Career development

David Tyler

1h

We work at a big company, and there are a few women around 50 who love setting up single coworkers. They’ve already gotten two couples married. Now they’ve clearly decided to set me up too.
They act like it’s no big deal, but it’s getting annoying. People keep hinting at things. When I go into the kitchen, they leave so I’m alone with that girl. They’re always finding reasons for us to do things... together.
It’s really frustrating. How can I make them stop? If I want a relationship, I’ll handle it myself.
Thanks for any advice

more

Hermit SocialClub
6m
Have you told them to stop? If you have and they persist then bring it up with HR.

Career development

3h

Human Written Healthcare CV & Letter

if familiar with EU cross Border Directive would be a plus to understanding my role I am looking for a skilled résumé writer who can take my current CV, the cover-letter draft, and the detailed notes I have about my daily responsibilities, then craft a fresh, fully human-written package aimed at administrative positions in the healthcare sector. The central objective is to highlight my most... relevant experience while weaving in three core strengths -- strong organisational ability, proven team-management success, and confident patient interaction -- so that hiring managers can see, at a glance, exactly how I fit their needs. All source material is ready: my existing CV, a narrative description of my role. I need you to reorganise the content, sharpen the language, and ensure the tone speaks directly to healthcare administrators. Strictly no AI-generated text; I want your professional voice and insight shaping every line. I need a very well written cover letter Deliverables: * A polished, ATS-friendly CV tailored to healthcare administration * A matching cover letter I can adapt easily for individual applications Please draw on best practice for formatting, keyword placement, and concise storytelling so that both documents are clear, professional, and compelling from the first read. more

Career development

4h

Recruiter claims these six interview lies are necessary -- do you agree as debate ensues?

Job interview tips 2026: A recruiter who says he has been conducting interviews for years is sparking debate online after sharing what he calls six "necessary" lies candidates should tell during job interviews.

In a post on Reddit's r/jobsearchhacks, the interviewer framed the hiring process not as an exam, but as a negotiation, where the company is trying to "buy" your skills at the lowest... possible cost, and in any negotiation, he argues, candidates need strategy.

"I know when someone is lying to me," he wrote, but added that certain types of dishonesty, like lying about your university or inventing reasons for leaving a job, are not the same as what he's describing.

Instead, he outlined six areas where he claims candidates should bend the truth.

According to the recruiter, HR teams are often tasked with finding the best candidate at the lowest cost. If pressured to reveal your past salary, he suggests not giving the real number if you're aiming for a higher raise.

Also read: Midterm momentum shift: Republicans slip as Democrats broaden strategy -- what the latest Polymarket odds reveal

He warns candidates not to say they disliked their previous work environment. That, he claims, makes recruiters see you as "difficult." Instead, he recommends framing it as looking for new professional challenges.

Even if a former manager was toxic, he advises against saying so in an interview. Recruiters, he says, may interpret that as a sign you struggle with leadership or conflict.

While he jokes that he personally dreams of running a farm with cows, he says that's not what companies want to hear. Employers are looking for long-term commitment, so candidates should align their answer with the company's future.

Also read: Employee says getting a job in 2026 is 10x harder, shares strategy hacks - others react on his new approach

He urges applicants to "sell yourself." Instead of downplaying accomplishments with phrases like "I didn't do it alone," he suggests framing challenges as team efforts you helped solve, positioning yourself as both capable and collaborative.

Finally, he emphasizes that a CV should highlight strengths clearly and confidently. He says he's seen talented professionals undersell themselves, even when their online presence shows impressive work. "Your CV is your introduction," he wrote, comparing it to marketing that has just seconds to make an impression.

He ended with a broader message: believe in yourself more. The Reddit user highlighted that, "There is always someone out there looking for a person with exactly your skills, but you have to know how to sell yourselves so that they find you."

The post quickly drew strong reactions in the comments section.

Some users agreed with parts of the advice, especially around salary negotiations and positioning answers strategically. A few said interviews are, in reality, negotiations, and candidates shouldn't feel obligated to disclose information that could weaken their bargaining power.

Others pushed back, arguing that encouraging lies, even small ones, can damage trust if discovered later. Several commenters said there's a difference between reframing the truth and outright dishonesty, and that candidates should focus on professional storytelling rather than fabricating details.

Some users emphasized that speaking negatively about former employers can indeed hurt your chances, but suggested there are honest ways to frame those experiences without lying. Others warned that exaggerating too much during interviews can create expectations that are difficult to meet once hired.

The thread evolved into a broader conversation about transparency, power dynamics in hiring, and whether the modern job interview process itself encourages strategic half-truths.

Is it okay to lie in a job interview?

Many commenters said there's a difference between strategic framing and outright dishonesty.

Should I reveal my previous salary?

Some believe withholding or reframing salary information can strengthen negotiation power. more

Career development

6h

Entry-Level ATS Resume Creation

I'm looking for a writer who can turn my academic projects and technical skills into a polished, one-page résumé that passes Applicant Tracking Systems with ease. The document must follow a classic layout -- easy on the eye, logically ordered, and free of design elements that might trip automated parsers -- yet still feel fresh and engaging to a hiring manager. Context * I'm a final-year Computer... Science student with no professional experience beyond class assignments and capstone work. * Target audience: recruiters screening candidates for web-development internships. * Core skills that need prominence: Python, HTML, CSS, basic Java, basic SQL, and general web-development know-how. What you'll receive from me Personal and contact details, education history, a concise list of skills, and short write-ups of my key academic projects. Your task Craft an ATS-optimized résumé in professional English, trimmed to a single page, and deliver it as an editable DOCX file. Make sure keyword placement mirrors common web-development internship postings while still reading naturally to a human. The structure should flow from a brief professional summary to education, technical skills, project highlights, and any relevant extracurricular achievements. Deliverables * Final résumé in DOCX format * One round of revisions included if requested within 48 hours of first delivery Timeline Initial draft due within 2-3 days of project start. more

Career development

7h

2026 NFL Draft Running Back Rankings including Penn State's Allen, Singleton and Notre Dame's Love, Price

Its Day 2 of Eric Froton's (@CFFroton) rankings of the year's top draft-eligible running backs. These are the best of the best: the Top 7.

Penn State and Notre Dame dominate these rankings with each school placing two backs on the board.

How do the four rank in the Top 7? Who else is among the Top 7?

Seth McGowan (6'1/215) is a shifty runner with NFL-caliber burst who piled up 730 yards and 12... touchdowns on 166 carries, flashing a solid 77.2 run grade despite modest efficiency markers. McGowan is sudden and bouncy with real lateral agility, capable of sticking his foot in the ground and making the first defender miss, but his frenetic style can lead him to freelance outside the blocking script and leave yardage on the field. The creation numbers are middling (2.72 YAC, 50.3 ELU) and the explosive output was surprisingly limited (14.7% breakaway rate, long of 20), suggesting the traits don't always translate to consistent chunk gains. In the open field he's tough to square up and strong enough to finish through contact, yet his receiving profile (five drops on 26 targets) reinforces that he's not a natural pass-game asset. McGowan projects as a developmental NFL back with rotational upside -- dangerous in space and capable of highlight plays -- but he likely would have benefited from returning to school and posting 1,000-yard proving season to stabilize the résumé.

A sturdy, linear runner whose game is built on size and straight-line speed rather than nuance, Nicholas Singleton (6'0/220) grinded out 546 yards on 124 carries (4.4 YPC) with a 77th-percentile run grade this season. Singleton is a strict one-cut back who follows the script almost to a fault, rarely deviating from the design and showing limited cutback vision or lateral deception when confronted 1-on-1 in the hole. The creation metrics reflect that rigidity -- 2.69 YAC, 19 missed tackles, and a middling 47.3 elusiveness rating -- pointing to a runner who can crack linebackers but doesn't consistently make them miss. Big plays tend to be structure-driven rather than self-created, as evidenced by isolated explosives behind clean blocking rather than sustained tackle-breaking sequences. Averaged at least 1.52 yards per route run in each of his last three campaigns, flexing out to a slot or wide alignment 20% of the time as PSU's preferred passing down back. Singleton projects best in a gap-heavy NFL scheme that values downhill decisiveness and physical finish over improvisation, with his ceiling tied to how much yardage he can generate once the blocking isn't pristine.

Kaytron Allen (5'11/219) emerged as Penn State's true workhorse, stacking 1,303 rushing yards (6.2 YPC) and 15 touchdowns with a dominant 91.3 run grade while handling 85 more carries than his backfield mate, Singleton. Allen wins with patience and polish, using pace steps to let blocks develop before exploding downhill, consistently finding creases in zone concepts and getting skinny through the hole before finishing runs with authority. His feet are remarkably nimble for a 219-pound back, creating favorable tackling angles with hop steps, spins, and subtle lateral slides that fuel a strong 3.77 YAC and 57 missed tackles on 210 attempts. The jump in breakaway rate (27.4%-to-40.4%) underscores improved second-level burst, though his game is more controlled violence than pure home-run speed. Allen projects as a tone-setting NFL early-down back who can anchor a committee, punish defenses between the tackles, and grind out tough yards with vision, balance, and smart tempo.

Emmett Johnson (5'11/200) is a high-volume, all-purpose workhorse who handled 251 carries for 1,450 yards (5.8 YPC) and 12 touchdowns, earning an impressive 88.1 run grade while keeping the offense on schedule. He's more efficient than explosive, as his 2.95 Y/CO and 28% breakaway rate are modest marks, but Johnson consistently finds daylight and maximizes creases with sharp, lateral darting ability through interior gaps. Where he separates himself is in the passing game, hauling in 46-of-54 targets for 370 yards with an elite 87th% drop grade and consistent slot usage that highlights true three-down utility. Johnson's 8.0 career YAC and 21 missed tackles on receptions underscore a back who can create in space, even if he lacks top-end home-run juice as a runner. The NFL projection is a versatile RB2/committee piece who can handle volume, catch the football at a high level, and win with feel and functional elusiveness rather than pure explosion.

Read More: Connor Rogers (@ConnorJRogers) NFL Mock Draft No. 1

Jadarian Price (5'11/210) is a decisive, zone-scheme hammer who pairs low pad level with burst, ripping off 6.0 YPC and 11 touchdowns in 2025 while stacking back-to-back 80-level run grades. His calling card is creation through momentum -- an excellent 4.28 career YAC, 73 missed tackles on 281 carries, and a gaudy 51.2% breakaway rate that shows what happens when he hits the B-gap with conviction. Price is a one-cut runner who reads blocks cleanly and gets downhill in a hurry, flashing enough edge speed to bounce outside, though he's more linear than elusive and doesn't rely on pacing or dance. The receiving résumé is light (15 career catches), but he's been efficient when used, suggesting functional hands rather than featured upside. Price projects as a decisive, scheme-fit NFL runner whose best work will come in zone concepts where he can press, plant, and explode through developing lanes.

Jonah Coleman (5'9/228) is built like a human bowling ball and has produced like one for four straight seasons, posting 84th-percentile run grades every year of his career. His breakout sophomore campaign at Arizona (93.4 run grade, 6.8 YPC, 55% breakaway rate) announced elite tackle-breaking chops, and he carried that identity to Washington with 67 missed tackles on 192 carries and a stellar 4.12 career yards-after-contact average. Coleman's quick feet and low center of gravity allow him to shrug off contact and churn through traffic, while his receiving résumé -- 80 catches on 90 targets over the last three seasons -- cements true three-down utility. His 1.73 yards per route in 2025 ranked second in the 2026 draft class behind only RB1 Jeremiyah Love, underscoring legitimate pass-game value beyond checkdowns. A knee injury dulled some late-season dynamism, but when healthy, Coleman profiles as a compact NFL feature back capable of anchoring a committee with contact balance, receiving polish, and sustained efficiency.

Jeremiah Love (6'0/214) is the unquestioned crown jewel of the 2026 running back class, coming off a nation-leading 94.1 run grade in 2025 while ripping off 1,372 yards and 18 touchdowns at a blistering 6.9 yards per carry. Love's explosiveness is unmatched -- his 52.9% breakaway rate ranked #1 in the Power Four, and his 4.50 YAC trailed only one back nationally, underscoring a rare blend of vision, burst, and contact balance. He's not just a home-run hitter but a complete offensive weapon, adding 27 receptions for 280 yards and three scores with superb 1.83 yards per-route production that stresses linebackers in space. The elusiveness spike from 2024 to 2025 reflects a runner who not only dodges first contact but finishes with authority, combining lateral twitch with downhill violence. A Doak Walker winner, unanimous All-American, and Heisman finalist, Love projects as a true NFL RB1 whose explosive profile can tilt defensive structure from Day 1.

Tomorrow, we'll publish Froton's breakdown of Fernando Mendoza and the other top quarterbacks eligible for this year's NFL Draft.

Previous Breakdowns:

Wide Receivers 1-10

Wide Receivers 11-20

Tight Ends 1-10

Running Backs 8-15

Enjoy the day and good luck as you prep for your team's draft in 2026. more

Career development

7h

Opinion: Black History Month's reminder of empty promises

A century after the start of Black History Month and five years after the murder of George Floyd, the gap between performative promises and real justice is harder to ignore.

This month, we mark a century since the beginnings of what became Black History Month. Black history in this country has always been tied to the present, to what we choose to see and to what we choose to ignore. This year,... those choices feel especially urgent.

About five years ago, when George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis, everyone woke up and took notice that Black Lives Matter. There were tremendous outpourings of grief, outrage and resolve to address this issue comprehensively and with decisiveness. Companies jumped onto the DEI bandwagon, and leaders adorned their résumés with DEI experience. It felt that this time around, there was a sense of genuineness and sincerity.

That resolve turned out to be a performance.

The vicissitudes of the political landscape saw many backers of equity and diversity jettison DEI like a hot potato. Commitments that appeared firm under public pressure just disappeared once the spotlight moved on. That retreat does not remain confined to corporate boardrooms. It has consequences that show up in how power is exercised elsewhere.

Black history has repeatedly shown that ignoring injustice at its outset does not protect the rest of society, and merely delays the moment when the consequences surface more broadly and with greater force.

The current ICE Age has stripped away the charade of performative commitment to justice. It has expanded racial profiling in ways that cut across communities. People of color are not the only ones affected. In some instances, bystanders and allies who questioned aggressive and unconstitutional enforcement actions have been caught in the violence. The deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti occurred in this context of overreach and unchecked force.

It feels like we have come full circle, back to square one, as the cliché goes. The questions remain stubbornly familiar. Where do we go from here? How do we break out of a vicious circle that keeps making some lives more valuable than others and assigning unequal value to different lives?

I believe part of the answer lies in a generational shift that is already underway. Younger Americans, especially those under 30, have grown up in a country that is far more diverse than the one earlier generations knew, and they have experienced that diversity as a daily reality. Through the internet and social media, they have grown up with constant exposure to what is happening beyond their own communities and beyond this country. That exposure shapes how they see questions of equity, justice and human rights, and it suggests a future in which attention to these issues may be harder to abandon.

This is not a dismissal of older Americans or the work they have done. Many carried the cause of justice for decades in ways that were slow, relational, and rarely celebrated. Much of the progress we point to today exists because people stayed engaged long after public attention faded. That kind of endurance still matters. The challenge now is not to set generations against each other, but to recognize that clarity and endurance are both needed if change is going to last.

We can see this most clearly closer to home.

Minnesota has shown tremendous resilience in the face of unprecedented odds. What stands out most is how neighbors are showing up for one another regardless of color or background. People checking in, offering rides, sharing food and organizing community responses. This is not performative. It is real. This interconnectedness reflects a deeply human instinct whose foundation runs far deeper than institutional commitments or political slogans.

Those walking on the thin ice of performance, in sharp contrast to this everyday caring by ordinary people, will not endure. Performance always falls away because it is not based on shared humanity and sincerity.

What is needed is courage and a clear commitment to creating a fair and just world around us. That commitment cannot exist without a willingness to change ourselves. When we see injustice or oppression, we must try to address it to the best of our capacity, to speak up and stand up, and at the very least to save our conscience from dying by keeping alive the distinction between justice and injustice.

Five years after George Floyd's murder, we are still asking the same hard questions. Black History Month is a reminder of what has been endured and of what remains unfinished. The choices we make in how we act, not what we say, will be the real measure of whether we have learned anything at all. more

Career development

7h

WE SHOULD HAVE MORE HOBBIES

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Wisconsin chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

Your résumé doesn't need to know about everything you love

Hobbies quietly vanished somewhere between productivity culture, academic validation and the obligation to constantly be "doing something useful." These days, when someone asks us what we do for leisure, our... responses- internships, research, side gigs, the gym- sound a lot like resumes. Even our downtime needs to be justified.

However, hobbies are not meant to be spectacular. They're supposed to be enjoyable, and we need more of them.

One of the few things in life that doesn't require perfection, optimization or quantifiable results is a hobby. You are not required to post it, commercialize it or make it a characteristic of your personality. You might not be very good at it. You can resign and return. Just because it feels nice, you can do it. That type of independence feels almost radical in a society that is fixated on success.

The notion that anything is a waste of time if it doesn't progress your profession is particularly fostered by college culture. We're urged to constantly grow ourselves into "better" versions: more productive, more accomplished, more impressive. Hobbies are reframed as abilities. Reading turns into "self-improvement." Exercise turns into "discipline." Even creative outlets feel pressed to lead somewhere. And happiness is lost along the way when everything must lead somewhere.

Hobbies serve as a reminder that we are people before we are workers, students or aspiring professionals. They allow us to live without being judged. You are choosing presence above performance when you crochet, journal, bake, paint or pick up a random instrument. Instead of worrying about the outcome, you're letting yourself enjoy the process. Additionally, having hobbies makes us more fascinating in a human way rather than a LinkedIn one. They provide us with narratives, viewpoints and quiet times. They reduce burnout, assist in controlling stress and establish little routines that help us stay grounded when life seems overwhelming. Sometimes doing something with no stakes at all is the most grounding thing you can do after a long day.

We don't have to keep getting better in order to be deserving of relaxation or happiness. Just because we enjoy something doesn't mean we shouldn't be allowed to do it. So maybe it's time to stop questioning whether a hobby is "useful" and start asking whether it makes us feel like ourselves again. Because life should be about more than just our accomplishments; it should also be about our pleasures. more

Career development

12h

When bullying happens at work

Most of us assume bullying is something we age out of by middle school, high school at the latest. By the time you're a professional -- especially one with credentials, experience, and a résumé you worked hard for -- you expect a baseline of mutual respect.

If you've spent enough time in workplaces, on boards, or in other community organizations, you've probably had that moment where your stomach... tightens in a meeting and you're not entirely sure why. A comment lands sideways. A tone shifts. Someone interrupts you for the third time. You walk away replaying the exchange, wondering whether you imagined it or whether something subtle but unmistakable just happened.

That confusion is often the first sign you're dealing with a workplace bully. more

Career development

13h

VarsityMentor pushes African universities to rethink computer science education as jobs disappear

Education and technology leaders have called for a radical shift in how computer science is taught across African universities, warning that the traditional "degree-to-job" model has collapsed amid shrinking employment opportunities and rapid technological change.

The call was made at a press conference held on Tuesday, ahead of a major Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Summit... scheduled to hold in Lagos from February 18 to 20, 2026.

Speaking at the briefing, Obinna Anya, a Senior UX Researcher at Google working on enterprise cloud AI solutions, said African universities must move beyond colonial-era education frameworks and begin equipping students with practical, problem-solving, and entrepreneurial skills that can translate directly into innovation, startups, and self-employment.

Anya explained that insights from global hiring practices at companies such as Google show that many leading universities in the United States now prioritise teaching students how to identify real-world problems, package their skills, build applications, and even write compelling CVs and résumés that appeal to recruiters.

"Our education system still assumes that once you graduate, jobs will be waiting for you. That worked in the 1980s and 1990s. Today, the jobs are simply not there," one speaker said. "When graduates confront that reality, the question becomes: what next?*"

The summit highlighted the need to help students recognise opportunities within their immediate environments and convert everyday challenges into viable startup ideas. Speakers stressed that many Nigerian students already possess strong foundations in calculus, statistics, physics, and chemistry -- disciplines that underpin data science and AI -- but often fail to see how these translate into industry applications.

"We want students to connect what they are learning in class to real-world use cases -- how statistics becomes data science, how mathematics feeds into AI, and how these skills can open doors beyond conventional employment," an organiser explained.

Organisers revealed that the impact of previous programmes is already visible, with at least two to three students having gone on to found startups -- an early milestone in their long-term goal of producing job creators rather than job seekers.

Unlike earlier editions held in Ghana and Kenya, which focused largely on students, this year's summit deliberately targeted universities and policymakers for broader, systemic impact. Faculty members from multiple African countries gathered in Lagos for the multi-day event, which ran from Wednesday to Friday.

According to the organisers, engaging directly with universities and ministries of education will create a ripple effect, as participating lecturers return to their institutions to train colleagues and redesign curricula. Prior to the summit, faculty members had already participated in surveys and virtual conferences to outline challenges facing their departments.

They also disclosed ongoing collaboration with the Generative AI Consortium at the University of San Diego, which delivered*virtual classes to African faculty as part of the preparatory engagements.

Speaking at the Varsity Mentor Generative AI in Computer Science Education Summit, Valerie Ehimhen, a Technical Programme Manager at Google, called for urgent and coordinated investment in Africa's computer science education. She said the continent must transitionfrom being a passive consumer of artificial intelligence to an active creator of AI solutions tailored to its realities.

Ehimhen urged African universities and governments to embrace generative AI in redesigning curricula, assessments, and teaching methods, while simultaneously investing in critical infrastructure such as functional computer labs and widespread student access to technology. She noted that such investments are essential to producing graduates capable of building AI systems that understand Africa's languages, cultures, and unique challenges through initiatives like VarsityMentor.

Addressing concerns that AI could make students lazy or undermine academic rigour, Adekunle Adeyemi, a Site Reliability Engineer at Google, said speakers dismissed the fears as a misunderstanding of technological progress. Drawing parallels with the introduction of calculators and computers, they argued that AI enhances efficiency and allows researchers and students to focus on higher-level thinking.

"AI helps compress months or years of work, especially in areas like literature reviews. It doesn't replace thinking; it redirects it," a panellist said. "More importantly, we don't just want students to use AI tools -- we want them to build AI models."

Adeyemi added that the summit also confronted harsh realities around infrastructure gaps. Organisers acknowledged that they currently lack the resources to fully equip universities with hardware, platforms, and paid AI tools but maintained that awareness and advocacy are critical first steps. They noted that some global technology firms are already offering free credits to universities, with discussions ongoing to expand access.

With projections suggesting that Africa will account for one in every three people in the global workforce by 2040, speakers warned that failure to reform education could deepen unemployment and inequality.

"This is about the future of Africa," one organiser said. "What are we going to do with the world's largest workforce if we don't prepare them with relevant skills?"

Government engagement featured prominently in the summit's agenda, with invitations extended to ministries of education across participating countries to hear directly from professors, review survey findings, and understand the urgency of investing in digital and AI infrastructure.

Responding to media questions, organisers said the summit will not only expose universities to AI tools and platforms but also provide adaptable models institutions can tailor to their local contexts.

Ultimately, speakers emphasised that Africa must build AI solutions rooted in its own languages, cultures, and realities, warning that technologies developed elsewhere often reflect foreign biases and priorities.

"If we don't build our own systems, others will build for us -- and not necessarily for our needs," a speaker concluded. "This summit is not a one-off. It marks the beginning of a long-term effort to reshape African education for a digital future." more

Career development

13h

How Are CV's Transforming In The Digital Age?

CV's have been a crucial part of the employment process since the 1950's, when they became a formal expectation at job interviews. In the decades since then, the CV has evolved, and now digital elements have been incorporated.

Job seekers need to know various tips and tricks to ensure their CV can compete in the digital age, and HR employees need to be trained in new techniques for sifting... through applications.

Until recently, job seekers would simply write up their CV onto a piece of paper and post it to employers. There has been a recent transition from paper to digital, though, which has brought about various changes in approach. Not only do candidates have to reconsider the way they structure CVs, but HR departments need to change their approaches to dealing with them.

The shift to a digital CV format means that it's possible to include elements that never existed on pre-internet versions. For instance, candidates can now incorporate visual and interactive elements, such as infographics and hyperlinks. Employers could click these links to find out more information about a candidate, such as their past work or websites that they have created.

Indeed, many candidates are now offering dynamic content alongside their CV applications. This can include personal websites that reveal online portfolios of past work and experience, offering an attractive extension to the CV for HR departments that want to delve further into the details of a potential new employee.

With all these digital elements and additional tools at everyone's disposal, it's more important than ever for hopefuls to optimise their CVs as much as possible. The most sought after jobs will receive hundreds of applications, so prospective employees need to tailor their submissions to suit the job description and the digital screening process.

It's crucial for candidates to start by looking at some CV examples in the industry that they're hoping to get employed in. There are major differences between engineering and accounting CVs, for example, so knowing what HR departments are seeking in these fields is beneficial. Researching keywords and phrases from the industry is also a winning approach, as these will be targeted by HR when they use digital tools to sort through applications.

HR Can Use Applicant Tracking Systems To Filter Candidates

The introduction of applicant tracking systems has been a huge development for HR departments in the recruitment process. The systems can analyse hundreds of CV's in a short space of time, identifying the best candidates based on keywords and other predefined parameters.

This means there's much more efficiently in recruitment, as HR departments don't need to spend as much time manually screening CV's. They can use the ATS to find the best options, and then explore these further. The customisation of filters means that HR departments can constantly refine their approach as well, zoning in on the perfect candidates for the job.

CVs have already transformed massively in the digital age, and there could be other developments to come in the future. Therefore, it's imperative that job seekers and HR departments keep up to date with modern trends.

Our team of experts at CSS Recruitment can offer help and support on how to construct the perfect CV for your desired role. We have a wealth of experience across a range of different industries and are on hand to offer advice and career guidance from creating the perfect CV to securing your ideal job.

So, if you're a candidate looking for a new role or a business looking to hire permanent staff members or need to recruit flexibly to meet demand, give us a call to discuss your plans for the future. Our team are hand to give expert advice and can look at sourcing top talent, ahead of your competitors, for when you're ready to hire. more

Career development

1d

CEO reveals the little-known 'water test' she uses in job interviews

Hoping to make a good impression at a job interview or even at an important business meeting? A corporate executive has revealed a simple way you can foster a positive outcome before the meeting has even begun.

Julie Helms, a former energy industry CEO who now specialises as an executive presence educator, has been in the hiring seat during dozens of interviews - but is always stunned that so... many applicants miss out on an easy win right at the very start.

And it has absolutely nothing to do with an applicant's experience, skills or suitability for the role.

'What's the first thing you are offered in a meeting?' Julie asked in a post shared to her @juliehelmss Instagram account. 'Usually, it's a glass of water.'

'And what does everyone say to that offer? "Oh no, thanks. I'm fine."'

But if you're hoping to start the meeting on a positive note, Julie explained in a video that you shouldn't turn down this polite gesture.

'There's a scientific reason to be the person who says "Yes, please". And that is the neurological link between generosity and happiness.

'By enabling their generosity when you accept, you're giving them a tiny mood boost.'

Julie Helms, a former energy industry CEO who now specialises as an executive presence educator, shared her 'always take the water' trick for job interviews and important meetings in a recent video post

Julie explained how answering 'yes' to the polite gesture subconsciously fosters a positive environment before the meeting has even begun

Her ultimate underrated interview tip? 'Always take the water.'

Julie elaborated further to Daily Mail on the little-known business etiquette tip, explaining how it could, on a subconscious level, impact the tone of the forthcoming meeting.

'Saying "yes" to the offer of water is not just about whether you're thirsty. It's a small social gesture that helps the other person feel comfortable and valued, which quietly strengthens connection from the very start.'

As the old saying goes, "First impressions count" - and in Julie's experience, that extends to these polite small talk and social interactions before the formalities commence.

'Meetings and job interviews are just as much about rapport as they are about the actual content. The tone is often set in the first few seconds.'

'Humans are wired with survival instincts that constantly scan for cues about whether someone is a friend or a threat, often without us even realising it. Small social signals can influence that perception. Saying "yes" to water is a subtle friend cue. It helps shift both people out of a fight or flight mindset and into a more grounded, collaborative state, which supports clearer thinking and better communication.'

Furthermore, Julie says that in particularly strenuous interviews, having a glass of water at hand can be helpful on a practical level - and not just to quench any dehydration-related nerves.

'Having a glass of water gives you something natural to do with your hands and creates built-in pause moments, say if you need a second to think before answering a question.'

Julie recently shared a video explaining her 'always take the water' interview tactic in a video shared to her @juliehelmss social media accounts

Julie explained how having a glass of water at hand can be helpful on a practical level to offer natural pause moments in conversation (Picture: stock image)

'That tiny bit of space can make you appear more composed under pressure.'

So, will the meeting fall apart if you decline the offer of water at the start? Not necessarily - but Julie explains that it could introduce a 'very subtle distance' between the parties.

'Leading with a "no", even a very polite "no, thank you", can introduce a subtle distance. When the stakes are as low as a glass of water, simply saying "yes" helps establish a cooperative rhythm from the start.

'Accepting the offer also positions you as someone who expects to be there and feels comfortable in the space. Those early impressions are powerful, and they can influence how the rest of the conversation unfolds.'

An Australian CEO previously revealed how he uses the offer of a beverage during a job interview as a mini-test for potential candidates.

Former Xero Australia managing director Trent Innes admitted in a 2019 interview that he refuses to hire anyone who doesn't offer to take their empty coffee cup back to the kitchen at the end of a job interview.

He explained that this tactic gave him a snapshot into the person's 'attitude' and 'ownership'.

Before commencing his interview, Mr Innes revealed he usually takes the prospective candidate for a walk to the kitchen, where they are given a glass of water, coffee, tea or soft drink.

CEO's Underrated Interview Tips

1. Pause and observe the whole room before sitting so that you can acknowledge or greet everyone properly.

2. Keep your phone completely out of sight, not just face down on the table.

3. Avoid visible fidgeting or bouncing your knees. If you need to calm nerves, try gently pressing one thumb into the palm of your other hand - it's a discreet, nearly invisible way to release tension.

4. Take a small breath before answering a tough question instead of rushing. That brief pause helps you respond thoughtfully rather than reactively.

5. If you accept a glass of water in the meeting, ask at the end if you may return it to the kitchen or dishwasher. That small gesture reads as teamwork and consideration for shared spaces.

6. Remember, micro behaviours communicate presence, respect, and emotional composure. People often remember how you made them feel just as much as what you actually said.

Source: Julie Helms, CEO and executive presence educator, @juliehelmss

Advertisement

Former Xero Australia's managing director Trent Innes (pictured) would use a "coffee cup return" test in job interviews

He previously told the Venture Podcast with Lambros Photios that what he's subsequently looking for is to see if the person offers to return the empty cup to the kitchen at the conclusion of the interview.

By implementing this approach, Mr Innes said his secret technique helps ensure he finds the perfect employee who will fit into the culture of his company.

'So what I was trying to find was what was the lowest level task I could find that regardless of what you did inside the organisation was still super important that would actually really drive a culture of ownership,' he said.

'You really want to make sure that you've got people who have got a real sense of ownership, and that's really what I was looking for.' more

3

STEPHEN ANGURIA
17h
Thank you so much for the insights. I have been turning a way offers during interview sessions due to misconception by some college instructors who... advised potential candidates to always turn away such offers. more

Career development

18h

Ask The Headhunter® - LinkedIn's hiring numbers don't add up & job seekers pay the price (old newspaper want ads did better)

For decades Americans have been told that online job boards are the engines of modern hiring. LinkedIn, Indeed, CareerBuilder, ZipRecruiter -- the whole digital carnival -- all insist they're indispensable. They promise efficiency, reach, and "data-driven hiring." They promise to match talent with opportunity at unprecedented scale.

But here's the uncomfortable truth: None of these companies... publish audited success rates.

Not one.

And when they do make claims, those claims tend to be... let's say, "aspirational."

LinkedIn's "seven hires per minute" is only the latest in a long line of job-board boasts that collapse under scrutiny. The entire industry has been selling the same fantasy for years, and the numbers -- when you can find them -- tell a very different story.

Let's start with the current king of the hill.

The 7-hires-per-minute myth

LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman posted on January 12 on X the now-famous line: "Every minute, seven people are hired via LinkedIn, a rate that equates to 3.67 million people a year."

It's a great sound bite. It's also nearly impossible to verify. The number appears everywhere -- in blogs, in influencer posts, in SEO-bait "career advice" articles -- but try to trace it back to a primary source and you'll find yourself in a digital funhouse of circular citations. Everyone cites someone else. No one cites LinkedIn, the job-board operation of Microsoft.

The closest thing to an origin is a Microsoft earnings call from 2020, where CEO Satya Nadella said, "Three people are hired every minute on LinkedIn." Since then, the number has mysteriously doubled and tripled, with no explanation, no methodology, and no published data.

And even Nadella's number wasn't a count of actual hires. LinkedIn can't see real hiring events. They don't have access to payroll systems or HRIS data. What they do have is a proprietary metric called a "Confirmed Hire," which is triggered when a user applies for a job on LinkedIn and later updates their profile to show they work at that company.

That's not a hire. That's a profile change.

When the lag time is too long, LinkedIn uses "Predicted Confirmed Hires," a machine-learning guess based on signals like recruiter messages, job saves, or interview requests sent through LinkedIn Recruiter. (See Online Experimentation with Surrogate Metrics.)

This is marketing dressed up as labor-market facts.

The echo chamber that built a myth

Once the "seven hires per minute" line escaped into the wild, it became self-replicating. Career coaches cite it. Bloggers cite it. SEO farms cite it. Some claim six hires per minute. Some claim eight. Some claim 75% of all job transitions happen on LinkedIn.

None of them cite primary data. Most of them cite each other. And LinkedIn? It doesn't correct them. Why would it? The myth is good for business.

The real numbers are embarrassing

Let's take Hoffman's version at face value: Seven hires per minute = 3.67 million hires per year.

Now reference that to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which reports 63 million hires in 2025. If all 3.67 million LinkedIn hires were U.S. hires -- which is extremely generous since most of its market is global -- LinkedIn accounts for 5.84% of all hires.

If only half were U.S. hires -- a more realistic assumption -- LinkedIn accounts for 2.9% of all hires.

Either way, the number is tiny.

And here's the kicker: Newspaper want ads in their heyday filled 12-15% of jobs. Four to five times LinkedIn's performance. (See What Color Is Your Parachute 2013 Edition and BLS publication Job Seeking Methods Used By American Workers.)

I'm not suggesting that in today's world employers start once again running want ads in print media. But it would be worth studying why want ads worked so well, even while acknowledging those ads were not the best solution, either.

LinkedIn isn't the only offender -- The whole industry does this

LinkedIn's marketing isn't uniquely misleading. It's simply the most visible version of a long-running pattern.

CareerBuilder once told me -- with a straight face -- that they "fill 57% of all jobs." When I asked for the data, they declined to provide any. They just repeated the line, as if saying it enough times would make it true.

Indeed went even further. In 2016, they claimed that "65% of all hires from online sources" came from Indeed, citing a SilkRoad report based on a narrow sample of SilkRoad's own clients.

The job-board industry has always relied on big, impressive-sounding numbers that fall apart under scrutiny. LinkedIn is simply the latest to benefit from the same playbook.

The real problem: 4.7 billion failed applications

Another widely repeated LinkedIn statistic claims that 9,000 job applications are submitted on the platform every minute.

Do the math. Job seekers submit 4,730,400,000 applications per year to LinkedIn. If LinkedIn "fills" 3.7 million of those jobs, that's a success rate of 0.078%.

Not even one-tenth of one percent.

This explains a phenomenon every job seeker knows too well: You apply for a job on LinkedIn and get a rejection minutes later. Those are just the odds your application faces. (This is how the entire online recruiting system works: More is better. Except it's not. But that's another discussion.)

It's not personal. It's not even human. The problem is structural, because LinkedIn's system is designed for volume, not quality. Employers are flooded with hundreds or thousands of applications within hours. Algorithms filter most of them out instantly. Recruiters never see them. The platform optimizes for engagement -- clicks, applications, impressions -- not outcomes.

The result is a hiring process that fails almost everyone involved.

Why LinkedIn lets the myth spread

Because it works. The "seven hires per minute" claim:

* makes LinkedIn look indispensable

* justifies recruiter subscriptions

* drives job-seeker engagement

* reassures investors that the platform is a hiring powerhouse.

And since the number is based on internal, unverifiable signals, no one can audit it.

It's not that LinkedIn is lying. It's that they're letting the world misinterpret a black-box marketing metric as a labor-market fact.

LinkedIn could actually fix hiring -- if it wanted to

Here's the irony: LinkedIn is perfectly positioned to solve the hiring crisis it helped create. Unfortunately, LinkedIn decided years ago to take the wrong fork in the road. Rather than build out the world's best professional network to leverage better, more trusted personal and professional relationships among its members, LinkedIn turned the site into just another job board that could milk ever more fees for "recruiter seats."

That misstep cost LinkedIn, job hunters and employers what could have been the most effective recruiting system in the world.

The most effective sources of hires have always been:

* personal referrals, and

* targeted, relationship-driven recruiting.

Referrals fill 40-70% of jobs, depending on the study. They produce better matches, faster hires, and longer retention. They're the opposite of the high-volume, low-signal chaos of job boards.

LinkedIn could lead a revolution by:

* helping job seekers activate real relationships instead of spraying resumes

* helping employers identify warm introductions instead of drowning in cold applicants

* building tools that prioritize trust, not traffic

* publishing transparent, audited hiring metrics

* shifting the focus from "more applications" to "better matches."

LinkedIn has the network, the data and the reach. What it needs now is the courage to stop selling the myth -- and start building the solution.

The benefits of friction

Print publications including newspapers, magazines, professional and industry journals (and even the free fish-wrap found in stands on city street corners) once owned recruitment advertising. They ran pricey help-wanted ads that added lots of friction to hiring and job hunting. You had to get the publication, find the right ads with no "search" help, print up your resumes and cover letters, stick them in envelopes, stamp and address them and take them to the post office. Still, this employment channel delivered 12-15% of hires.

How was that possible? I believe it's because even if some job seekers aggressively sent out hundreds of resumes, there was so much friction in the process that it was self-limiting. (I recall a Kansas City firm that would mail your printed resume to 3,000 companies in your industry code for $5,000. Readers reported it didn't work very well but it sure sounded good!) The monetary and time costs forced job seekers and employers alike to fine-tune their efforts -- and this "friction" paid off in higher likelihood of success. I think it's that simple.

Optimize for results not volume

It should come as no surprise that a job application process that's so frictionless and easy as LinkedIn's fails 99.92% of the 9,000 applications daily submitted to LinkedIn. We can only wonder what Linked could accomplish if they focused on the challenge of what to do about the 4,726,720,800 of job applications submitted via LinkedIn that don't result in a job.

While 12-15% success handily beats LinkedIn and the job boards -- whose success historically was mainly in the single digits as tracked by CareerXroads -- even that pales beside finding and filling jobs via personal contacts.

But productive methods could be added to the stack of tools that digital recruiting relies on. This could also help LinkedIn's wretched reputation by helping job seekers escape the black hole of mass-application misery.

The job-board industry has spent 25 years optimizing for volume, yet it still hasn't beaten the performance of the old newspaper want ad. It's time someone optimized for results. LinkedIn could be that someone -- if it chooses to be.

: :

Your comments, observations, insights, suggestions and personal experiences are welcome in the Comments section below. more

Career development

20h

Your Online Presence Says More Than Your Resume (Here's What People Actually See)

A hiring manager told me something last year that made me wonder. She said she hadn't read a resume as a first step in over three years. Not once. Her process starts with a name typed into Google. Then LinkedIn. Then whatever else surfaces.

If the search results look professional and coherent, the resume gets read. If they look scattered, outdated, or nonexistent, the resume often doesn't.

She's... not unusual. A 2024 survey by CareerBuilder found that 70% of employers screen candidates on social media before scheduling an interview. Not after. Before. Your resume might be the most carefully edited document you own, but it's rarely the first thing someone sees when they're evaluating you professionally.

This is where it gets interesting. The gap between how much effort people invest in their resume versus their online presence is enormous. Hours perfecting bullet points. Zero minutes updating the LinkedIn photo from 2018.

That gap is costing people opportunities they never even know they missed.

The Silent Evaluation Happening Before You Walk In

Every professional interaction now begins with a search. A potential client Googles your name before the sales call. A conference organizer checks your LinkedIn before accepting your speaker proposal. A recruiter scans your profile before forwarding your application to the hiring manager.

You've probably experienced this yourself. You meet someone at an event, exchange details, and the first thing you do afterward is look them up. Within 30 seconds, you've formed an impression based on whatever you find. A polished LinkedIn profile with a clear headline and professional photo creates one impression. A bare profile with a blurry selfie and no summary creates a very different one.

Here's what most people miss: this evaluation isn't conscious. Nobody sits down with a rubric and scores your online presence. They glance at it for a few seconds, form a feeling, and move on. The feeling is either "this person seems credible and put-together" or "something feels off." That feeling then colors every subsequent interaction.

This is why your online presence matters more than your resume. Your resume is read deliberately, with attention, in a context where someone has already decided to consider you. Your online presence is scanned passively, quickly, in a context where someone is deciding whether to consider you.

The Five Signals People Read in Seconds

If the evaluation is fast and subconscious, what exactly are people picking up on? After studying how recruiters, clients, and collaborators describe their first-impression process, I've noticed five consistent signals.

Your photo. This is the single most influential element. Not because people are judging your appearance in a superficial sense, but because photo quality signals intentionality. A professional, current headshot says: "I take my career seriously enough to present myself well." A blurry, cropped, or missing photo says: "This isn't a priority for me." Research from Photofeeler suggests that the perceived competence of a person can shift by as much as 40% based on the quality of their profile photo alone.

The cost and logistics of getting a good headshot used to be a legitimate barrier. That's no longer the case. AI portrait services like Headshot Photo produce studio-quality results from smartphone photos, and the whole process takes hours rather than weeks. The point isn't which tool you use. The point is that "I haven't had time to get a good photo" is no longer a credible excuse.

Your headline. On LinkedIn specifically, the text below your name is often the only copy someone reads. "Marketing Manager at XYZ Corp" tells people what you do. "I help B2B SaaS companies build content engines that drive pipeline" tells them what you're good at. The difference matters.

Your consistency. Does your LinkedIn match your personal website? Does your Twitter bio align with how you describe yourself on your company's team page? Inconsistency across platforms creates cognitive friction. It's subtle, but evaluators notice when someone seems like a different person in different places.

Your activity. A LinkedIn profile that hasn't been touched in two years tells a story. So does one with recent posts, thoughtful comments, or shared articles. Activity signals engagement with your profession. Silence signals either disinterest or neglect.

Your searchability. If someone Googles your name and nothing relevant appears, that's its own kind of problem. For common names, this means your professional identity is invisible. For uncommon names, it means you haven't claimed any digital real estate at all.

Why Resumes Can't Compete With First Impressions

The resume was designed for a world where professional evaluation happened in sequence: apply, get screened, interview, receive offer. Every step was controlled and linear.

That world doesn't exist anymore.

Today, evaluation happens in parallel. Someone might see your LinkedIn comment on a post, visit your profile, check your company's about page, and Google your name before you've even applied for anything. By the time you submit a resume, the evaluator may have already formed 80% of their opinion.

And this matters because first impressions are sticky. Psychologists call it the "primacy effect": information received first disproportionately shapes our overall judgment. If someone's first impression of you is a strong LinkedIn profile with a polished photo and a clear value proposition, your resume confirms what they already believe. If their first impression is a bare profile with a default avatar, your resume has to overcome a negative starting position.

This isn't fair. But it's real. And the professionals who understand it have a quiet, compounding advantage over those who don't.

The "Good Enough" Trap

The most common response I hear when raising this topic is: "My online presence is fine." And for most people, "fine" is accurate. Their LinkedIn exists. It has a photo. Their job history is current. Nothing is broken.

But "fine" is exactly the problem.

In a competitive professional environment, "fine" is invisible. It doesn't create a negative impression, but it doesn't create any impression at all. You blend into the stream of identical profiles with identical corporate headshots and identical buzzword summaries.

Standing out doesn't require being flashy. It requires being intentional. A headline that communicates your specific value. A summary that sounds like a human wrote it rather than a template. A profile photo that looks current and professional. Activity that demonstrates you're engaged in your field.

Each of these takes less than an hour to address. Combined, they shift your online presence from "this person exists" to "this person is worth talking to." That shift is often the difference between being contacted and being overlooked.

The Practical Audit: What to Do This Week

If you accept the premise that your online presence is being evaluated more often and more critically than your resume, the next step is straightforward. Audit what people actually see when they look you up.

Start with a Google search of your full name. Look at the first page of results. Is what appears accurate, current, and professional? If not, you know where to focus.

Next, look at your LinkedIn through the eyes of a stranger. Cover your name and ask: would someone looking at this profile understand what I do, who I help, and why I'm credible? If the answer is unclear, your headline and summary need work.

Then assess your photo honestly. Is it current (taken within the past two years)? Is it well-lit and professionally framed? Does it represent how you actually look today? If you're unsure, ask a trusted colleague for honest feedback. If the photo needs updating, practical guidance on what makes a strong professional headshot can help you avoid the most common mistakes whether you're shooting with a photographer or using AI tools.

Finally, look at your activity. When was the last time you posted, commented, or shared something professionally relevant? If it's been more than a month, you're signaling disengagement to anyone who checks.

This entire audit takes 20 minutes. The fixes take a few hours. The compounding professional benefit lasts years.

The Real Competition Isn't Other Candidates

Here's the uncomfortable truth about online presence: you're not competing against other people's profiles. You're competing against the absence of effort.

Most professionals put minimal thought into how they appear online. They treat their digital presence as an afterthought, something to set up once and forget. This means the bar for standing out is remarkably low. You don't need to become an influencer or build a personal media empire. You just need to be more intentional than the default.

A clear headline. A current photo. A summary that sounds like you. Evidence that you're active in your profession. That combination alone puts you ahead of 80% of professionals on any platform.

Your resume tells people what you've done. Your online presence tells people who you are. And increasingly, people want to know who you are long before they care what you've done.

-

Photos provided by the author. more

Career development

1d

Westside Community Center to Pass the Leadership Torch at Tuesday Event -- The Anderson Observer

The new director of the Westside Community Center won't need much prepping to get to work. Dr. Treca Yvette DeShields has been involved in the community for some time, and is ready to fill some big shoes as she followers the organization's founder who retired last year.

For more than three decades, Westside has been shaped by the presence of one woman, Dr. Beatrice Thompson, whose tenure as... director began when the neighborhood, and the country, were having a very different conversation about what counted as a "community center." She arrived at a time when such places were still often imagined as gymnasiums with side rooms, and proceeded to turn Westside into something more complicated: a hybrid of school, informal social-service agency, and civic commons, with after-school tutoring in one room and quiet consolations in another.

The board's announcement reminded the community of Thompson's 30 years of "transformational leadership," marked by an "unwavering commitment to education, youth development, and community empowerment."

The new leader is a social worker with a doctorate, a résumé full of acronyms, and a biography that loops through small-town South Carolina and back again. Her name is Dr. Treca DeShields, MSW, and though she has been at the helm since Jan. 1, her official introduction to the community is set at an event at Westside Community Center Tuesday from 4-6 p.m., with a formal "Passing of the Torch Ceremony" to bless the exchange.

The phrase "passing of the torch," chosen by the board for the event, is unusually apt. Thompson is not being nudged aside; she is being staged -- gently, publicly -- as someone whose work has created a legacy that must be carried. The board's statement is explicit about this: "On behalf of the Board of Directors, we are deeply grateful for the extraordinary leadership of Dr. Beatrice Thompson; her legacy is one of service, excellence, and deep community roots. As we honor her contributions, we are equally confident in the leadership of Dr. Treca DeShields as she carries the torch forward."

If Thompson's leadership was grounded in the rhythms of a particular place -- the Westside of Anderson -- DeShields's has been shaped by a network of institutions and acronyms that make up the contemporary nonprofit world. She is the founder of The Zone Services Inc., a small organization that sounds, in its mission, like a field manual for twenty-first-century social work: prevention, outreach, wellness, leadership development, family strengthening. The work has taken her, and her programs, across South Carolina, moving in and out of schools, churches, and community centers that resemble Westside in their architecture if not always in their history.

The board's announcement, thinner on narrative than on credentials, notes that she brings "extensive experience in nonprofit leadership, mental health advocacy, youth and family services, and community engagement." These are, in one sense, broad categories; in another, they are a map of the overlapping crises that now define much of everyday life in places like Anderson County. A community center in 2026 is not simply contending with truancy or idle afternoons. It is dealing, often indirectly, with depression, anxiety, trauma, addiction, eviction, food insecurity, and the slow erosion of informal supports that once came from extended family and long-term employment.

DeShields's own biography is, like many Southern stories, rooted in a smaller town down the road. She was born and raised in Clinton, South Carolina, to the late Mary Ellen DeShields and Thomas Glenn, and spent "many hours and a lot of energy" on that town's needs before Anderson came calling. The press material cuts off just as it begins to describe her time at Clinton High School and her path into social work, but the outline is familiar: early involvement in church or civic groups; college; graduate work culminating in a Master of Social Work; and, eventually, a decision to build an organization rather than simply work for one.

When asked about the transition, DeShields's quoted response is both dutiful and revealing. "I am honored to follow in the footsteps of Dr. Thompson and humbled by the trust placed in me by the Board," she said. "Westside Community Center has a powerful legacy, and I look forward to building upon that foundation while expanding opportunities that meet the evolving needs of our community." The statement, like most such quotes, aims to reassure: she recognizes the past, she believes in the present, and she is aware that the "needs of our community" are not static. Embedded in that phrase "evolving needs" is an acknowledgment of the last decade's churn -- opioid epidemics, pandemic disruptions, shifting school policies, the digitization of both work and loneliness.

In Anderson, the word "Westside" does a lot of work. It describes a geographic quadrant, a set of schools, a voting base, and, depending on who is speaking, a shorthand for the city's racial and economic divides. The community center sits inside that thicket of meanings, absorbing what it can. Thompson's approach, over thirty years, was to make the building porous to the rest of the county, inviting in partners and volunteers, and training generations of teenagers to regard it as a place where they might both receive and provide help.

The question facing DeShields is not whether to continue that work -- her appointment suggests that the board expects continuity -- but how to revise it for an era in which the boundaries between school, clinic, and community center are blurrier than ever. Her background in mental health advocacy hints at one direction: the integration of counseling and trauma-informed practice into settings that once focused primarily on homework help and basketball. Her experience in leadership development and "family strengthening" suggests another: programs that treat young people not only as clients but as future staff, board members, and civic actors.

The coming "Passing of the Torch Ceremony" will be, on its surface, a small event, with speeches, framed certificates, and, likely, a buffet of catered food in aluminum pans. But it will also be an opportunity for the city to measure, if only briefly, the distance between what Westside was when Thompson began and what it will need to be as DeShields takes over.

The board's announcement reads like an attempt to compress that distance into a single sentence, pairing "legacy" with "confidence," "service" with "innovation." In choosing a director whose life has moved between the small town of Clinton and the broader circuits of South Carolina's nonprofit sector, Westside is betting that the skills required to navigate grant cycles and program audits are not incompatible with the ones required to know which grandmother to call when a teenager stops showing up.

If the bet pays off, the building on the Westside will continue to function as it has for three decades: as an unglamorous but essential piece of local infrastructure, where the abstract nouns of a press release -- education, empowerment, engagement -- are translated back into something more concrete: a child learning to read, a parent filling out a job application, a room full of neighbors deciding, together, what they want their part of Anderson to become. more

Tim Jacobs

Career development

2mo

Do you know what is the "coffee test" in a job interview?
They offer you a coffee. Then they watch what you do with the cup.
What they’re looking for: Do you bring the cup back, ask where to put it, or leave it on the table (Oops, no).
It’s meant to reveal things like: basic courtesy, culture fit, and how you handle the tiny, unspoken stuff.
I hope, you got now what to do with the cup.

14

Stanley Koech
1mo
Thank them for the courtesy, but kindly decline. It's professional, not a social gathering. ...Unless of-course you are been interviewed for... 'coffee-testing-quality check' in a quality research coffee company! more
Stanley Koech
1mo
Thank them for the courtesy, but kindly decline. It's professional, not a social gathering.