AI-Related Job Posts Balloon

In just one year, the number of job postings related to generative AI has increased 450 percent as did the types of job skills associated with GenAI, according to a recent report from the freelancing platform Upwork.

Roles for prompt engineers, AI chatbot developers, and AI content creators are among job postings related to GenAI. In the same vein, businesses are looking for professionals with experience in AI tools such as ChatGPT, DALL-E, and others. The need for such workers has increased so much that Upwork had to create its own AI-post generator and a new chatbot to help businesses with their talent searches.

One of the most important jobs to emerge is prompt engineering, which fine-tunes text-to-text and text-to-image models that can be understood by AI. It is considered a critical skill for the future workplace.

Mearian, L. (2023, July 19.) AI skills job postings jump 450%; here’s what companies want. Computerworld. https://www.computerworld.com

Dating Apps as a Job Search Tool

Swiping right is taking on a whole new meaning. Some people are using dating apps as ways to network.

While professionals agree that designated job sites such as LinkedIn should never be used as dating apps, not all agree that the opposite is true. It makes sense, actually. When creating a dating profile, people list their qualities and preferences, so it follows that at least some of those characteristics could be beneficial in the workplace. One woman who listed curiosity, open-mindedness, and a love of learning on a dating app also wrote that although she’d like to meet people and make friends, she is also networking for job connections.

All dating sites are not of one mind on the topic. While Grindr actually brands itself as a platform to meet “like-minded people,” Tinder has specifically advised users to make only personal connections on its app. Nevertheless, industrious job searchers can learn useful information when scoping out dating apps. One user of the app Hinge learned from another user that Meta had an un-advertised hiring freeze in place, helpful information that steered the individual away from the organization.

A career coach who works with young professionals urges them to network wherever they can.

Steinberg, E. (2023, August 18.) Forget job-hunting sites. Networkers turn to dating apps. The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com

Gen Z: Hirers Aren’t Feeling the Love

Calling them the “most challenging generation,” some employers are hesitant to hire members of Gen Z. Nearly 75 percent of managers polled by ResumeBuilder complained that the newest set of workers need hand-holding at every turn, have a poor work ethic, and feel overly entitled.

But perhaps the biggest complaint is the demographic’s poor communication skills, largely a result of spending too much time alone due to the pandemic. To help these new workers get up to par, employers are having to provide extra training to help their new-hires learn how to introduce themselves, work in teams, and give presentations.

Still, one positive within the generation is its ability leverage technology.

Tenore, H. (2023, August 7.) 40% of business leaders think recent Gen Z graduates aren’t prepared for the workplace, new survey says—and some said they won’t even hire them. Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com

Ivy League Degrees Don’t Net Higher Salaries—Mostly

Graduating from the Ivies isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. New research from Harvard shows that attending an Ivy League school rather than one of the best state universities leads to a statistically insignificant increase in earnings, a mere 3 percent, by age 33. The study indicates that the caliber of the student better predicts future earnings than the college attended.

However, the researchers did find that attending an Ivy had some perks. Doing so increases the likelihood that the graduate will land a job with an elite employer and attend highly-ranked graduate programs. It also boosted the number of grads who became part of the top 1% of earners by the time they were 33.

The study named a parent’s degree of wealth the best indicator of gaining acceptance to an Ivy.

Zinuka, J. (2023, July 27.) An Ivy League degree won’t boost your salary much compared to a good state school, a study finds. You’re just more likely to have an elite-sounding job. Insider. https://www.insider.com

Graduates Worry about AI’s Impact on Jobs

College graduates are voicing concern about their readiness to work in a world filled with AI, according to a new survey conducted by Cengage Group.

Over half of the 1,000 people surveyed said they worried about their preparedness for the workplace as a result of the rapid acceptance of generative AI. Nearly half who had jobs felt their positions were threatened by the new technology, while 55 percent said their roles could not be replaced by AI.  Six in ten respondents believed they needed to improve their digital skills.

The survey also revealed that employers’ hiring plans were being affected by the new tools. More than half said certain entry-level jobs and entire teams could be replaced by AI, and about two-thirds said current employees would need to upskill or reskill. Nevertheless, employers are prioritizing “uniquely human” skills in new employees such as emotional intelligence, negotiation skills, and communication, the study also found.

Nietzel, M. (2021, July 20.) AI is leading college graduates to questions their job readiness, according to new survey. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com

Late Night Study Events Grow in Popularity

More and more institutions are responding to students’ tendency to procrastinate around finals time by holding events called LNAP, or Long Night Against Procrastination.

The events began in Germany in 2010 but have spread across the globe. They typically include academic assistance from faculty, student volunteers, and writing tutors. Campus libraries open study areas and supply snacks.

An unintended consequence of providing late night help to students in the library seems to have the added bonus of reducing their reticence to venture through the library doors—many students find the wide variety of library resources overwhelming.

Some schools even provide therapy dogs during the sessions and other forms of stress relief. That’s a lot different from the days of pulling an all-nighter alone in a tiny dorm room.

Flaherty, C. (2023, July 18.) Long night study events: Less procrastination, more fun. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered/com

Top Jobs for College Grads

Recent college grads face a tight job market. The list below shows the top 10 positions requiring a college degree as well as their salaries, according to Indeed.com.

1. Outside Sales Rep ($60,000)
2. Transportation Coordinator ($47,000)
3. Quality Auditor ($84,500)
4. Accounting Coordinator ($52,000)
5. Tax Preparer ($67,500)
6. Loan Processor ($55,000)
7. Retention Specialist ($50,000)
8. Network Operations Technician ($85,500)
9. Mental Health Case Worker ($42,000)
10. Speech Language Pathologist ($60,000)

Gupta, S. (2023, April 11). Top 10 entry-level jobs that are hiring right now. FastCompany. https://fastcompany.com

Guest Speakers Offer a Look Into the Real World

One of the best ways to engage students and foster buy-in to the business communication curriculum is inviting a guest speaker to the classroom.

Students respond to learning about the experiences of successful business practitioners. Likewise, having diverse role models further motivates more students to take their education seriously because they feel seen.

Consider the following pointers when inviting a guest speaker.

• Prepare students ahead of time. Explain why the individual has something to offer. Ask students to research the speaker’s background/field and have them submit questions for the speaker in advance.
• Provide the speaker with context. Tell the speaker about your objectives for the talk and the students in the audience. Share how many will attend.
• Discuss the event afterward. Ask students to reflect on what they learned in written format or in small-group discussions.

Brusini, A. (2023, June 27). Quick tips: Guest speakers in the classroom. The Innovative Instructor Blog. https://www.ii.library.jhu.edu

TikTok Helps Students Focus

Some students have found a new way to break the isolation that has plagued many since the pandemic by using Tiktok to find study-buddies.

It works like this. An individual doing school work—writing a paper, reading, or studying—live streams on Tiktok, often using the hashtag #studywithme. The person’s followers receive a push notification and occasionally make comments. Users say hearing from others helps create a learning community.

One of the goals of the practice is to put pressure on the streamer to work for at least a minimum amount of time. Says one practitioner, “It’s holding me accountable. If I’m going live, I have to lock in for at least 30 minutes because it might take 10 minutes for people to log on to my stream, and if I’m not there once they find it, I’ve wasted their time and mine.”

It turns out the activity has roots in a treatment called “body doubling,” or having a partner watch and keep a person on track. TikTok is taking the place of a human whose very presence encourages the other to complete tasks.

Young, J. (2023, July 13). Students turn to TikTok for study buddies. EdSurge. https://www.edsurge.com