Anonymous member


Career development 23h

A recruiter asked me for my current salary before discussing the role. Is there any benefit to answering honestly?

  • Tiana Hercules

    1h

    Illegal question in my State. I’d ask them the range of the position being offered. Your current salary is not relevant.

    2

  • Peter Gyanden Kughur

    3h

    It may sound funny! However, there is every need to answer the question with all sincerity. It is almost similar to asking for a payslip in your... former place of work for proper placement.  more

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Anonymous member


Career development 1d

I accidentally saw a spreadsheet showing salaries, and I'm earning much less than coworkers with similar responsibilities. Do I admit how I found out, or focus only on market rates?
5   

  • Peter Farrell

    3h

    Having seen this information, you have the following questions to answer yourself:
    1. Am I going to do anything about this or just get used to the... fact that I'm paid less than others?
    2. Do I draw up a battle plan to assess myself against others at my level and go for a raise or do I plan my exit?
    3. Do I leverage the fact that I have seen this information or keep that fact to myself? If I choose to leverage it, how and with whom?
    4. Does the degree of insincerity and contempt for workers that this information reveals tell me I made a mistake coming to work here or would I do the same thing if I were in their shoes?

    Once all three questions are answered sincerely, move forward immediately.

    No company is going to pay anybody one dime more than they have to. If they can get a steal of a deal on your smarts and hard work, they will. Business has no morality. Never has.     more

    1

  • Onyebuchi chukwuemelie

    11h

    That shows the dishonesty in the entire company and probably this maybe affecting the image of the company

    1
Load more...

Career development

 9h

Strategy over spray-and-pray: NxtJob.ai bets nine AI agents can fix the senior job hunt


The mathematics of the open job market can be unforgiving. Robin, a manager with twenty years of experience, applied to five or six hundred openings over two and a half years; the return, by his count, was a single interview.

"Out of five hundred or six hundred applications, I received one interview, probably one or two, max," says Robin, now a Director of Delivery.

Bengaluru-based NxtJob.ai,... the platform Robin eventually used, reads that failure specifically: the constraint at senior levels is not capability but strategy. It deploys nine AI agents alongside human consultants across the job-search funnel, and was founded by Major Richik Sinha Roy, a serving Indian Army officer who earlier built recruitment-tech venture HyreSnap.

"The market doesn't reward the most capable person in the room. It rewards the one with the better strategy," says Major Richik, its founder and chief executive.

His premise: At senior levels the search is a second job in itself; treat it as a few clicks after dinner and the market responds in kind, with silence.

Screened out in seconds

The platform first re-engineers the résumé, arguing candidates misunderstand what reads it: before any recruiter sees a name, an applicant tracking system (ATS) screens it in seconds, on formatting and keywords. A résumé written for a human reader may never reach one.

The opposite failure is equally costly. Srinivasan, another client, had ChatGPT "optimize" his résumé; it cleared screening on achievements he never had, and did not, he says, survive five minutes in the interviews it secured.

The fix is structural: one exhaustive "master résumé" of every project, number and achievement, tailored fresh for each role. Agent Navigator maps the career into the master document; Tailor generates the customised pitch per opening.

The market that never gets posted

Its second focus is discovery, resting on a widely cited career-coaching claim: as much as 70 per cent of desirable leadership roles are never publicly advertised. An industry estimate, not an audit; still, the company argues, candidates are competing over a fraction of the real market.

The logic it offers is cost. A posted senior role draws thousands of applicants, some using bots, and filtering them consumes weeks of human effort. Employers route around it by filling roles through people: a referral, a call between professionals who trust each other.

"While you're refreshing job boards at midnight, the role you wanted was filled by someone who never applied. They simply got introduced," Major Richik says.

For roles that are findable, agent Hunter extends coverage past obvious job boards into company career pages, Boolean searches and fresh listings, including the several titles single job can hide behind.

Proposals, and the offer table

Access to the unadvertised segment runs through relationships, which most professionals, the founder argues, reduce to fifty connection requests and "Hi, can you refer me?" His alternative: find the two or three people inside a target company and build a relationship credible enough that they would attach their name to yours. Agent Networker identifies contacts and follows up, using the company's WIN Method: a Well-researched problem, an Insightful solution, a Narrative connecting the two.

Beyond a decade of experience, he argues, interviews become meetings, two professionals deciding whether to work together. Agent Pitcher researches a target company's specific problems and packages a problem-solution narrative delivered straight to the decision-maker who owns them, bypassing recruiters altogether.

"It turns 'please consider me' into 'here's what I'd already started fixing on day one.' You're not sending applications anymore. You're sending proposals," he says.

Agent Interviewer drills structured mock interviews with STAR-based storytelling. Robin, who went through the material "ten to fifteen times", entered a final round for a Technical Program Delivery Manager role and left with an offer for the more senior Director of Delivery position.

On price, the counsel is to treat the offer as the start of a negotiation. Major Richik claims recruiters routinely hold 30 to 40 per cent more budget than their opening number, and cites an estimate that a professional can forgo Rs 8-10 crore over a lifetime by failing to learn how to negotiate; Negotiator benchmarks the role and rehearses the counter-offer. The company is explicit these figures are its own estimates.

Major Richik calls the venture personal, built after watching capable people lose, first to a filter, then to silence, then to a process he believes was never designed to recognise them. He points prospective clients to a two-day weekend bootcamp that walks through the complete method.

His closing argument, to the senior professional still assuming a track record speaks for itself: nobody reaches that level unprepared. They got there with a strategy every single time, and this is not the moment to break that streak.

Topics : OpenAI

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First Published: Jul 13 2026 | 4:40 PM IST more

Career development

 9h

8 Ways Universities Can Recognise Student Achievement Beyond Grades


Recognition programs have the potential to set students up for real post-college success, but is your program truly recognising all student skill sets?

Student recognition strategies must go beyond GPAs to reward students for in-demand job skills, such as communication-based soft skills, advanced technical knowledge, nonprofit experience, environmental stewardship, networking, and adaptable... leadership. These skill sets also require the type of creative problem-solving employers are looking for.

The key is to create holistic recognition programs that take all demonstrated achievements into account through co-curricular records (CCRs), micro-credentials and digital badges, competency-based portfolios, leadership and citizenship awards, peer-to-peer recognition systems, innovation and entrepreneurship grants, campus media highlights, and holistic merit awards.

1. Co-Curricular Records (CCRs)

Highly driven students regularly take on extracurricular activities outside of the classroom, but these achievements aren't reflected in a traditional academic transcript.

Co-Curricular Records (CCRs) solve this problem by issuing official, institutionally verified documents (with university seals) that chronicle structured involvement and achievements outside of the lecture hall. CCRs go beyond self-reporting, adding more weight and credibility to résumés and internship applications.

CCRs are best for validating leadership roles, volunteer hours, and active club memberships. Student success teams can use tracking software that allows students to log activities and references for CCRs. At the end of the semester, students can download their CCRs through the school registrar, similar to official grade transcripts.

2. Micro-Credentials and Digital Badges

Think of your student recognition strategy as a career development program.

Boost post-graduation success rates by issuing verifiable, skill-based micro-credentials that students can upload to their LinkedIn profiles. Students can earn them through specialised workshops, bootcamps, and online training modules in career-relevant areas.

This strategy is best for relevant skills, such as coding, web design, AI app development, data analytics, and more high-growth sectors.

Partner with professors, guest instructors, and companies to create immersive training programs that showcase real hands-on experience. Work with a student web development team to create stackable learning modules that issue milestone digital badges with University seals.

3. Competency-Based Portfolios

To supplement academic transcripts, micro-credentials, and CCRs, launch a competency-based portfolio dashboard that allows students to curate a collection of work they're most proud of, such as:

* Product development mockups

* Research papers

* Coding projects

* Video demonstrations

* Public artworks

Students could turn their portfolios into websites or shareable links through the University's domain or a partner web host.

4. Leadership and Citizenship Awards

Leverage your student recognition program to shape the leaders and changemakers of tomorrow. In addition to credentialing and work portfolios, help natural leaders hone their skills through leadership development programs that inspire:

* Community advocacy

* Fundraising

* Networking

* Environmental stewardship

* Business innovation

At the end of each program, hold a gala dinner to recognise top performers with university awards, including custom engraving for plaques. Create distinct award categories for community impact, inclusivity, innovation, and more, then build an online nomination portal where faculty, staff, and student peers can vote for recipients.

5. Peer-to-Peer Recognition Systems

Award nominations are one example of a peer-to-peer recognition system. These systems foster a sense of belonging and respect among students, ensuring all hardworking students are recognised for their contributions.

Introduce collaboration apps, such as Slack or Microsoft Teams, that bring student success program members together. For example, if you're running an environmental changemakers club, you could create a Slack channel for "Green Leaders." Club members can give digital kudos and shout-outs to fellow members on the app, while also organising the next event.

6. Innovation and Entrepreneurship Grants

Reward big thinkers with grants that honour their innovation and entrepreneurial drive, directly funding their student-led startups, social enterprises, and creative productions. For instance, your program could award a business innovation grant to a green startup that makes eco-friendly ergonomic desks or an environmental stewardship grant to a student who started a community garden and farmers market.

To fund these grants, allocate a portion from the university and the rest from local businesses, nonprofits, and individual investors. You could also plan a pitch event where students pitch their projects for funding and receive mentorship sessions from business and nonprofit leaders.

7. Campus Media Highlights

Feature grant recipients and gala award winners in campus newspapers and alumni newsletters, showcasing their achievements to the greater community. These features could even be picked up by local newspapers and blogs, adding to students' LinkedIn profile citations.

Work with campus cinema departments to set up student film festivals that recognise and award student filmmaking achievements. University newspapers and local publications can both cover the event, creating more credible mentions for students. This exposure can help student filmmakers break further into the film festival circuit.

8. All-Around Achievement

Round out your student recognition program with all-around merit awards that assess "holistic" achievement across distinct pillars, such as:

* Ethics

* Academics

* Volunteer work

* Cultural awareness

* Creativity

* Technology

These awards encourage well-rounded development in students, serving as an important reminder that ethical practice is just as valuable as academic practice. Recognising good awareness also teaches students that self and global awareness matter when they're working toward a goal.

Taking creativity and technology into account reaffirms the value of these skills while recognising students' unique contributions in these areas.

Motivate Student Success

Turn your recognition program into a true engine of student success, with the help of CCRs, micro-credentials, skill-based portfolios, gala awards, peer shout-outs, grants, media mentions, and all-around recognition. Partner with University departments, local publications, and community leaders to bring these programs to life.

Discover more resources to inspire student success. Follow us for news on student competitions, study strategies, exam prep, and emerging leaders. more

Career development

 10h

3 HR Coordinator Résumé Examples To Help You Land Your Ideal Job + [FREE Template]


HR Coordinator résumé examples provide an easy way to see what a strong application looks like in practice, and the impact it can have on your HR career. Additionally, according to Revelio Labs data, a Human Resources Coordinator based in the U.S. can earn $48,000 to $60,000 a year.

That makes the HR Coordinator role a solid entry point into Human Resources, but a generic résumé won't help you... stand out. This article shows you how to write a résumé that's clear, relevant, and built around the results employers and recruiters want to see. It also features a free, customizable HR Coordinator résumé template you can adapt to your career plans.

Contents

What makes an HR Coordinator résumé stand out?

What to put on a résumé for an HR Coordinator role

Key skills to put on an HR Coordinator résumé

3 HR Coordinator résumé examples to inspire yours

Free HR Coordinator résumé template

FAQ

What makes an HR Coordinator résumé stand out?

A polished HR Coordinator résumé isn't enough on its own. In fact, 47% of recruiters spend only 30 seconds to one minute reviewing a résumé during the first screening. This means yours must stand out from the start. One way to do this is to make key information easy for recruiters to spot and read.

To stand out, your résumé should include:

* Quantified achievements instead of just listed duties: Add numbers that show what you achieved, such as onboarding volume, time to fill support, HRIS data accuracy, number of employees supported, or turnaround time for employee requests.

* Tailoring to the specific job posting: Mirror the job title and must-have keywords from the role. According to Jobscan, 76.4% of recruiters filter by skills, 55.3% by job titles, and 44% by years of experience. Aligning your résumé with the target job title can also increase your interview rate by 10.6 times.

* Evidence of HR tools and systems: If you've used HRIS, ATS, payroll, or reporting tools such as Workday, Greenhouse, iCIMS, ADP, or Excel, include them.

* Clean, ATS-friendly formatting: Use a single-column format and standard section headers (e.g., "Work Experience" and "Education"). Creative layouts may look good, but they can be harder for ATS software to read.

* Signals of growth: Jobscan also reported that 50.6% of recruiters filter résumés by licenses and certifications. In addition to being a reputable credential, a relevant HR certification can also help your résumé pass an initial screen.

Conversely, the fastest way to get filtered out is to use generic summaries, duty-only bullets, missing keywords, or cluttered formatting. If you want to see how these principles work in practice, review real HR Coordinator résumé examples before you start writing.

How long should an HR Coordinator résumé be?

An HR Coordinator résumé should usually be one page, especially if you have under 10 years of experience. Recruiters scan quickly, and a focused one-page résumé keeps your best and most relevant information in view.

A second page only makes sense if you have extensive, highly relevant experience, usually at a senior HR Coordinator level. If you can't fit everything on one page, make sure the top half of the first page includes your strongest match for the role.

What to put on a résumé for an HR Coordinator role

AIHR's breakdown of the HR Coordinator role organizes responsibilities into three areas. Use these to shape your résumé, then review the HR Coordinator résumé examples below for reference.

Here are the standard sections you'll usually see in an HR Coordinator résumé and what to include in each.

Contact header with the target title

Most recruiters filter résumés by job title, so use the same title as the job posting. Include your full name, phone number, email address, and LinkedIn profile if relevant.

Summary or objective

Use three to five sentences to describe your qualifications and tailor them to the job description. If you're new to HR, use an objective. If you already have HR experience, use a summary.

Skills

List your skills in short bullet points so they're easy to scan. Include both interpersonal skills and specific tools you can use, such as HRIS, ATS, payroll, and Excel.

Experience

Don't just describe what you were responsible for; show what you achieved. For example, explain how you helped reduce time-to-hire, improved onboarding, supported payroll accuracy, or handled employee requests faster.

Education

Add your degree in HR, business, psychology, or a related field. As 59.7% of recruiters filter by educational background, make this information easy to find.

HR credentials

Include relevant HR or recruitment certifications, such as SHRM, HRCI, or AIHR credentials. A solid HR Coordinator résumé usually combines relevant education with HR-specific coursework or certification.

What to leave out

* Photos

* Full home address

* Unrelated older roles

* Vague duty statements

* Irrelevant credentials.

An HR Coordinator's exact duties vary by employer. Prioritize the responsibilities and keywords in each job posting rather than copying an HR Coordinator résumé sample word-for-word.

Key skills to put on an HR Coordinator résumé

Succeeding as an HR Coordinator takes a mix of technical and interpersonal skills. The role sits at the center of HR operations, compliance, and employee experience. Below are essential HR Coordinator résumé skills to consider.

Technical skills

HR Coordinators are often expected to use HRIS, payroll, and ATS tools such as BambooHR, Lever, ADP, Workday, Greenhouse, or iCIMS. They also maintain employee records, support HR administration, and prepare basic reports in tools such as Excel.

Example: "Built a monthly HR reporting dashboard in Excel, cutting report prep time from two days to four hours."

Interpersonal skills

HR Coordinators need strong written and verbal communication skills. They work with employees across levels and backgrounds, often while balancing shifting priorities.

Example: "Served as the first point of contact for 100+ employee HR queries weekly, resolving 90% within 24 hours."

Cognitive skills

Attention to detail is essential because payroll, contracts, employee records, and HRIS updates need to be accurate. Problem-solving also matters when employee questions, process gaps, or scheduling issues come up.

Example: "Achieved 99.8% payroll accuracy across 200+ employee records over 12 consecutive pay cycles."

AI skills

At 83%, AI proficiency is HR's biggest skills gap. Building AI skills early can help HR Coordinators work faster and stay relevant. Focus on prompting, checking AI outputs, and using ethical judgment when AI supports HR processes.

Example: "Used AI tools to draft onboarding communications, cutting prep time by 15%."

When listing skills, keep the section short and targeted. A focused set of skills matched to the job description will work better than a long, generic list.

3 HR Coordinator résumé examples to inspire yours

No matter your experience level, the best HR Coordinator résumé is the one tailored to the job in front of you. Use these HR Coordinator résumé examples for structure, but replace the details with your own achievements, tools, and numbers. That's what turns a template into a résumé that can help you get the interview.

1. Résumé for HR Coordinator with no experience (entry-level)

If you're new to HR, lead with an HR Coordinator résumé objective instead of a summary. An objective states your goal and highlights transferable strengths, since you don't have HR achievements to lead with yet.

2. HR Coordinator résumé (one to three years' experience)

At this stage, switch to an HR Coordinator résumé summary. A summary leads with achievements instead of goals, since you now have real results to show.

3. Senior HR Coordinator résumé

At the senior level, your résumé summary should show scope and ownership, not just completed tasks.

Free HR Coordinator résumé template

AIHR has created a free HR Coordinator résumé template you can download. You can customize it based on the job posting you're applying for to showcase your most relevant skills and qualifications. Download it using the button below.

Next steps

A well-built HR Coordinator résumé should make your fit for the role obvious. Start by matching your résumé to the job posting, then turn duties into measurable achievements wherever you can.

As you grow in the role, keep building practical HR skills across onboarding, HR administration, policies, communication, HRIS, and AI-supported workflows. That's what helps you move from completing tasks to showing a clear HR impact. AIHR's builds the applied skills that make your résumé more than a list of duties. more

Career development

 10h

I've interviewed more than 100 job seekers. These are the stories I can't stop thinking about.


* I interviewed more than 100 job seekers about navigating today's labor market.

* They shared the lengths they've gone to find work and the financial hardships they've encountered.

* Together, their stories reveal how much job searching has changed -- and how stressful it's become.

I've spent years talking to job seekers. Their stories have gotten sadder -- and stranger.

One former accountant... woke up at 3 a.m. every day to apply for jobs. Eventually, he applied to be the Chick-fil-A cow mascot.

A laid-off Gen Zer used an AI tool to submit more than 1,300 job applications in a month before landing a job.

A third job seeker took an interview from his car while waiting in line at a food pantry. Over the course of a 16-month search, he applied to more than 6,000 roles.

Looking back through more than 100 conversations, I realized these aren't isolated anecdotes. Together, they paint a picture of how job searching in this low-hire, low-fire environment has become more time-consuming, financially stressful, technology-driven, and, at times, downright bizarre.

Here are some themes that stood out.

Planning for unemployment

When Michael Permana was put on a performance improvement plan, he worried his days at Amazon were numbered. So he used his paternity leave to look for another job, figuring it could take a while to land one.

"I was desperate," he said. "I took the opportunity while I could."

I was struck by how many people began planning for unemployment before it happened. Some cut back on spending, while others secretly took on multiple jobs.

A quality assurance professional was on track to earn about $800,000 last year by secretly working six remote jobs, until he lost four of them in a matter of weeks. He soon rebuilt his income to roughly $900,000 across five remote roles -- but kept applying for more to hedge against future layoffs.

"Even if you have two or three jobs, they could be gone tomorrow before your coffee's cold," he said.

Searching for an edge

Many job seekers said looking for work felt like walking a tightrope. They worried that one false step in an application or interview could cost them the job. Nearly everyone I interviewed had pieced together their own job search playbook from online advice, networking conversations, AI tools, and plenty of trial and error.

While some strategies -- like applying as soon as a job is posted -- were backed by career experts, others blurred the line between proven advice and lore. Job seekers debated everything from whether to apply through LinkedIn or a company's website to the value of AI tools and whether referrals really mattered. A persistent debate was over résumés -- how to write them, and what belongs on them. more

Career development

 11h

I've interviewed more than 100 job seekers. These are the stories I can't stop thinking about.


* I interviewed more than 100 job seekers about navigating today's labor market.

* They shared the lengths they've gone to find work and the financial hardships they've encountered.

* Together, their stories reveal how much job searching has changed -- and how stressful it's become.

I've spent years talking to job seekers. Their stories have gotten sadder -- and stranger.

One former accountant... woke up at 3 a.m. every day to apply for jobs. Eventually, he applied to be the Chick-fil-A cow mascot.

A laid-off Gen Zer used an AI tool to submit more than 1,300 job applications in a month before landing a job.

A third job seeker took an interview from his car while waiting in line at a food pantry. Over the course of a 16-month search, he applied to more than 6,000 roles.

Looking back through more than 100 conversations, I realized these aren't isolated anecdotes. Together, they paint a picture of how job searching in this low-hire, low-fire environment has become more time-consuming, financially stressful, technology-driven, and, at times, downright bizarre.

Here are some themes that stood out.

Planning for unemployment

When Michael Permana was put on a performance improvement plan, he worried his days at Amazon were numbered. So he used his paternity leave to look for another job, figuring it could take a while to land one.

"I was desperate," he said. "I took the opportunity while I could."

I was struck by how many people began planning for unemployment before it happened. Some cut back on spending, while others secretly took on multiple jobs.

A quality assurance professional was on track to earn about $800,000 last year by secretly working six remote jobs, until he lost four of them in a matter of weeks. He soon rebuilt his income to roughly $900,000 across five remote roles -- but kept applying for more to hedge against future layoffs.

"Even if you have two or three jobs, they could be gone tomorrow before your coffee's cold," he said.

Searching for an edge

Many job seekers said looking for work felt like walking a tightrope. They worried that one false step in an application or interview could cost them the job. Nearly everyone I interviewed had pieced together their own job search playbook from online advice, networking conversations, AI tools, and plenty of trial and error.

While some strategies -- like applying as soon as a job is posted -- were backed by career experts, others blurred the line between proven advice and lore. Job seekers debated everything from whether to apply through LinkedIn or a company's website to the value of AI tools and whether referrals really mattered. A persistent debate was over résumés -- how to write them, and what belongs on them.

When Malhar Shah began looking for work, he repeatedly asked ChatGPT and Gemini to grade his résumé on a scale of one to 10, revising it until both gave it at least a nine. He credits the process with helping him land a six-figure role.

One San Francisco millennial struggled to find work after his roughly $120,000-a-year contract role in communications at Amazon ended. After a year of unemployment and food stamps, he broadened his search, eventually finding work as a ghost tour guide and a US Postal Service mail carrier, earning a combined roughly $55,000 a year.

He's still searching for communications roles, but you won't find his tour guide or mail carrier gigs on his résumé. Instead, he lists a comms consulting business that generates little income because he worries employers will judge him for working outside his field.

"I have to keep this charade up that my independent comms company business is healthy and successful and that I'm not hustling as a letter carrier," he said.

When the money runs out

Eventually, many conversations stopped being about résumés and interviews, and turned to money. Some job seekers had enough savings or severance to buy themselves time. Others drained emergency funds, worried about losing their homes, and feared they'd never be able to retire.

After a year of unemployment, Jesse Jashinsky was supporting his family with SNAP benefits, help from their church, and mounting credit card debt. After their car broke down and they couldn't afford the repair, he created a GoFundMe and shared it on LinkedIn, writing: "I don't know if this is the right thing to do on LinkedIn, but I'm kind of desperate." Jashinsky said the post helped his fundraiser collect more than $3,800.

Others worried less about next month's bills than whether they'd ever be able to retire. After being laid off from her management role at Wells Fargo, Robin Peppers Daniel struggled to find full-time work and eventually turned to substitute teaching to earn income.

"In a perfect world, I would retire and get out of this work rat race, but right now, I unfortunately can't afford to," said Daniel, who's in her 60s.

For some, the stakes are bigger than just finances. After being laid off while working in the US on an F-1 visa, Aman Goyal had just 90 days to find a new employer or leave the country.

One of his first moves was spending $50 on an interview-prep book -- not so much for the book itself, but because it unlocked access to a 20,000-member Slack community where he completed dozens of mock interviews. He credited the community and interview practice with helping him land his dream role at T-Mobile.

What's stayed with me

If there's one thing every job seeker I spoke with could agree on, it's that looking for work sucks. It's often lonely, financially stressful, and full of uncertainty -- with much of it outside your control. A tough job market has only heightened those feelings.

But one theme that surfaced repeatedly in my interviews was how many people leaned on others during their job search -- whether online communities, professional networks, or even strangers. Some believed it gave them a competitive edge. Others felt they had no choice.

At the end of nearly every interview, I asked job seekers what advice they'd give someone in the same position. One answer has stayed with me. It came from Oscar Cecena Fujigaki, who spent three months finishing a science-fiction novel after losing his job at LinkedIn.

His answer wasn't another job-search hack. It was about living with uncertainty.

"The past is gone," he said. "The future you're stressing about will likely unfold differently than you imagine. Focus on what you can control today, whether that's your project, applying for jobs, or networking. The present is all that really matters."

Do you have a story to share about looking for work? Reach out to the reporter via email at [email protected] or on Signal at jzinkula.29.

Read the original article on Business Insider

The post I've interviewed more than 100 job seekers. These are the stories I can't stop thinking about. appeared first on Business Insider. more

Career development

 11h

I've interviewed more than 100 job seekers. These are the stories I can't stop thinking about.


I've spent years talking to job seekers. Their stories have gotten sadder -- and stranger.

One former accountant woke up at 3 a.m. every day to apply for jobs. Eventually, he applied to be the Chick-fil-A cow mascot.

A laid-off Gen Zer used an AI tool to submit more than 1,300 job applications in a month before landing a job.

A third job seeker took an interview from his car while waiting in... line at a food pantry. Over the course of a 16-month search, he applied to more than 6,000 roles.

Looking back through more than 100 conversations, I realized these aren't isolated anecdotes. Together, they paint a picture of how job searching in this low-hire, low-fire environment has become more time-consuming, financially stressful, technology-driven, and, at times, downright bizarre.

Here are some themes that stood out.

Planning for unemployment

When Michael Permana was put on a performance improvement plan, he worried his days at Amazon were numbered. So he used his paternity leave to look for another job, figuring it could take a while to land one.

"I was desperate," he said. "I took the opportunity while I could."

I was struck by how many people began planning for unemployment before it happened. Some cut back on spending, while others secretly took on multiple jobs.

A quality assurance professional was on track to earn about $800,000 last year by secretly working six remote jobs, until he lost four of them in a matter of weeks. He soon rebuilt his income to roughly $900,000 across five remote roles -- but kept applying for more to hedge against future layoffs.

"Even if you have two or three jobs, they could be gone tomorrow before your coffee's cold," he said.

Searching for an edge

Many job seekers said looking for work felt like walking a tightrope. They worried that one false step in an application or interview could cost them the job. Nearly everyone I interviewed had pieced together their own job search playbook from online advice, networking conversations, AI tools, and plenty of trial and error.

While some strategies -- like applying as soon as a job is posted -- were backed by career experts, others blurred the line between proven advice and lore. Job seekers debated everything from whether to apply through LinkedIn or a company's website to the value of AI tools and whether referrals really mattered. A persistent debate was over résumés -- how to write them, and what belongs on them.

When Malhar Shah began looking for work, he repeatedly asked ChatGPT and Gemini to grade his résumé on a scale of one to 10, revising it until both gave it at least a nine. He credits the process with helping him land a six-figure role.

One San Francisco millennial struggled to find work after his roughly $120,000-a-year contract role in communications at Amazon ended. After a year of unemployment and food stamps, he broadened his search, eventually finding work as a ghost tour guide and a US Postal Service mail carrier, earning a combined roughly $55,000 a year.

He's still searching for communications roles, but you won't find his tour guide or mail carrier gigs on his résumé. Instead, he lists a comms consulting business that generates little income because he worries employers will judge him for working outside his field.

"I have to keep this charade up that my independent comms company business is healthy and successful and that I'm not hustling as a letter carrier," he said.

When the money runs out

Eventually, many conversations stopped being about résumés and interviews, and turned to money. Some job seekers had enough savings or severance to buy themselves time. Others drained emergency funds, worried about losing their homes, and feared they'd never be able to retire.

After a year of unemployment, Jesse Jashinsky was supporting his family with SNAP benefits, help from their church, and mounting credit card debt. After their car broke down and they couldn't afford the repair, he created a GoFundMe and shared it on LinkedIn, writing: "I don't know if this is the right thing to do on LinkedIn, but I'm kind of desperate." Jashinsky said the post helped his fundraiser collect more than $3,800.

Others worried less about next month's bills than whether they'd ever be able to retire. After being laid off from her management role at Wells Fargo, Robin Peppers Daniel struggled to find full-time work and eventually turned to substitute teaching to earn income.

"In a perfect world, I would retire and get out of this work rat race, but right now, I unfortunately can't afford to," said Daniel, who's in her 60s.

For some, the stakes are bigger than just finances. After being laid off while working in the US on an F-1 visa, Aman Goyal had just 90 days to find a new employer or leave the country.

One of his first moves was spending $50 on an interview-prep book -- not so much for the book itself, but because it unlocked access to a 20,000-member Slack community where he completed dozens of mock interviews. He credited the community and interview practice with helping him land his dream role at T-Mobile.

What's stayed with me

If there's one thing every job seeker I spoke with could agree on, it's that looking for work sucks. It's often lonely, financially stressful, and full of uncertainty -- with much of it outside your control. A tough job market has only heightened those feelings.

But one theme that surfaced repeatedly in my interviews was how many people leaned on others during their job search -- whether online communities, professional networks, or even strangers. Some believed it gave them a competitive edge. Others felt they had no choice.

At the end of nearly every interview, I asked job seekers what advice they'd give someone in the same position. One answer has stayed with me. It came from Oscar Cecena Fujigaki, who spent three months finishing a science-fiction novel after losing his job at LinkedIn.

His answer wasn't another job-search hack. It was about living with uncertainty.

"The past is gone," he said. "The future you're stressing about will likely unfold differently than you imagine. Focus on what you can control today, whether that's your project, applying for jobs, or networking. The present is all that really matters."

Do you have a story to share about looking for work? Reach out to the reporter via email at jzinkula@businessinsider.com or on Signal at jzinkula.29. more

Career development

 12h

EarnIn Adds Jobs Platform as Wage Access Draws Scrutiny | PYMNTS.com


A platform that sells access to wages needs customers who have wages. That is the commercial logic behind EarnIn's move into job search.

EarnIn began by giving workers access to wages before payday. Its new jobs platform, Earn Better, extends that scope to the point at which a paycheck disappears and the search for another begins.

Following its acquisition of EarnBetter, the company has placed... job discovery, résumé assistance and interview preparation inside the EarnIn app. The service aggregates roughly 5 million openings and is free to job seekers. The employer needs no relationship with EarnIn. The return is indirect. Users who find work through the app become candidates for the paid products behind it.

The late June launch of the Earn Better platform has broadened the company's offering, but the organizing principle remains the same: the paycheck.

"We're really focused on making the paycheck work well," EarnIn founder and CEO Ram Palaniappan told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster during the newest Monday Conversation. "The paycheck is a digital product, yet it ships every two weeks. There's no other digital product that ships every two weeks."

Earn Better applies that argument to the disruption when employment ends. EarnIn can detect when a user stops receiving wages and surface the job search at that point. The same data that prices a wage advance identifies a lapsed customer.

"Our goal is to help them get a job instead of applying to jobs and clicking on jobs," Palaniappan said, contrasting EarnIn's economics with job boards that profit from application traffic. EarnIn makes money when a customer has a paycheck, he said, giving it an interest in shortening the gap between jobs. Retention is the business case for a service the company gives away.

A provider that sees when income arrives can also see when it stops, and market to the user at the moment the relationship would lapse. Whether job seekers will choose a wage-access app over established boards is untested.

Earned wage access remains the anchor. Palaniappan cited University of Oregon research showing that income among EarnIn users rose about 11.5%. The research does not establish that wage access caused the increase, and the company has not said what share of users draw on the feature.

Webster pressed him on what the result actually meant.

"Is it because these are hourly workers who aren't missing their shifts?" she asked, and in that case, "it's not that they're getting raises, they're just showing up."

Palaniappan said attendance was one factor, but not the only one. Immediate access can make an overtime shift more appealing because the worker does not wait for the pay, he said. It can also supply small amounts of working capital. Workers who opt into wage access may differ from those who do not in ways the income figure does not capture.

The expansion comes as earned wage access faces regulatory scrutiny. Webster pointed to tipping as a pricing model under scrutiny in Washington. Consumer groups argue that optional tips can carry annualized costs resembling the short-term credit the products are meant to replace.

Palaniappan argued instead that the debate resembles earlier moments in banking history, recalling the arrival of ATMs, when Citibank promoted itself as "the bank that never sleeps" and critics questioned why consumers would need cash in the middle of the night.

"I think it's the same fear of change," he contended. "What's better for the people eventually comes to be" standard. The comparison assumes the outcome the regulators are still weighing.

From Wage Access to an Income Platform

Those examples are the case Palaniappan makes for Earn Better. EarnIn's users include hourly and salaried workers, concentrated among hourly employees in retail, customer service, healthcare and government. Teachers, some paid monthly, also figure prominently.

Palaniappan said job tenure among many of these workers is often under a year, so a stable unemployment rate can coexist with heavy job-search volume. The addressable market is therefore larger than a service aimed at layoffs. It includes workers changing jobs, seeking hours or seeking pay. Those users are already in the app, so EarnIn reaches them at no acquisition cost.

The expansion places Earn Better beside automated savings, credit monitoring, bill reminders and Balance Shield, which notifies users when balances fall below a set level and moves earned wages into the account. EarnIn has not said how many users engage with those tools.

Webster asked whether Earn Better would become "a more prominent part of what EarnIn is about." Palaniappan placed the jobs service within a portfolio built around the mismatch between income and obligations.

Most workers are paid every other week, he noted, while bills arrive monthly. A monthly bill will fall before payday six times a year. Faster access alone does not solve that, an admission that narrows the claims made for wage access. Workers also need tools that reserve money for rent, warn of bills and show how far earnings will stretch.

The issue grows if payroll moves beyond the two-week cycle, a shift no major payroll processor has committed to.

"I think it's going to be continuous pay," Palaniappan said. "Take anything that's digital that was in batch, the logical endpoint is continuous."

The argument concedes a limit. Faster pay is not a self-contained product. Its value depends on whether workers can use it to stay employed, take better work and manage bills that do not follow the payroll calendar.

Earn Better tests that proposition and a distribution strategy. While a customer has a job, the platform sells tools to manage the paycheck. When the paycheck stops, the free jobs product keeps the customer in the app until there is another.

Watch the interview

Watch the full PYMNTS Monday Conversation with EarnIn Founder and CEO Ram Palaniappan to hear more about: more

Career development

 12h

The interview was never measuring what we thought it was


I was speaking recently to the HR Head of a mid-sized IT company about hiring. We were discussing how recruitment had changed when he said something that caught me by surprise.

"Interviews have become much harder."

The remark sounded odd. Technology was supposed to make hiring easier. Virtual interviews removed the need to travel. Recruiters could schedule more conversations in a day. AI could... summarise résumés, generate questions and structure feedback. Everything about the process appeared more efficient.

He smiled.

"That's exactly the problem."

His concern was not with senior leadership hiring, where years of visible achievement, business judgement and references built over decades still anchor the conversation. His worry was with executive, assistant manager and middle-management roles, where interviews have quietly become a performance in their own right.

"Everyone looks impressive now," he said. "The camera is positioned well. The background is clean. The answers are structured. Behavioural questions are answered using frameworks candidates have rehearsed dozens of times. Some even use AI tools that listen during virtual interviews and suggest stronger responses in real time."

"Sometimes the person who joins the organisation bears surprisingly little resemblance to the person who appeared on the screen."

"Interview performance has become a skill in itself. That is not the same thing as job performance."

What AI has done to the interview

The preparation industry is not new.

Every generation has rehearsed answers, attended coaching classes and practised in front of mirrors. Universities built placement cells around interview preparation. HR professionals ran mock interviews. Preparation was seen as evidence of seriousness.

What has changed is not the existence of preparation but its scale and precision.

Today, a candidate can upload a job description and receive tailored interview questions within seconds. AI coaches simulate recruiters, analyse tone of voice, suggest stronger responses and identify where to pause or smile. Browser extensions claim to provide live assistance during virtual calls. YouTube channels dissect the perfect answer to almost every behavioural question. Online communities exchange company-specific interview experiences in remarkable detail.

Interview performance has become a skill in itself.

That is not the same thing as job performance.

Virtual interviews compounded this shift. They solved genuine problems: reduced travel, wider access to talent, faster scheduling. But they also flattened the signals that physical interviews had always produced almost invisibly. How someone enters a room. How they treat the receptionist. Whether they remain composed when a meeting starts late. The informal conversation before the formal questions often reveals more about a person than everything that follows.

Inside a virtual rectangle, those signals disappear. The background is curated. Notes sit just below the camera. Confidence is easier to project from the familiarity of one's own home than inside an unfamiliar boardroom.

The interview became cleaner. Whether it became more accurate is a different question.

"Interviews have always rewarded the wrong signal. AI has simply made that signal far easier to produce."

What interviewers are actually responding to

Here is where the argument shifts.

Human beings are not naturally good at evaluating other human beings.

When a candidate appears composed, articulate and fluent, the interviewer's mind makes a rapid and largely unconscious leap. This person must be capable. Presentation becomes a proxy for competence. The candidate who speaks well is assumed to think well, decide well and perform well under pressure. The assumption is rarely examined. It is simply made.

Confidence compounds this further. A candidate who answers without hesitation, who never qualifies their statements, who never says "I am not sure" or "it depends on the situation," tends to be perceived as more capable than one who thinks carefully before responding. Yet in almost every complex role, the ability to sit with uncertainty, to acknowledge the limits of one's knowledge, is more valuable than the projection of certainty. Interviews have always rewarded the wrong signal. AI has simply made that signal far easier to produce.

There is another pattern that operates quietly in almost every interview room. Interviewers tend to respond well to candidates who remind them of themselves. Not because they are consciously selecting for familiarity, but because recognition feels like intelligence. When a candidate uses the same frameworks, references similar experiences, or approaches problems the way the interviewer would, it registers as capability. What it may actually be is fluency in a particular professional language that some candidates have simply learnt to speak. AI has made that language available to everyone.

And then there is the story.

Behavioural interviews were designed to get past rehearsed answers by asking candidates to describe what they actually did in specific situations. The assumption was that real experience would produce richer, more credible responses than manufactured ones. What nobody fully anticipated was how powerfully human beings respond to narrative regardless of its content. A modest achievement described with structure, tension, resolution and self-awareness consistently outperforms a significant achievement described plainly. The story matters more than the substance it contains.

AI has simply made everyone a better storyteller.

"Interviews were never designed to reward the best performer. They were designed to identify them. Somewhere along the way, those two things became increasingly difficult to tell apart."

The irony HR may have created

There is a quiet irony sitting at the centre of this.

For years, HR advised candidates to prepare better. Learn the STAR framework. Structure your answers. Think of strong examples before you walk in. Build your personal brand. Improve your storytelling. None of this advice was wrong. It improved the quality of interviews across the board.

AI has simply scaled everything HR encouraged.

Candidates are doing exactly what organisations taught them to do, only far more effectively and at far greater scale than anyone anticipated. The interview has evolved. Whether the assessment has evolved at the same pace is a different question.

What the interview was always measuring

Interviews were never designed to reward the best performer. They were designed to identify them. Somewhere along the way, those two things became increasingly difficult to tell apart.

For decades, they worked reasonably well because the interviewer possessed far more information than the candidate. Recruiters understood the role, controlled the questions and largely dictated the pace and direction of the conversation. That asymmetry created a genuine information advantage.

It no longer exists.

Candidates know the company. They know the likely questions. They know the competencies being assessed. Increasingly, they also know how those competencies should sound when articulated well. The interview has become less a test of capability and more a test of preparation. And preparation, historically a proxy for seriousness, is now something AI can supply to almost anyone within minutes.

The interview was never a pure measure of competence. It measured competence filtered through confidence, communication and presence. AI has altered each of those variables. Confidence can now be coached. Stories can be rewritten. Weak examples can be reframed into compelling narratives. What appears authentic is increasingly rehearsed.

That does not make candidates dishonest. It makes the interview itself a less reliable signal than it once appeared.

The difficulty is that interviewers, responding to the psychological patterns described above, consistently struggle to distinguish between someone who communicates well because they understand the work deeply and someone who communicates well because they have become exceptionally good at interviews.

The two are often not the same person.

"AI did not create that gap. It simply made it impossible to look away from."

What some organisations are doing differently

Some organisations have already begun adjusting.

Work simulations. Case discussions. Practical assignments. Trial projects. Assessment centres. Structured reference checks that go beyond the names candidates provide. Multiple conversations with different stakeholders across different settings and formats.

None of these methods is perfect. All of them are imperfect in different ways. But together they often reveal far more than a single polished interview, because they create conditions that rehearsal alone cannot fully prepare for.

The interview is becoming one data point rather than the deciding moment.

That may simply be where honest hiring is headed.

The question worth asking

The HR Head I spoke to was not arguing that interviews have become irrelevant. Nor was he blaming candidates for preparing well.

"If I were looking for a job today," he laughed, "I'd probably use every AI tool available myself."

His concern was more fundamental.

"When everyone has learnt how to perform well in interviews, what exactly are we measuring?"

It is the right question. And it is not really a question about AI.

It is a question about what interviews have always measured, whether organisations ever examined that honestly, and whether the gap between interview performance and workplace performance was always larger than they were willing to admit.

AI did not create that gap.

It simply made it impossible to look away from. more

Career development

 13h

Open Call for Empowering Adolescent Girls in Kyrgyzstan - fundsforNGOs


UNICEF Kyrgyzstan is inviting partners to implement Phase III of the STEAM4Girls programme (2026-2028), which aims to expand inclusive, gender-responsive Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) education for adolescent girls. With an indicative budget of US$200,000, the initiative supports STEAM clubs, mentorship, leadership development, digital skills, and community... engagement across six regions of Kyrgyzstan.

What is the UNICEF STEAM4Girls Phase III Programme?

The STEAM4Girls Phase III Programme is a UNICEF-led initiative designed to empower adolescent girls by increasing their participation in STEAM education, leadership, innovation, and career development.

The programme seeks to remove barriers that prevent girls from accessing quality education and opportunities in STEAM fields while strengthening schools, communities, and government systems to sustain gender-responsive learning.

Phase III builds on the success of earlier programme phases and focuses on institutionalising STEAM education within schools, particularly in rural and underserved communities.

Background

UNICEF Kyrgyzstan launched STEAM4Girls in 2019 to address challenges that continue to affect adolescent girls, including:

* Restrictive gender norms.

* Early marriage.

* Unequal educational opportunities.

* Limited participation in STEAM subjects.

* Gender gaps in digital skills and innovation.

The programme supports Kyrgyzstan's Altyn Kazyk ("Golden Compass") Education Reform, which promotes curriculum modernisation, digital learning, and expanded STEAM education nationwide.

Previous phases have:

* Directly reached more than 52,500 adolescents.

* Indirectly benefited over 200,000 girls and boys.

* Strengthened teaching practices.

* Expanded mentorship opportunities.

* Promoted adolescent leadership.

* Increased community engagement.

Programme Objectives

The programme aims to:

* Increase girls' participation in STEAM education.

* Promote gender equality in learning opportunities.

* Strengthen digital literacy and innovation skills.

* Develop leadership and communication skills.

* Improve career readiness.

* Encourage entrepreneurship in STEAM fields.

* Institutionalise STEAM clubs within school systems.

* Build sustainable partnerships between schools, communities, and government.

Key Highlights

* Programme Name: STEAM4Girls Phase III

* Organiser: UNICEF Kyrgyzstan

* Programme Duration: 2026-2028

* Country: Kyrgyzstan

* Indicative Budget: US$200,000

* Implementation Regions: Chui, Osh, Jalal-Abad, Batken, Issyk-Kul, and Talas

* Target Group: Adolescent girls, particularly in rural, underserved, and vulnerable communities

Programme Focus Areas

Gender-Responsive STEAM Education

Projects should:

* Improve access to STEAM learning.

* Promote equal participation of girls.

* Encourage innovation and creativity.

* Foster confidence in science and technology subjects.

STEAM Clubs

The programme will support the establishment and strengthening of STEAM clubs in approximately 75 schools.

Activities may include:

* Practical STEAM learning.

* Hands-on projects.

* Collaborative problem-solving.

* Innovation challenges.

Leadership Development

Projects should help girls develop:

* Leadership skills.

* Public speaking.

* Teamwork.

* Critical thinking.

* Decision-making abilities.

Mentorship

The programme supports:

* Mentorship by female STEAM professionals.

* Career guidance.

* Networking opportunities.

* Exposure to real-world STEAM careers.

Digital Skills

Activities may include:

* Digital literacy.

* Technology-based learning.

* Coding and digital innovation.

* Responsible use of technology.

Career Readiness

The initiative prepares girls for future opportunities through:

* Career orientation.

* Skills development.

* Entrepreneurship education.

* Workplace readiness.

Community Engagement

The programme recognises that families and communities play a critical role in supporting girls' education.

Activities include:

* Parent and caregiver engagement.

* Gender-responsive parenting sessions.

* Community awareness campaigns.

* Media outreach.

* Advocacy for girls' education.

School Capacity Building

The programme also supports:

* Training for teachers.

* Capacity building for school administrators.

* Integration of STEAM activities into school development plans.

* Sustainable school-based implementation models.

Support for Vulnerable Adolescents

Special attention will be given to:

* Rural communities.

* Marginalised adolescents.

* Out-of-school girls.

* Vulnerable households.

* Girls facing social or economic barriers.

The programme promotes inclusive participation to ensure no adolescent is left behind.

Expected Activities

Selected partners may implement activities such as:

* Establishing STEAM clubs.

* Organising mentorship sessions.

* Conducting STEAM fairs and exhibitions.

* Supporting adolescent-led innovation projects.

* Facilitating peer-to-peer tutoring.

* Delivering leadership workshops.

* Running communication campaigns.

* Building school capacity for long-term sustainability.

Who Can Apply?

The opportunity is intended for organisations that meet UNICEF's partnership requirements and have experience in:

* Education.

* Adolescent development.

* Gender equality.

* Youth empowerment.

* Digital education.

* Community engagement.

* STEAM programming.

Funding Information

* Indicative Budget: US$200,000

The funding supports programme implementation during Phase III (2026-2028), including training, mentorship, peer learning, leadership development, and community engagement activities.

How to Apply

Interested organisations should:

Why This Programme Matters

Girls continue to face barriers to education and careers in science and technology.

This programme helps to:

* Promote gender equality.

* Increase girls' confidence in STEAM subjects.

* Build future-ready skills.

* Improve digital literacy.

* Expand career opportunities.

* Encourage innovation and entrepreneurship.

* Strengthen leadership among adolescent girls.

* Create more inclusive education systems.

By institutionalising STEAM education within schools, the programme creates long-term opportunities for girls across Kyrgyzstan.

Tips for a Strong Proposal

To improve your application:

* Demonstrate experience in adolescent education and gender equality.

* Include innovative STEAM learning approaches.

* Build partnerships with schools and local authorities.

* Develop measurable indicators for learning and leadership outcomes.

* Include sustainability plans beyond the project period.

* Engage parents and communities throughout implementation.

* Ensure activities are inclusive of vulnerable and out-of-school girls.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Avoid these common issues:

* Focusing only on classroom learning without mentorship or leadership activities.

* Excluding parents and community stakeholders.

* Ignoring sustainability planning.

* Providing limited strategies for reaching vulnerable girls.

* Submitting unclear implementation or monitoring plans.

* Failing to demonstrate institutional partnerships.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is the purpose of STEAM4Girls Phase III?

The programme aims to empower adolescent girls through inclusive, gender-responsive STEAM education, leadership development, mentorship, and career preparation.

2. Which regions will benefit from the programme?

Implementation will take place in Chui, Osh, Jalal-Abad, Batken, Issyk-Kul, and Talas regions of Kyrgyzstan.

3. How many schools are expected to participate?

Approximately 75 schools will establish or strengthen STEAM clubs under the programme.

4. What types of activities are supported?

Activities include STEAM clubs, mentorship programmes, peer learning, leadership development, STEAM fairs, innovation events, communication campaigns, teacher training, and community engagement.

5. What is the indicative budget?

The programme has an indicative budget of US$200,000.

6. Who are the primary beneficiaries?

The initiative primarily benefits adolescent girls, particularly those living in rural, underserved, vulnerable, and marginalised communities, while also engaging schools, educators, families, and communities.

7. Why is this programme important?

The programme helps close gender gaps in STEAM education by equipping girls with technical skills, leadership experience, digital literacy, confidence, and career opportunities needed for future employment, entrepreneurship, and innovation.

Conclusion

The UNICEF STEAM4Girls Phase III Programme (2026-2028) represents a significant opportunity to advance gender equality and educational inclusion in Kyrgyzstan. With an indicative budget of US$200,000, the initiative supports sustainable STEAM education through school-based clubs, mentorship, leadership development, digital skills, and community engagement, empowering adolescent girls to become future innovators, entrepreneurs, and leaders. more

Career development

 16h

Remote Virtual Sales Executive Jobs in Concord, NC | InsuraTec - Archyde


InsuraTec is currently seeking candidates for a remote Virtual Sales Executive position based out of Concord, NC, according to a job listing posted on the CareerBuilder employment platform. The role is designed for professionals capable of managing sales cycles in a fully remote capacity, focusing on the company's specific insurance technology solutions.

The opening, which has been active for 28... days, targets individuals who can blend traditional sales expertise with the digital tools required for virtual client engagement. As the insurance industry continues to shift toward InsurTech -- the integration of technology into traditional insurance models -- roles like the Virtual Sales Executive are becoming central to how firms scale their reach without relying on physical office footprints.

For those tracking the remote job market in North Carolina, this listing represents a specific intersection of the tech and insurance sectors. The position is listed as remote, meaning the executive can operate from their home office while maintaining a professional connection to the Concord, NC area.

Role Requirements and Application Process

The Virtual Sales Executive position requires a candidate who can navigate the nuances of virtual selling. Unlike traditional field sales, this role emphasizes the use of digital communication platforms to identify leads, present product value, and close deals. The listing on CareerBuilder serves as the primary portal for interested applicants to submit their credentials.

While specific salary figures and benefit packages were not detailed in the initial posting, the role is positioned within the broader growth of the InsurTech industry, which focuses on streamlining the insurance process through automation and data analytics. Candidates typically need a proven track record in sales and a high level of comfort with remote collaboration software.

Applicants are encouraged to apply directly through the CareerBuilder platform, where the listing remains active. Given that the post has been live for nearly a month, the company may be looking for a very specific set of qualifications or is building a pipeline of qualified talent for future expansion.

The Impact of Remote Sales in the Concord Region

The decision to list a "remote" role specifically tied to Concord, NC, suggests a strategic move by InsuraTec to tap into the local talent pool while offering the flexibility of a home-based environment. Concord and the surrounding Cabarrus County area have seen a steady increase in professional services and tech-adjacent roles as the Charlotte metropolitan area expands.

Remote sales roles offer a distinct advantage in the current economic climate, reducing overhead for the employer and eliminating commute times for the employee. This shift is part of a larger trend where companies in the sales and business development sector are prioritizing "digital-first" hiring to increase their geographic reach.

For the Virtual Sales Executive, this means the ability to manage a territory not through physical travel, but through strategic virtual outreach. This model allows for a higher volume of client interactions and a more streamlined sales funnel.

Strategic Outlook for InsuraTec

The hiring of a Virtual Sales Executive indicates that InsuraTec is likely in a growth phase, seeking to increase its market share by deploying aggressive, digitally-driven sales strategies. By leveraging a remote workforce, the company can maintain agility and scale its operations more rapidly than firms tied to brick-and-mortar offices.

The focus on "Virtual Sales" suggests that the company's product suite is likely designed for digital delivery or management, fitting the broader trend of insurance digitalization. This allows the company to target a wider array of clients who also prefer virtual interactions over in-person meetings.

As the listing remains open, the next confirmed checkpoint for interested parties is the application review process conducted by InsuraTec's hiring team. Prospective candidates should ensure their portfolios highlight specific achievements in remote revenue generation and digital client acquisition.

We want to hear from you. Are you seeing a rise in remote-specific sales roles in your region, or do you believe the hybrid model is more effective for closing high-value deals? Share your thoughts in the comments below. more

Career development

 16h

- BW Businessworld


The workplace increasingly carries emotional expectations once fulfilled by society itself

The modern workplace feels oddly different now. We show up with laptops, résumés, targets, and goals, but beneath these surface details, we also carry loneliness, a desire for recognition, a need to belong, fears of irrelevance, and an unspoken question: does my life matter here?

We work with young... professionals, middle managers, founders, and senior leaders, and we notice a recurring pattern. What begins as a career-focused discussion rarely stays that way. A talk about promotions often shifts to questions of confidence. Discussions about organisational culture tend to drift towards feelings of belonging. Concerns about flexibility reveal a deeper desire for balance. Sometimes, dissatisfaction with work masks dissatisfaction with life outside work. Over time, work is no longer just what we do; it has quietly become a place where many expect life to unfold and where we respond to it.

A generation ago, the relationship between people and work was much simpler. Most employees sought fairness, job security, career growth, and respect in their work. Few anticipated that their employer would also serve as a source of identity, friendship, emotional support, purpose, lifelong learning, mental wellbeing, social connection, and personal fulfilment. Nowadays, many organisations are expected to fulfil all these roles. In India, the decline of joint families and the 'latchkey' phenomenon have made this shift even clearer.

While previous generations undoubtedly faced their own challenges, they often experienced and coped with them differently. Families managed uncertainty together, and neighbourhoods fostered a sense of familiarity. Friendships endured for decades because people remained rooted in the same communities. Professional identity was just one aspect of a broader sense of self. People belonged not only to their workplaces but also to families, localities, social circles, communities, and often to institutions entirely outside their employment.

Those anchors have not disappeared, but many have become less reliable. Careers increasingly demand mobility. Families are geographically dispersed. Friendships are disrupted by relocation and shifting priorities. Digital platforms have made communication effortless, though not necessarily deepening relationships. People spend more of their waking lives within organisations than in the communities that once shaped them.

Individually, these expectations seem reasonable. Every employee deserves dignity, respect, and opportunities to develop. However, collectively, they signal a broader social change. The modern workplace is increasingly taking on roles traditionally handled by various institutions. Today's employees seek to work for organisations with a purpose beyond simply generating profits. Perhaps it is therefore unsurprising that many now seek recognition, belonging, companionship, purpose, and even emotional security at work.

Artificial intelligence comes into play at a particularly intriguing time. Public discussions mainly focus on productivity, automation, and jobs. Yet beneath these debates lie deeper questions seldom voiced by professionals. If intelligent systems start doing more of what once defined me, what is uniquely mine? If expertise becomes easier to imitate, where can I find reassurance? If my profession shapes my identity, what happens when that profession begins to change? These questions go beyond technology -- they're about self-identity. Many organisations see rising employee expectations as a generational issue, which has some truth but isn't the full story. While younger workers openly discuss purpose, mental health, and belonging, these needs are shared across generations. Senior leaders, founders, and middle managers feel this too. Though their words differ, the core question remains: who am I within this system, and do I matter?

The fundamental shift appears to be societal. As traditional sources of community diminish, work is increasingly one of the few lasting institutions providing stability. Consequently, expectations for it have risen beyond those of any previous generation. Today's employer is anticipated to offer more than just salary and career growth; it should also foster purpose, belonging, emotional well-being, learning, inclusion, friendship, identity, and even healing at times. The workplace is evolving into a multifaceted space -- a village, family, school, sanctuary, and stage for personal growth.

This sets an impossible expectation. Organisations undoubtedly shape lives, but they cannot fully replace family, friendship, community, or the wider social fabric. No employer, however enlightened, can permanently satisfy every emotional need people bring through its doors.

The future of work, therefore, cannot be solved by redesigning offices, policies, technology, or leadership models alone. It also requires rebuilding the worlds beyond work. Families, friendships, neighbourhoods, communities, voluntary associations, cultural spaces, and reflective practices must reclaim their place in human life. The workplace can be an important site of dignity and contribution, but it cannot be the only place where the soul is fed.

The real question might not be if we expect too much from work, since we do. Instead, it's why we lack other outlets for our longing. Until we address this, organisations will keep taking on society's unresolved emotional baggage.

Work will continue to be a central part of modern life, but it cannot serve as every aspect of our identity. If we rely solely on work to provide our sense of purpose, belonging, and hope, disappointment is likely. The future may well hinge on not only changing how we work but also on fostering fulfilling lives outside of work. more

Career development

 21h

Talk Me Out of This


I picked out a pair of sneakers. Right before checkout, a thought: cheaper somewhere else? I search. Found a cheaper site. Shipping's slow, though. I search again. This time a site with a coupon. I check reviews. I watch a YouTube video about it. A day goes by. Sold out.

Same thing in front of Netflix. Same thing scrolling a delivery app.

We used to walk into Blockbuster, grab one tape, and just... watch it. Not because there was less to choose from -- because the structure forced the choosing to end. Now it doesn't. The more options we get, the less satisfied we are, and somehow technology keeps building toward more options, never fewer.

The problem doesn't stay small.

AI supplies information without limit. More precisely: it drives the cost of getting more information to almost zero. It used to be that legwork, time, fatigue -- friction -- told us when to stop looking. Dating, house-hunting, job-hunting: there was always a ceiling on how much more you could see. That ceiling is what made deciding possible.

Mathematicians solved a version of this long ago. It's called optimal stopping theory -- the "secretary problem," if you want the classic name. You interview candidates one by one, and each time you have to decide: hire now, or see who's next. The math is clear. Endless searching isn't the answer. At some point you have to stop, and stopping earlier than feels comfortable usually gets you the better outcome. But the proof rests on one assumption: that searching costs something. Take that cost away, and the equation flips. It says keep looking, always, forever.

That's what AI does. It erases the cost of searching. So we're not failing to decide -- we're being stripped of any reason to stop.

Losing an extra hour over sneakers won't ruin a life. The decisions that can't be undone are the ones that matter: marriage, a career move, a house. Clothes you can just buy again. These, reopening the question is already the damage -- a relationship strained, time bled out, the thing you already have quietly devalued.

We tend to think the person who doesn't waver has strong willpower. But willpower is a bad thing to bet on. The more realistic move is never letting yourself get into the situation where you'd have to.

We've already been doing this in a dozen small ways. Automatic transfers the moment a paycheck lands. A 401(k) you can't touch. An app blocker you set up yourself. A brokerage account you lock before you can talk yourself out of it. Same logic, every time. Not willpower. Architecture. The present self knows the future self will waver, and takes the choice away before that moment arrives. No different from a friend pocketing your car keys before the drinking starts. You don't trust the judgment you'll have after a few drinks, so you bind your future with the judgment you have now.

Which means AI might wear the opposite face, too. A machine that floods you with temptation -- and a machine you can design to cut temptation off. An AI that hides new listings for six months after you sign a lease. One that stops surfacing job postings for a year after you take the offer. One that goes quiet on anything related to marriage, once you're married. All of this is already technically possible.

Just don't expect it to happen on its own. For a company that makes money by keeping you scrolling, "stop showing me things" is a direct request to cut its own revenue. The more a user wants silence, the harder that silence collides with somebody's business model. The technology to stop exists. The incentive to use it still belongs only to the person asking.

One more question is worth sitting with. The ability to never reopen a closed door isn't automatically a virtue. Binding yourself can protect a good decision -- or it can lock you inside a bad one. If the course was wrong from the start, staying bound just gets you there faster. Telling apart the decisions that should stay closed from the ones that need reopening -- that, maybe, is the one thing AI will have the hardest time doing for us.

I signed the lease. That evening, a notification from the real estate app.

A listing you might like just went live.

The deal is already done. The algorithm doesn't know that. Or maybe it does.

And doesn't stop anyway. more

Anonymous member


Career development 2d

My boss asked me to take on a second role "temporarily." It's been 10 months. How long would you wait before pushing back?

  • Arthur Neal

    1d

    My email only showed up til "temporary" I wish I saw the rest before. Did you negotiate time and pay? 10 months is not temporary, temp is like 2... months max. They are taking advantage of you. I say do this in writing because I feel they will retaliate once you set your new terms. Make up something, they lied to you, lie to them and don't feel bad about it. Companies, and people, will take advantage of you if you let them. They actually delight in it. you've got classes you want to take that overlap this temporary role, or the responsibility is costing you more money and you need to make more, or ask how you add this to your resume. If they never set the time frame, you can end your involvement. "I am willing to do this until x date to help with finding a replacement or give you time to think" definitely think on this maybe ask around a bit more, search linkedin and here, maybe glassdoor. Do you have relatives with more work experience to ask? Shit, ask a rando. Then proceed. more

  • Paul F.

    1d

    Stupid… I would have pushed back after a week!

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Anonymous member


Career development 23h

My company says promotions are based on performance, but the people getting promoted all seem to be close with leadership. Am I being cynical?

Nick Rogers


Career development 4d
I've been interviewing for months and keep hearing, "We loved you, but chose someone with slightly more experience." How do you break out of this cycle?
2   

  • Eric Miles

    1d

    You should pursue the discussions further. The feedback youare looking for is "what in my background or experience would have made me the selected... candidate.?" If they are telling the honest truth, they may be willing to share. more

  • CASH ONTHEBEAT

    1d

    Sometimes you got to use a seasoning packet you never had before to get the flavor you may be looking for…. You get it.

    1
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Anonymous member


Career development 5d

I turned down a promotion because the salary increase didn't match the added responsibility. My manager seemed surprised. Has anyone else done this, and how did it affect your career?

  • Jada

    1d

    It may be different for me because I am in the service industry, but I turned down management opportunities for years. I was already being used as an... associate manager, but I was already earning close to what they earned. Beyond that, I could perform more tasks than the managers that were being brought in so it made no sense to me to accept the role without an adequate pay bump. When they finally made me an offer that made sense, I finally accepted.

    I no longer accept roles for a title to look good on my resume nor do I accept less than what my skillset says I am worth.     more

Anonymous member


Career development 6d
I'm worried that staying with the same employer for 8+ years is hurting my earning potential. Has anyone regretted staying loyal for too long?

  • Jada

    1d

    There are time when I feel that my loyalty to and care for the brand goes unnoticed. And in those moments it sometimes feels as though it wasn’t worth... it, especially when what I’m asking for is bare minimum. However, I truly love what I do and I’m not sure if any other company would have allowed me to grow in the way that I did had I left that brand and took my talents elsewhere.

    I work in the hospitality industry and have been with my job 13 years.     more

  • Krystal T

    6d

    I am in a union, so it wouldn't hurt me.Staying in a position for too long. However, I would think that it would be good for you.Because you're... building seniority and it shows that ir loyal, you know, the most about your position, so you would be the first to move up. more

Career development

 1d

Eager college grad makes embarrassing mistake accepting job offer: 'Feel a little sick' | US Times Mirror


They counted their eggs before they hatched.

A recent college grad was a little too eager during the interview process for a dream job, and they mistakenly turned their life upside down sooner than they should have.

The defeated job seeker took to the r/GirlDinnerDiaries forum on Reddit to air out their grievances, warning others not to do the same.

"Interviewed for a job last week. It's... exactly what I want to do, near where I live, and would be a massive pay increase," the original poster wrote.

"I'm a recent grad, so I don't have much experience with 'real' job interviews, which comes into play here. The interview went really well -- she seemed really impressed with my resume, said she could do the top of my salary request, talked extensively about how she wanted me to start ASAP."

For the OP, that was enough confirmation to ask to leave their current job early, especially since their "contract is nearly up and they've got another person lined up for after me, so I thought they might not need the typical 2 weeks," the grad explained online.

The confusing part of this situation is that the recruiter asked the job seeker if they "wanted a few days to think about it," alluding to this being an offer, in which the OP "sent an email accepting a few days ago. Told my whole family about the awesome job I'd secured."

The saga didn't end there.

"A few days pass and they email me that they are still reviewing applications and conducting interviews. How embarrassing -- my face is on fire. The embarrassment is so strong that I honestly feel a little sick. Now I know to wait for the offer in writing so that there are no misunderstandings..."

Unfortunately, this youngster learned the hard way that a verbal offer is not legally binding and that any job seeker should wait to receive a written document stating the job title, location, work hours, starting pay, and a brief overview of benefits.

As embarrassed and defeated as this OP felt, many commenters empathized with them, validating their confusion.

"Recruiter of 20 years here... that sounds quite confusing. Nothing for you to be embarrassed about!" one wrote.

"Don't sweat it. By your account the interviewer offered you the job. I would be confused too and I have decades of interview experience," another chimed in.

"My cousin had this happen too, he put his two weeks notice in at his old job. The two weeks came and went, and he never heard back from the other job he thought he was getting. But his interviewer even told him. He had the job. The job market is weird right now," a comment read.

"Talking about you starting ASAP and asking if you wanted a few days to think about it.. lowkey is a job offer. This is 10000% on the company and not on you. THEY should be embarrassed, not you," someone else shared. more