👋 Hello!

Welcome to the seventh edition of The Early Impact, the newsletter that provides you with news, updates and resources on how to build your career as an emerging professional.

Two months into the financial year, and it’s been going well! I’m back from my reading slump (see some McKinsey recommendations below), I’ve put together a new vision for 2027 (a long way away), and I’ve nearly finalised the goals for the financial year.

Let’s get into it!

📰 News & Updates

The monthly roundup of emerging professional news and updates

• Why Gen Z are leading the way on five days a week back in the office: Younger workers are looking for in-person experience handed down from their older colleagues – and sometimes a place to concentrate that’s not in a share house (AFR).

• The right to disconnect starts in August. Here’s what you need to know: Contrary to what some people think, it does not mean a blanket ban on employers contacting their staff after hours (AFR).

• Workers told to expect lower nominal pay rises as economy cools: Employers expect to lift salaries by an average of 3.8 per cent this financial year, as mounting evidence suggests pay rises have passed their recent peak (AFR).

• Older Australians head back to university for a career change before retirement: Rebecca McDonald, 51, is the first person in her family to study at university. She is part of an older cohort of Australians looking for a career change later in life. The lesson: it’s never too late (ABC).

• The workers likely to be hit if a new unemployment prediction comes true: Deloitte's latest jobs report predicts over 100,000 more Australians will lose work in the next 12 months. The forecast comes amid concerns among some economists that Australia is heading towards recession (SBS).

• The biggest employer in the country has ordered staff back to the office: NSW government sectors have been told they need to work from government workplaces, meaning a return to the office for many (SBS). [I wonder what this could mean for the future of work…]

📑 Publications

Useful references, documents, and sources

• (UN)HAPPINESS SURVEY: a real-time look at the way Creatives are feeling about their j-o-b-s, focused on five specific areas: general happiness, company culture, staying power, perceived value, and job perks (Working Not Working).

• Employee happiness index (Q2 2024): A report exploring the factors contributing to the ever-persistent “Great Gloom” from eNPS data from over 57,000 employees across various industries (BambooHR).

📢 Opportunities

Limited-time career paths, educational scholarships, and professional growth opportunities that can shape your future

• Devpost: Join the world's best online and in-person hackathons. Multiple hackathons are listed here.

• Tech Council: Virtual Work Experiences for young learners to explore technology careers and jobs for free.

• Kaggle: Grow your data science skills by competing in exciting competitions. Multiple competitions are listed here.

• Google: Build incredible apps with the Gemini API! It's your chance to make a real difference - or just have some serious fun in the Gemini API Developer Competition.

• Career Diary: Find your passion. Join a community. Explore new hobbies. Multiple different opportunities are listed here.

• Hackathons.com.au: a curated list of upcoming hackathons and STEM challenges in Australia, New Zealand, and around the globe. Multiple hackathons and STEM challenges are listed here.

🗓️ Events

Online and In-Person events for progressing your career

• Build Club: A community of AI Engineers, researchers and builders pushing the frontier of AI forward. Join us and build your startup with a community who cares about AI. Multiple events are listed here.

• QPay: Discover university clubs, events, and merch. Multiple events are listed here.

• Sydney AI, Data and Tech Events: The hottest technology and AI events in Sydney! Multiple events are listed here.

• Melbourne AI, Data and Tech Events: The hottest technology and AI events in Melbourne! Multiple events are listed here.

🧠 Thought Leadership

Expertise, insight, opinions and experience in careers

• Is ‘Rizz’ the Secret to Getting Ahead at Work? Whether you call it charisma, charm or magnetism, some people seem like naturals. Good news: It can be learned (WSJ).

• The most annoying thing about young people at work: They are often right, especially when it comes to working hours. Older workers’ acceptance of long, unhealthy working hours is what younger workers are challenging worldwide (AFR).

• A simple way to introduce yourself: It’s icebreaker time at work, and everyone has been asked to introduce themselves in a couple of sentences. The secret is using a simple framework: Present, past, and future (HBR).

• Beware of this career advice from TikTok influencers: While TikTokers may be well-intentioned, some advice on the platform could be detrimental to your career if taken. Here are some common pieces of bad advice that circulate on TikTok (Forbes).

• 5 unconventional networking tactics that actually work: At a high level, check out niche social media groups, keep learning, engage others through your content, explore other circles , and volunteer strategically (Forbes).

• The Gen Z guide to getting ahead at work: The evolving world of work has changed how people operate and the rules of workplace success have become more complex. Here’s what you need to know to succeed (AFR).

🛠️ Featured Tool

One great career tool you need

The Jobs and Skills Atlas provides comprehensive data on employment trends across various regions, states, and at the national level in Australia. Key metrics include unemployment rates, employment numbers, participation rates, youth unemployment, and educational attainment. Users can explore 5-year trends for specific indicators and compare them with national trends. The data also covers employment distribution across 19 industries by region, with the ability to track changes over time. Detailed information on specific occupations and industries is available, including projections, demand, and employment statistics. The data allows for comparisons between regions and against state or national benchmarks, and employment numbers are rounded to approximate percentage shares of the population.

The atlas is updated with the most recent data at the start of every month. As data sets are released at different frequencies, they may show different data. Explore a range of key labour market datasets in one simple, user-friendly interface.

🃏Quick Extra

A bonus from me

From McKinsey, “You don’t need to wait for the new year to make positive changes in your life—you can start right now. Whether you’re taking steps to define your purpose, tackling big projects, or trying to curb overthinking, these personal development books just might give you the motivation you need to get started.”

Help yourself to these personal development books, a list curated by McKinsey

For more suggestions from 50-plus leaders across industries, including McKinsey global managing partner Bob Sternfels, check out “What to read next: McKinsey’s 2024 annual book recommendations.”

…and that’s all for this month’s edition of The Early Impact. Feel free to hit 'reply' and let me know how I did!

Cheers,

Noah

P.S. I post on LinkedIn biweekly about cybersecurity, emerging technology, careers, and learning & development.