🎆 New Year, Slightly Different Newsletter

Young Australians using AI, the fastest growing roles, mistakes you'll make as a manger, and a book you really MUST read.

Author

Noah Pincini
January 13, 2025 • Est. Reading Time: 8 minutes

👋 Happy New Year!

Welcome to the 11th 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.

You might be thinking, “WTF, it’s the middle of January! Aren’t these supposed to be published at the beginning of every month?” Well, yes, they used to, but not anymore!

TL;DR: I’ve got a lot of stuff that I want to achieve in 2025, 24 goals to be exact (you can check out my LinkedIn post about the system I used to determine these goals). To make sure that I can juggle all the big things I want to do in the year, I’m shifting this newsletter from “monthly” to more “ad-hoc” when I feel I’ve got some great content to share with you.

Still trying to figure out if that means more or less frequently than last year…anyway…

Let’s get into it!

 đŸ“° News & Updates

Young Australians are “all in” on generative AI in the workplace

Gen Z is embracing AI in the workplace, with 58% already using tools like ChatGPT. Despite concerns about potential risks, young Australians are largely optimistic about the technology and its impact on their jobs. This eagerness to adopt AI presents both opportunities and challenges for employers. Companies need to establish clear guidelines for AI usage, including training on responsible use and mitigating potential risks like "hallucinations" and data security breaches.

While AI offers significant benefits, such as increased efficiency and improved learning, it's crucial to recognise its limitations. In the article, young professionals like Monique Buksh and Varad Chaudhari highlight the importance of critical thinking and human oversight alongside AI tools. As AI continues to evolve, businesses need to adapt and create a supportive environment that allows employees to leverage the power of AI while maintaining ethical and responsible practices.

Other articles you may like

  • One in three workers at risk from AI: Unions call for fair go in the digital age (ACTU)

  • No ATAR, no worries. You can write your own career script (SMH)

  • Why we get bored at work — and what you can do about it (ABC)

  • Gen Alpha is ready to work and business is barely prepared (Daily Telegraph)

  • Burnt Aussie bosses done with Gen Zers (Daily Telegraph)

 đŸ“‘ Publications

The 15 fastest-growing roles in Australia

LinkedIn’s 2025 list of “Jobs on the Rise” identifies those areas of opportunity — using exclusive LinkedIn data to reveal the 15 fastest-growing jobs over the past three years.

  1. English Teacher

  2. Server

  3. Travel Specialist

  4. Sommelier

  5. Electrical Design Engineer

  6. Cost Controller

  7. Fundraising Manager

  8. Health Director

  9. Quality Coordinator

  10. Aircraft Maintenance Engineer

  11. Audio Visual Technician

  12. Mechanic

  13. Employee Relations Specialist

  14. Development Engineer

  15. Pilot

Other useful references, documents and sources you may like

  • Return to Office Mandates and Brain Drain: The effect of RTO mandates and employee turnover and hiring (Ding et al)

 đŸ§  Thought Leadership

The 6 Mistakes You’re Going to Make as a New Manager

At some point in your career, you’ll likely be a manager responsible for looking after a team, so it’s good to get ahead and set yourself up for success. Matheus Lima reflects on his first couple of years as an Engineering Manager and outlines the lessons he learned.

Delegation: New managers often resist delegation due to fear and lack of trust, but overcoming this by empowering their team with clear expectations, support, and trust is crucial for both team member growth and the manager's own leadership development.

Dopamine: New managers often experience a "dopamine dip" as they transition from individual contributors to facilitators, requiring them to find fulfillment in fostering team growth through constructive feedback, development, and meaningful performance reviews.

Quality over quantity: While new managers may equate team size with success, true growth lies in cultivating a high-performing team that prioritises quality of work over quantity, fostering a cohesive environment where members thrive and produce exceptional results.

Level of engagement: Lean in too much, and you’re micromanaging; lean out too much, and you appear disengaged. To find the right balance, set clear goals and expectations, then step back and letting your team figure out how to achieve them.

Managing perception: Do this by communicating your role as a facilitator of team success to your team members and stakeholders, showcasing their achievements while demonstrating your leadership's positive impact, requiring a delicate balance of visibility and accurate representation of team efforts.

Redefining success: New managers often experience impostor syndrome, but success can be redefined by focusing on two key indicators: whether their team is successfully shipping projects and achieving their goals, and whether team members are engaged, motivated, and satisfied in their roles.

Other expertise, insight, opinions and experience in careers you may like

  • Why this CEO reckons networking is “BS” (AFR)

  • The one thing employees really want (after a good salary) (AFR)

  • How to grow professional relationships (Tejas Kumar)

  • How to audit your career for the new year (AFR)

  • The simple ways top CEOs find balance in their lives (AFR)

🛠️ Featured Tool

Career Duck

Struggling to write a compelling resume that gets noticed? Career Duck can help! This free, AI-powered web app takes the stress out of resume writing by analysing job postings and suggesting relevant skills and achievements to highlight.

Simply copy and paste the job listing URL, and Career Duck's AI goes to work, transforming your experiences into perfect resume points. No more wondering what employers are looking for - Career Duck helps you tailor your resume to each job description, ensuring you stand out.

 đŸƒ Quick Extra

Atomic Habits by James Clear

My book recommendation for you all is Atomic Habits by James Clear. If you’re finding it hard to stick to your New Year’s resolutions, this book is a game-changer. It doesn’t just teach you how to build good habits and break bad ones—it shifts how you think about progress, growth, and even failure.

For me, Atomic Habits has been transformative. In my journey, both personally and professionally, I’ve learned that success isn’t about overnight leaps—it’s about those small, consistent 1% improvements every day. James Clear’s practical strategies, like focusing on systems instead of goals and using habit stacking, have helped me stay productive, balanced, and intentional in both my personal and professional life.

This isn’t just a book; it’s a manual for building the best version of yourself. I can't recommend it enough if you haven’t read it yet. Start today—it’s a must-read for anyone looking to make meaningful, lasting changes.

…and that’s all for this 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 about building a career I love, 1% better every day. Come follow me there!