and acquire new ones. Explore advanced guides and tips.

Strategic Career Planning

Strategic career planning is a key theme in many conferences, emphasizing the importance of setting clear career goals and developing a roadmap to achieve them. This involves:

Understanding Market Needs

Aligning personal skills and aspirations with market needs is crucial. Conferences often highlight emerging job roles and industries, providing a blueprint for future-ready career paths. Find out more about this approach.

Personal Brand Development

Establishing a personal brand is increasingly important in the digital age. Conferences offer insights into building a compelling personal narrative that resonates with potential employers and clients. Discover expert strategies here.

Innovative Learning Methods

The evolution of learning methods is a focal point at career development conferences. Participants are exposed to:

* Interactive Workshops: Hands-on sessions that allow practitioners to apply concepts in real-time, enhancing retention and understanding.

* Panel Discussions: Diverse perspectives on industry challenges and opportunities, fostering a deeper understanding of complex topics.

* Case Studies: Real-world examples that illustrate successful strategies and solutions. Learn about our tailored solutions.

Conclusion

Attending career development conferences is an investment in one's professional future. These events offer invaluable insights, skills, and connections that can catalyze personal and organizational growth. As the workforce continues to navigate rapid changes, staying informed and adaptable is imperative. Embrace the transformative power of career development conferences to unlock new possibilities and empower your career trajectory. For more comprehensive resources and guidance, explore advanced guides and tips.

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Nikolas Rumeliotti

Career development

5d

Hello! It’s an open position in my department and we’re choosing between two candidates: an experienced 48-year-old man and a recent college graduate with no experience but very motivated. I prefer the second candidate, as she will learn fast and work well. But our company director wants to hire the experienced man. To me, he seemed a bit dry and a little tired.
Who would you choose? Thanks for... your advice

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3

mwaura david
22h
The problem originated from ypur advert and shortlisting. If properly done theres no way the two would have appeared to be interviewed. It means you... didnt know what you wanted more
Renata Fester
1d
There are advantages and disadvantages to both. The experienced person is going to take a shorter time to onboard and get up to speed (pro) BUT may... not have the experience on newer technology or may bring baggage(e.g. unwillingness to share work or teach others), which could potentially impact delivery (con). The younger person will bring a fresh eagerness (pro) but will take a minimum of 3 months to get up to speed(con). This means someone will need to spend that time handholding and ensuring errors are spotted, which could be expensive if human resources are thin. Ultimately, it is the boss's choice, and you may need to wrap your head around that reality. Your views on the matter become irrelevant when the directors are the decision makers. Additionally, if they do bring on the more experienced person, you could very well earn a thing or two from him. Never underestimate the value of experience over eagerness. more
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Career development

1d

Out: Résumés: In: Weeklong in-office trials.

Business Insider tells the global tech, finance, stock market, media, economy, lifestyle, real estate, AI and innovative stories you want to know.

When Ellis Neder interviewed for a job as head of design at Foxglove three years ago, a platform for robotics developers, he was asked to come in for a few days to work. He was hesitant to invest the time, but took some days off and... flew to Foxglove's San Francisco offices to work over a long weekend.

Neder tells me he loved it. The work trial, which involved fixing a user experience issue within Foxglove's app, let him see up close the pace at which the team moved, how the startup's leadership team functioned, and the bigger problems he would tackle upon joining.Now he oversees work trials for other prospective employees at Foxglove, as the company uses them for every role. People ask him, "Can I use AI during my work trial?" Neder answers, "We expect you to use AI, and we will give you whatever AI tools you want." It's not just about evaluating a candidate's competency. "We want them to see what it's like to really work with us."Last month, I wrote that the age of AI, the résumé has lost its cachet. Online job portals are launching them into the void. Instead of relying on your past experience, recruiters are more actively sourcing candidates on LinkedIn, relying on referrals, and putting job seekers through work trials, job simulations, or picking people based on personality traits.Welcome to the show your work era of job hunting. It's not enough to ace an interview and list your GPA and previous employers -- job seekers need to demonstrate those skills and aptitudes live. AI lets everyone talk; your next boss wants to be sure you can walk. Just as college professors have pivoted back to in-person Blue Book exams and middle school math teachers require equations written out step-by-step, hiring managers are looking for workers who can back up what they say they know. The job interview has always been a sort of audition; now companies are increasingly looking for people who can get on the proverbial stage and perform -- not just to prove that they're real in a world of generative AI fakes and frauds, but also to show that they can use AI.AI is "changing not just how we get the job, but what we do in the job and what's expected of us in the job as well," says Patrick McCue, senior vice president at talent management firm Right Management. Companies want workers who combine hard and soft skills, like vibe coding marketing managers. People who can add AI skills to their portfolio and show how they would use them are increasingly valuable. "The future job market is going to definitely benefit the bold -- people who are willing to put themselves out there with just a little bit of knowledge and understanding, knowing that they will be able to fulfill whatever it is they're asked to do."During the 2000s, employers added degree requirements to jobs that had previously been open to those without college degrees, like managers, administrative assistants, sales representatives, and IT workers. But between 2017 and 2019, when companies struggled to fill managerial and IT roles in particular, companies dropped degree requirements by 46% for middle-skill positions, and by nearly a third for high-skill ones, according to research published by Harvard Business Review in 2022. Companies like Google and IBM hopped on the trend. Some positions in healthcare followed suit in 2020, as the pressure to hire workers during the Covid-19 pandemic hit. Skills-based hiring, which emphasizes assessments over credentials, started to rise.Now, as the job market tightened and companies have shed the employees they overhired during the 2010s tech boom, employers are even hungrier for skills. The hype around generative AI and Silicon Valley's promises of a new era of productivity have amplified the drive to hire the most effective people. The number of job postings requiring AI skills has quadrupled, from about 50,000 in March 2024 to nearly 200,000 last month, according to an analysis from the Brookings Institution. A 2025 survey from the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that the proportion of employers who say they're using skills-based hiring increased from 65% to 70% from 2024 to 2025. More than 60% of 3,500 business leaders surveyed in late 2025 by payment intelligence firm Payscale said they had updated the expectations of existing roles to include AI usage -- at both tech and non-tech jobs.And just as candidates need to show more of their work to get hired, they need to show more skills to stay employed. Revenue per employee metrics are back -- Meta's revenue per employee has jumped as the company implemented layoffs and adopted AI over the past three years, now averaging more than $2.5 million per worker. Big Tech companies are tracking how workers use AI and adding AI competency to performance reviews, trying to crystalize the murky relationship between the technology and productivity gains. The shift towards skills "opens the door for a lot of people that may not have opportunities," says Rick Smith, a professor at Johns Hopkins University who also directs the Human Capital Development Lab. "It then creates a challenge for employers with, OK, how do you measure these skills and competencies?"Startups are racing to build the new interview standard. There's Rounds, a work simulator that gives candidates tests ranging from 30 to 90 minutes for roles like software engineering, design, social media marketing, in content, and for product and technical leaders. The company uses an AI agent named Sophia, who takes job candidates through an interview process that includes technical simulations and questions. AI use is not just allowed, but part of the evaluation. "Every enterprise wants to build AI native teams, and consequently, they have to change their hiring process to test for how well people work with AI," says Fardeen Khimani, CEO of Rounds.Live tests and work trials are appealing because they take away the questions of whether someone cheated by overrelying on AI. Foxglove tells me they have extended offers to eight of the 13 people who completed them in the last 90 days. This isn't just for jobs like software engineering, which saw its industry standard technical interviews upended by AI early on. Michelle Volberg, founder and CEO of recruiting software company Twill, tells me that she has seen processes where candidates for finance jobs are asked to decipher spreadsheets during interviews. "Every single function you can think of, there is some sort of live component to it," she says.But even work trials and simulations might fail to capture the highly sought after trait bosses are seeking: adaptability. "Work is changing so quickly, because of AI, that job descriptions will be varying," McCue says. Some employers are looking not just at skills-mapping, but capability-mapping, he says, or seeking soft skills that correlate to success on the job. Davide Grieco, head of growth at software company Clay, tells me that his new team doesn't come from Big Tech companies or with years of marketing experience. Instead, he selected for personality traits he thought would equip workers for success: obsession, creativity, and the ability to multitask, putting those traits above more traditional qualifications. He hired a top NCAA artistic swimmer; someone who had juggled gigs across a nonprofit and a floral business; and an applicant who joined a livestream Grieco hosted and started participating. Work experience didn't matter, adaptability did. "The problem is everything changes so fast," Grieco says. "Knowing how to do something today doesn't mean that you know how to do something in six months."Volberg has seen the uptick in demand for former athletes, too. "The majority of people that we work with would much rather hire somebody with no experience or like one to two years of experience that played on a sports team or did something competitively in a field that they have some level of interest in." She says AI and vibe coding are fueling the trend that values personality traits over white-collar experience. The question is no longer: "How am I going to make this person more efficient?" she says. Instead, they think: "I'm going to hire this person to make the team more efficient."At small companies, the work trial is critical to assess dollars spent on a small batch of hires. Peter Grafe, cofounder of AI marketing platform BlueAlpha, says he has used work trials to find about half of his 12-person team. The company will bring candidates in for several days, and pay them $2,000 or cover their travel expenses to San Francisco. "Everyone can code something within 48 hours," Grafe says. "But what we want to understand is how do you think, how critically do you assess things, and then are you using AI tools to make yourself 10X faster?"Results are outweighing credentials and prestige. Jake Ward, cofounder of internet search agency Contact, posted a link to an application portal on LinkedIn. "I don't care about your CV or what degree you have. Just what you've created, written, launched, or the results you've driven," his post read. Days later, Ward told me the firm had received more than 1,000 applicants for six open roles -- a large pool for the small company. The portal asks just for name, email, role they're interested in, years of experience, and then an open-ended response about two or three projects the applicant is proud of. "All we really care about is results -- results for our clients, results for our users, results for our product, and a CV doesn't tell you that, their past experience does," Ward says. "I would love to see the thing that broke and how you thought about that thing and how you got it back to where it needs to be."For larger companies, sorting droves of applicants by degrees is much easier than skills-based hiring, Moe Hutt, director of strategic consulting services at recruitment advertising agency HireClix, tells me. When inundated with applications, they're still putting candidates to a test, but that's often because they're trying to evaluate whether a person and their qualifications are real in an age of AI, rather than put their aptitude above their past experience. "The knee-jerk reaction is to put something in front of them: a test," Hutt says. "Companies are able to do this right now because it is an employer market." If the market shifts, employers may change their demands on candidates. But it's likely that the change in showing, not just telling, that you're the best fit for a job sticks.Amanda Hoover is a senior correspondent at Business Insider covering the tech industry. She writes about the biggest tech companies and trends.

Hiring Generative AI

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Career development

1d

Salvador and the Human Side of More Than 100 Job Openings in Nazaré

salvador is preparing for a day when a school corridor in Nazaré will carry more than class schedules and foot traffic. On Wednesday, a fair of employability and entrepreneurship will bring more than 100 job and internship opportunities to the neighborhood, alongside free services that reach beyond work and into daily life.

What will happen in Nazaré on Wednesday ?

The event will run from 8: 30... a. m. to 3 p. m. at Grau Educacional, Fonte Nova unit, in Nazaré. It is part of another edition of the Feira de Empregabilidade e Empreendedorismo organized by Grau Educacional. The openings span sectors such as telemarketing, administration, logistics, construction, and information technology, giving the day a practical focus for people looking for work or a first step into the labor market.

Participation is open to interested people aged 16 and older. To join the selection processes, they should arrive with personal documents and a résumé, either printed or in digital form. The organization will distribute service tickets throughout the day to help keep the selection flow orderly.

Why does this fair matter beyond the vacancies?

The event reflects a wider need in salvador: access to entry points that are close to everyday life and not limited to a single type of worker. A fair with more than 100 opportunities can matter differently to someone seeking a first internship, a person changing fields, or a resident trying to reconnect with formal employment after time away from it. In a city where job seeking can be shaped by timing, transport, and access to information, a local event lowers some of those barriers for one day.

It also places job searching beside services that support the rest of a person's routine. The fair will offer massotherapy, nutrition guidance, oral hygiene advice, eye care, financial orientation, beauty consulting, professional training, and other activities tied to well-being and personal development. That mix turns the event into more than a hiring line; it becomes a place where work, health, and confidence are treated as connected needs.

Which services will be offered for free?

Free services will be available throughout the day for the public. These include massotherapy, consultation with a nutritionist, guidance on good oral hygiene practices, eye care, financial orientation, beauty consulting, and professional training. The structure suggests an effort to welcome people who may come for a vacancy but leave with something else useful for their daily lives.

For many visitors, the practical value may be immediate. A person who comes in search of an interview may also receive advice that helps with job readiness, health concerns, or budget decisions. In that way, the fair is built around the full experience of trying to move forward, not just the final step of handing in a résumé.

Who is taking part in the selection process?

Several partner institutions will be present, including SIMM, CIEE, IEL, and Isbet, along with recruitment agencies such as Grow RH and Habilita RH. Their presence broadens the range of opportunities available on site and gives the fair a multi-institution shape rather than a single-employer format.

The organizers have set the event up to handle movement across the day, which matters when a public selection process brings together candidates, service stations, and health support. For families, students, and adults seeking alternatives, the fair offers a concentrated window of access in one neighborhood, on one day, with one clear purpose: open doors.

For salvador, the scene in Nazaré may feel ordinary by the end of the day, with people leaving carrying papers, advice, or an appointment made for later. But that ordinary movement is the point. A line at the door, a résumé in hand, and a free consultation next to the interview desk can turn a Wednesday into a first attempt at something larger. more

Career development

1d

The End of Resumes: Why Work Trials Are the New Hiring Standard - Newsy Today

When Ellis Neder interviewed for the role of head of design at Foxglove, a platform for robotics developers, he wasn't asked to provide a polished portfolio or a list of accolades. Instead, he was asked to show up and actually do the job. He flew to San Francisco for a long weekend, spent several days in the office, and worked through a real-world user experience issue within the company's app. It... was a trial by fire -- and Neder loved it.

Today, Neder oversees these work trials for every single role at Foxglove. When candidates ask if they can use AI during the process, his answer is a definitive yes: "We expect you to use AI, and we will give you whatever AI tools you seek." For Foxglove, the trial isn't just a competency test; it is a window into the company's actual pace and a way to ensure a candidate can "walk" in an era where generative AI allows almost anyone to "talk."

The death of the paper trail

The traditional résumé is losing its cachet. In a landscape flooded with AI-generated "slop," hiring managers are increasingly viewing online portals as voids. The result is a pivot toward a "show your work" era of job hunting. It is no longer enough to list a GPA or a former employer; candidates are being asked to perform live, much like a musician's audition or a student's in-person exam.

This shift is driven by a fundamental distrust of static credentials. AI has made it possible to fabricate expertise or polish a CV to perfection, but it cannot simulate the ability to solve a problem in real-time under the gaze of a team. This is why companies are turning to work simulators -- such as Rounds, which uses an AI agent named Sophia to lead candidates through technical simulations -- or asking finance applicants to decipher complex spreadsheets on the spot.

The data suggests this is more than a startup trend. According to an analysis from the Brookings Institution, job postings requiring AI skills quadrupled from roughly 50,000 in March 2024 to nearly 200,000 recently. A 2025 survey from the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that the proportion of employers using skills-based hiring rose to 70%.

The adaptability premium

Beyond hard technical skills, there is a growing obsession with "capability-mapping" -- the search for traits that correlate with success in a volatile environment. Some leaders are now prioritizing personality over prestige. Davide Grieco, head of growth at Clay, has built a team not from Huge Tech veterans, but from people demonstrating "obsession, creativity, and the ability to multitask." His hires include a top NCAA artistic swimmer and an applicant who simply joined his livestream and started participating.

This trend toward "vibe coding" and adaptability is echoed by recruiting experts like Michelle Volberg of Twill, who notes a surge in demand for former athletes. The logic is simple: in a world where AI changes the nature of a job every six months, knowing how to do a specific task today is less valuable than the innate ability to learn and pivot tomorrow.

For minor firms, this approach is a risk-mitigation strategy. Peter Grafe, cofounder of BlueAlpha, pays candidates $2,000 or covers their travel to San Francisco for multi-day trials. "Everyone can code something within 48 hours," Grafe says. The goal is to see how a candidate thinks and whether they can use AI to become "10X faster."

Efficiency as the new benchmark

The pressure to prove value doesn't end at the hiring stage; it has moved into performance reviews. Big Tech companies are now tracking exactly how employees use AI to justify productivity gains. Meta provides a stark example: after implementing layoffs and adopting AI over the last three years, the company's revenue per employee has jumped to an average of more than $2.5 million per worker.

However, a tension remains between the agility of startups and the inertia of large corporations. For massive firms, sorting thousands of applicants by degree is simply easier than conducting individual skills assessments. Moe Hutt of HireClix notes that while large companies are adding tests to their process, it is often a "knee-jerk reaction" to verify that a candidate is real, rather than a genuine attempt to prioritize aptitude over experience.

Despite this, the trajectory is clear. Whether it is through an application portal that ignores CVs entirely -- like the one used by Jake Ward of Contact -- or a week-long in-office trial, the burden of proof has shifted. The modern candidate is no longer asked to tell the employer what they can do; they are expected to do it.

How is AI actually changing the interview process?

AI is acting as both the disruptor and the tool. Because it can automate the creation of resumes and cover letters, employers are moving toward live simulations and "work trials" to verify authenticity. Simultaneously, AI is being integrated into the evaluation itself; companies now expect candidates to use AI tools to solve problems faster, treating AI competency as a core requirement rather than a bonus.

Why are companies hiring former athletes or people from non-traditional backgrounds?

Employers are increasingly valuing "adaptability" over specific white-collar experience. Because AI evolves so rapidly, specific technical knowledge can become obsolete quickly. Traits associated with competitive athletics -- such as discipline, obsession, and the ability to perform under pressure -- are seen as better indicators of a candidate's ability to thrive in a rapidly changing workplace.

What does "revenue per employee" have to do with AI hiring?

It serves as a metric for AI's impact on productivity. Companies like Meta are using this figure to demonstrate that a smaller, AI-empowered workforce can generate more value than a larger, traditional one. This creates a higher bar for new hires, who must now prove they can integrate AI into their workflow to maintain or increase these efficiency levels.

Will the traditional resume disappear entirely?

While unlikely to vanish completely -- especially in large corporations where it remains a convenient sorting tool -- the resume is losing its status as a primary validator of talent. The market is shifting toward a model where results, launched projects, and live demonstrations of skill carry more weight than a list of previous employers or degrees.

As the barrier between "talking" and "doing" continues to shrink, are you prepared to audition for your next job? more

Anonymous member

Career development

4d

I’ve been working at a big bank for six months, and I still can’t get used to how people treat each other. Many employees look down on drivers, cleaners, maintenance staff, and kitchen assistants. They treat them like they are “lower”.
I can’t act like that and try to be kind and respectful to everyone. But my colleagues criticize me for it and even push me to be rude to support staff.
How can I... stand my ground and help others treat them with respect?

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1

ANTHONY Engena
1d
Someone once said charity begins at home
Treat all members the way u want them to treat you and remember this world is round the person you treat... badly today may be your boss at one point more
Patrice Mack
2d
They can't push you to be rude, that is a choice you make. Perhaps you should criticize them for their behavior.
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