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Forbes
30-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Why 2025 Grads Can Expect A Tough Job Market
This is a published version of Forbes' Careers Newsletter. Click here to subscribe and get it in your inbox every Tuesday. 2025 college graduates are entering a tough job market as the economy shrinks and more experience ... More workers who've been laid off compete for the same positions. Between a slowing economy, an influx of former federal workers looking for new jobs and an overall tightening labor market, the job prospects for 2025 graduates aren't looking too bright. While college students across the country will sit for their final exams in the coming weeks, the reality of life after school will likely be much different from what they expect: About 82% of students in of the class of 2025 anticipate having a full-time job three months after graduation, while only 77% of recent graduates have accomplished that, according to a ZipRecruiter survey. There is an increasing gap between those that can land a job quickly versus those taking six months or more to find a full-time gig. Nursing or health science majors should be able to find employment a bit easier, as these two sectors led employment gains in the last month. But jobs for computer science majors and software engineers have slowed—unless you have AI skills. Political science majors are also seeing their job prospects shrink. The federal government is contracting thanks to DOGE-led cuts, eliminating early-career fellowships and other opportunities for thousands across the country. For the government jobs left at the state and local level, recent grads are likely competing with those departing from federal jobs. To make matters worse, internships aren't converting to full-time employment as frequently as before, according to a survey from the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Still, graduates are optimistic: About 83% said they were confident in their job prospects after commencement, according to a Monster report. We'll keep our eyes out for this week's upcoming labor report to see exactly what 2025 grads will be facing. Practical insights and advice from Forbes staff and contributors to help you succeed in your job, accelerate your career and lead smarter. Instead of rage quitting, try these four tactics before ruining your career. Go the extra mile and more tips on getting an entry-level role without previous experience. The pros and cons of using your Bilt reward points to pay off student loans. Senior research director Alexia Cambon breaks down what "frontier firms" mean and how employees can ... More push their bosses to adopt the same mindset. AI use is becoming an increasingly important part of work. From taking courses on 'AI skills' to AI agents that should increase our productivity, companies are pushing for AI adoption at different rates. The most proactive have been coined 'frontier firms' by a new Microsoft work trends report. I spoke with report author and senior research director Alexia Cambon about what this means for employees outside of frontier firms and how workers can advocate for more AI use. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity. The adoption task seems pretty straightforward for workers at 'frontier firms.' But what happens to those working at companies behind the curve? Your organization needs you to become a frontier firm employee, even if it's not a frontier firm. I see this even within my own team. So for example, I have a data scientist who's the best data scientist in the world. But we are also actively bringing in all the data science tools you can imagine that allow me to rely less on him for data science. Our entire relationship is about data science, so that naturally raises questions. For him, it's: 'What does that mean for the work I do?' I have never seen anyone go after AI and agents as quickly or as hungrily as this man. He has literally built half of the agents for you. He's gone out and experimented with everything left, right, and center. Ultimately, we need him desperately. Even if his data science skills can be done through agents, his ingenuity and figuring out how agents can be used for data science, I need that from him. So that's what I would say to employees reading the report and wondering, 'What does this mean for me? I don't work in a frontier firm.' Just last year's report saw that employees were bringing AI to work, whether it was secret or not. We need employees to do that and force the conversation, because that is the type of employee that will be most needed. One that is really hungry to go out there and initiate the change. That's a big shift from last year, right? Now employers, instead of workers, are pushing AI adoption. Where is this coming from? I think it just points to the fact that business demands are increasing because the pace is accelerating so quickly. At the level it's at now, it is just too fast for humans alone to deal with, especially with this emphasis on productivity and efficiency, and we're not running out of work. It's funny, there are these conflicting tensions of people being terrified that AI is coming for their jobs and that we're not going to have any jobs left, versus organizations needing productivity, needing more capacity. I personally don't think we're running out of work. I don't think we'll ever run out of work to do. We live in an age of convenience––everything is available at the press of a button! And work is a constant balance of energy. You probably have types of work that really drain you of energy and types of work that really energize you and make you excited and happy. We don't wanna spend our energy budget on the types of work that drain us. That's what AI is here to do––to lift the mundane out of our work. So how can employees master these 'AI skills' to make their work life easier? I wouldn't say there's any one right way, the outcomes will dictate what works best. But I think there's a responsibility on every employee to take full advantage of the training that their company is providing. And if the company isn't providing any training, then shout out from the rooftops and say that if we wanna stay relevant and competitive we need to train the entire workforce to have these skills. We see the beginnings of AI usage becoming part of performance reviews or job development considerations. So the infrastructure will continue to grow around this to really incentivize people to use it, the same way today we can't imagine doing, say our taxes, without the internet. News from the world of work. Elissa Butterfield spent years of her life responding to Elon Musk's ever-shifting demands as one of his assistants. Now, she's investing in his companies as general partner at Island Green Capital Management, Forbes' John Hyatt reports. DOGE staffers in the National Labor Relations Board are causing a stir. Days after an April whistleblower report alleged that DOGE misappropriated sensitive labor dispute data, DOGE staffers paid a visit to the Washington, D.C. office. Now, agency leaders have told its staffers that those talking to the press will 'face serious legal consequences,' ProPublica reports. Did you bring your kids to work last week? As offices welcomed the children of staffers, a pair of 13-year-olds surprised Pepsi and CEOs during their earnings calls. The children of Jefferies analyst Kaumil Gajrawala asked the CEOs questions about their finances as they visited their dad, even beating another analyst to a question, Bloomberg reports. In layoffs news of the week, UPS announced it would let 20,000 workers go this year as it cut its Amazon shipments for 2025, and Meta has let go of workers in its Reality Labs group, which houses its metaverse and virtual reality endeavors. Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency reportedly told nearly 300 staffers they would be either fired or reassigned. Over 100 lawyers and staff in the DOJ's civil rights division have reportedly resigned or taken the administration's deferred resignation program, as the president shifts the division's mission as part of his larger battle against diversity, equity and inclusion measures. And while Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth hates DEI, his deputy billionaire Steven Feinberg has poured millions into the cause, Forbes' Dan Alexander reports. Meet The Founder Behind AI Training Videos Despite a cooling job market, what professionals can expect shorter job searches right now? A. Sales B. Research C. Human Resources D. All of the above Check if you got it right here.
Forbes
22-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
The Dangers Of AI-Generated Job Candidates
This is a published version of Forbes' Careers Newsletter. Click here to subscribe and get it in your inbox every Tuesday. AI is making it easier, and faster, to create fake job candidates. Job seekers often complain about ghost jobs and fake job postings. But as much as those looking for their next gig have grown frustrated with employers over this trend, some organizations are now raising red flags too. Companies must now be prepared for the possibility of fake job candidates. In a viral LinkedIn post, Dawid Moczadlo wrote about how he realized he was actually speaking to an AI-generated applicant. It wasn't just the cut-and-dry responses that reeked of ChatGPT, he wrote, but he noticed that the actual image of the interviewee's Zoom call looked off. Moczadlo ended the call when he realized what was happening, but it wasn't the first time he or other tech companies have noticed AI candidates. It's an increasingly common problem for tech companies—from Fortune 500 firms to mom-and-pop shops. As Forbes' David Jeans reported in August, a number of the fake profiles are coming from remote North Korean IT workers, some of whom have even landed jobs earning as much as $300,000 a year. And it's all becoming easier to do. A new study by cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks found that in just 70 minutes someone with minimal AI experience could create a fake job candidate that is able to pass as a real person. The dangers are huge: At the very least, fake job postings add competition to an already crowded job market for tech workers, which leads talent and acquisition teams, if not company leaders, to waste time interviewing AI candidates. At its worst, fake candidates—especially those originating from North Korean IT workers— can pose real cybersecurity threats. Happy reading, and hope you have a lovely week! Practical insights and advice from Forbes staff and contributors to help you succeed in your job, accelerate your career and lead smarter. Why communication is the No. 1 skill employers are hiring for, even more so than AI. Leveraging microhabits could be the key to building curiosity at work. Resonance over hierarchy: What corporate leaders can learn from congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Looking to earn an additional $100,000? Here are the four side-hustles that can lead to a big payday. Colonial Minutemen gather in the early morning hours as they face off against the British Red Coats on Lexington common at the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Lexington and Concord on April 19. (Staff Photo By Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald via Getty Images) Celebrations for the 250th anniversary of the start of the Revolutionary War began in Boston this past weekend. But beyond the professional reenactors, many of the people marching in bands and playing the infamous Paul Revere are regular folks, ranging from doctors and teachers to bankers and engineers. I spoke to a few of them about how they balance their reenactment duties with full-time corporate life below. For most Americans heading into work today, it's just a regular Tuesday. But for Bostonians coming back after a long weekend––Monday was a state-recognized holiday in Massachusetts––some might recognize their coworker from an entirely different context.. Take Henry Liu, for example, who spends his 9-to-5 reviewing risk as compliance director of Middlesex Community Bank. But last weekend, he took over as narrator of the reenactment of the Battle of Lexington and Concord, famously known for the 'shot heard round the world' that started the Revolutionary War in 1775. Donning a green colonial jacket and a three-pointed hat, his uniform looked markedly different from the dress shirt he usually wears to work. 'It's fun when people discover it,' he says, though he prefers to keep a low profile at work over his reenactment duties. 'It's a largely invisible hobby.' The longtime Lexington, Massachusetts resident has been part of the Lexington Minute Men reenactment group for decades, from his college years throughout his professional career. His rise in the organization, from music master to captain, happened alongside his professional growth, from FDIC examiner to bank senior vice president. And while Liu may have been more involved than other reenactors while serving as Chair of this year's reenactment, he's not the only one balancing a full-time job on top of it. Alexander Cain advises high school students on manufacturing career paths during the day, but last weekend he played a colonial Minute Man in the Lexington reenactment. The history buff from North Andover, Massachusetts first got involved in reenactments after watching the movie April Morning about 30 years ago, all while balancing college, then a career as a county prosecutor, before going into academia and career advising. A full-time corporate job comes in handy with the costs of participating in reenactments, even if it's just a hobby. Between period-accurate clothing and refurbished muskets, reenactors can spend up to $5,000 to get ready to participate in events. 'I'm thankful working in biotech allows me to work on this hobby pretty intensely,' says Paul O'Shaughnessy, director of sustaining engineering at a Massachusetts firm. While he's always had a passion for history, he ended up pursuing a career in engineering, a field that's proved handy as he cleans and restores historical muskets. Unlike the others, O'Shaughnessy was a Red Coat this weekend, joining the reenactment as a member of the British soldiers during the battle. That's not including the time many put into the hobby. Whether it be teaching themselves how to sew in 18th-century accurate patterns to cut down on clothing costs, or by researching their specific 'character,' the most involved reenactors can easily spend 10 hours a week on it. Still, balancing time can be tough. Liu, for one, often ends up using PTO for reenactment-related activities, joking that with the 250th anniversary he'd already used up his allotted time off by February. 'It's worth it,' he says, 'but I can't sacrifice my career for my hobby.' News from the world of work. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is blaming allegations he shared sensitive military information in a second Signal chat on 'disgruntled former employees.' Three top staffers were terminated last week following an investigation into the first Signal chat, though the three have said they do not know why they were let go. Hegseth has notably not denied the allegations. Volvo is the latest company to cut jobs because of the impact of President Donald Trump's tariff policies on market movements. The carmaker joins Stellantis and cosmetics firm Estée Lauder in cutting their workforces due to the president's policies. Getting an M.B.A. might be worth it if you're trying to climb the traditional corporate ladder, but for potential small business owners, chances are the degree isn't worth it, Brandon Kochkodin reports. For those trying to build their own HVAC empires or buy a chain of car washes, an expensive M.B.A. could cost you even more as sellers might bump up their asking price once they realize you have a degree. Elon Musk is not the only one to have benefited from his rise to becoming the richest man in the world. From early employees, investors and cofounders, John Hyatt reports on the rank-and-file disciples that have gotten rich alongside Musk. Hong Kong workplace safety firm Viact has raised $73 million in a new funding round, using the additional capital to improve its video analytics software. The startup uses video feeds from security cameras to detect potential workplace hazards, from gas leaks to bad worker posture. Why 'Diary Of A CEO' Host Recruits 7-Days-A-Week CEOs at two major tech companies are asking their employees to do what before they consider hiring another team member? A. Prove AI can't do the job B. Show another team member is underperforming C. Outline where the budget for a new salary will come from D. All of the above Check if you got it right here.
Forbes
17-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Finding Humanity In The Workplace As AI Takes The Lead
This is a published version of Forbes' Careers Newsletter. Click here to subscribe and get it in your inbox every Tuesday. Worried about border incidents, some employers are considering issuing burner phones to their employees. (Photo by) Getty Images Burner phones are usually seen in spy movies or true crime TV shows. Now, use of these devices is being recommended for some more traditional employees. The European Commission has issued burner phones and basic laptops to some of its staff flying into the United States for this spring's IMF and World Bank meetings, the Financial Times reported Monday. In the past, the practice had typically been reserved for travel to China. The move comes after an increase in high-profile instances of U.S. border agents stopping both immigrants and U.S. citizens and searching through their phones. For example: After returning from the Dominican Republic with his family earlier this month, Detroit lawyer Amir Makled was stopped at customs, where border agents asked to search his cellphone. Makled, who often represents Arab-American clients, has advised his clients on what to do if they're stopped at the border. But his own stop, he says, is the first instance he knows of an attorney being stopped because of a case they're working on. Makled is currently representing a pro-Palestinian student protestor who was arrested at the University of Michigan. And in March, a French scientist on assignment for the French National Center for Scientific Research was denied entry at the U.S. border after immigration agents searched his phone and found messages critical of the Trump Administration. While lawyers said there isn't yet data to show that more device searches are happening at the border, a number of high-profile instances have employers picking up their phones and calling their own lawyers. 'It's popping up' among clients, says Leon Rodriguez, partner at Seyfarth's immigration practice and the former director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). 'As a general matter on immigration and travel issues, there is a much greater sense of worry among companies than there was in the first Trump Administration,' he adds. Using burner phones within the U.S. is not common practice among employers, Rodriguez adds, but it usually pops up in fields that deal with sensitive information––think those solving financial crimes, lawyers whose work information is protected by attorney-client privilege, or even employees in high-tech fields that travel with commercially sensitive data. There is no legal separation between personal or professional devices when it comes to immigration law, especially at border points where constitutional protections against 'unreasonable search and seizure' are weaker. It's just the latest issue employers must think about, and plan for, amid a changing immigration landscape in the second Trump Administration. Practical insights and advice from Forbes staff and contributors to help you succeed in your job, accelerate your career and lead smarter. Chaos and uncertainty continue to be the name of the game in the job market. Why hiring for character, instead of credentials, matters the most right now. Pick up side-gigs, take up a couple of classes and more tips on navigating financial insecurity after being laid off. Career's Q&A: Where Humanity In The Workplace Comes From With Alexi Robichaux Better Up's Alexi Robichaux thinks providing AI and human coaching to middle managers could be the way to tackle employee engagement. BetterUp You've probably heard by now that as AI becomes a larger part of our work lives, it is our human skills and interactions that will matter the most to employers. But what does that look like in practice? I sat down with Alexi Robichaux, CEO of professional coaching company BetterUp, on the heels of the company's annual summit in New York City to talk about the potential of anthropology studies, the transformation of managers, and leadership in the face of AI. The conversation below has been edited for length and clarity. What do you think is missing from the 'humanity in the face of AI' conversation right now? I wish I heard more about anthropology in the workplace and what actually makes humans perform. We have a century of science of human performance that the average manager has no access to. We know, scientifically, that when people perform, they learn all this stuff. But we're too focused on these '50 million skills in the workplace' instead of focusing on the 30 that really drive human excellence in almost any job. So really the 'soft skills'? Yeah. Just dropping in these provisional skills is not how people learn. Learning requires agency, and agency requires motivation. Employees have to want to learn. So the question then becomes: How do we spend time as employers getting people in a head space where they want to learn? Because unfortunately learning cannot be forced. It seems like this really comes into play at the manager level. Yeah. When you go and ethnographically talk to managers where they're spending most of their time, it's sometimes the home life of their people. It's not the work life, it's helping sort through that in an appropriate way. One of the things we've been tracking in management as a subset of leadership is emotional labor, and it is rising. Especially if a lot of supervisory work can be done by AI, what people are left to do as a manager is gonna be taking care of their people. And so I think we're gonna see management—and leadership as the pinnacle of management—becoming more human-centered and less task-oriented. So how do you build for that, especially as more and more organizations are cutting management levels? A lot of it is actually coaching and support for managers themselves. We know managers are the most stressed, and middle managers have it the worst. They're stuck in the middle, right? They have demands from both sides pulling on them, but they're the most pivotal, and they need the most support. So we built a product just for managers that is a combination of AI coaching that's always available and a human coach. That's on purpose because we realized that it's hard to know how to be a coach to your employees if you've never been coached. Managers are increasingly becoming coaches for their teams, where they're not solving problems, they're framing problems. News from the world of work. More small business owners are posting salaries for open roles in hopes of attracting talent, Brandon Kochkodin reports. Even in states where pay transparency is not required, Gen Z and Millennial business owners are leading the charge. Amgen's newest AI head has an unusual background––he last headed AI and data at sportswear powerhouse Nike. So how did such a transition come about? Amy Feldman reports on where Big Pharma and biotech startups are recruiting data scientists to speed up the process of drug discovery. Forbes released its annual AI 50 list last week, and one trend was clear: So long chatbots, AI agents are getting more specialized than ever. From legal workflows to autocompleting lines of code and even investment research, companies are targeting enterprise adoptions to start replacing work done by people at scale. For all the fears that AI may take your job, Writer AI is already saving businesses millions in labor costs. About 300 companies use its customizable AI apps to automate everyday work, including writing makeup product descriptions, answers to Uber's FAQs, and social media marketing campaigns. To rank-and-file knowledge workers, cofounder and CEO May Habib has a blunt message: 'Ten percent of the headcount is going to be enough.' You've probably come across at least one TikTok influencer claiming a new way to make quick and easy money. But it's more likely that they're instead making the bulk of their income from digital marketing courses on said side hustles, Danielle Chemtob reports. Could You Be Hired By This AI Recruiter Next? A recent study found that which employee benefit keeps workers from leaving their current employer, regardless of their job satisfaction? A. Health insurance B. PTO C. Gym discounts D. None of the above Check if you got it right here.
Forbes
08-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Why Major Employers Are Seeking A Shared Hiring Language
This is a published version of Forbes' Careers Newsletter. Click here to subscribe and get it in your inbox every Tuesday. Workforce development firm Burning Glass insists that skills, rather than degrees, are the key to job success. Its new skill-specific job description language could be a game changer for 11 million jobs ranging from software engineer and financial manager to customer service. Getty Images Have you ever found yourself struggling to describe your job? What skills are you actually using in your day-to-day? It can sometimes be hard to narrow down, especially when major employers often don't use the same language to describe specific jobs. The Burning Glass Institute (BGI) is hoping to change that. Today it launched its SkillsFirst website, detailing the skills needed for nine job titles—accounting for over 11 million workers— that major employers are using in their hiring process. Joining the nonprofit in implementing this shared language in their hiring practices are 10 of America's largest employers, including Accenture, Bank of America, Blackstone, Home Depot, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, Nordstrom, PepsiCo, Walmart and Verizon. 'Just being able to understand and define the skills required for a job, it sounds simple, but it's actually a really big exercise,' says BGI President Matt Sigelman. It's part of a larger movement toward skills-based hiring, where companies eliminate required degrees (not all, we'd all like to be represented by lawyers with J.D.s!) in favor of requiring specific skills actually used in specific jobs. 'In a time where people might say there's no opportunities for inclusion in the workforce, we actually think that skills-first is a way to say there are opportunities for everybody,' says Donna Morris, chief people officer at Walmart. Jobs with skills listed on the SkillsFirst website range from front-line positions to knowledge workers, including: retail salesperson; first-line supervisors of retail sales workers; sales managers; customer service representatives; customer service managers; financial analysts; product managers; and software developers. Having clear skills listed benefits employers that want to streamline and simplify their job titles. Verizon, for example, was able to go from 70,000 different job titles and codes to just 2,100 after implementing their own skills-first approach in 2021. But such a system also helps non-degreed workers or non-traditional hires—like veterans or immigrants—that make up the 'hidden workforce,' according to Verizon's chief human resources officer Samantha Hammock. It can also help job seekers determine which skills, whether it be something as broad as 'marketing' or as specific as 'UX experience,' that they need for a particular job, and which ones employers are willing to pay a premium for. And for current employees looking for a promotion, different skill levels can help determine what they need to work on in order to grow. You can read more about the launch here. Happy reading, and hope you have a lovely week! Practical insights and advice from Forbes staff and contributors to help you succeed in your job, accelerate your career and lead smarter Tips for growing your career and resilience in uncertain times. Forget being nice—being nosy, bossy and shameless can get you promoted. Burnout is not ambition, hard work needs an audience and more career advice that high-achievers should listen to. Saddled with six figures in debt, students usually scramble for Big Law's summer associate jobs and $200,000 plus starting salaries. This year, as some of the most prestigious firms capitulate to the Trump Administration, some are rethinking their choices and even pushing back. For the last two weeks the Trump Administration has targeted the legal profession as part of the president's quest to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion practices. After the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sent a letter to 20 firms warning them against using DEI during their hiring processes, Trump signed a number of executive orders restricting Big Law firms from representing clients with government contracts. Some, like Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block and WilmerHale, have fought back, suing the administration to block the president's actions. But others, including Skadden Arps; Paul Weiss; Milbank; and Willkie, Farr and Gallagher have bent the knee, providing a combined $340 million in pro bono legal work for causes Trump favors. The pushback from the legal community has been immense. The American Bar Association, associates at Big Law firms, law school deans and even state attorneys general have condemned both actions. But for aspiring lawyers, many of whom want to work in Big Law, the choice of what to do—and how to advocate for themselves—is difficult. What power do they actually have against these million-dollar companies? More than they think. 'What these firms really care about is campus access and the prestige that goes along with that," says Rachel Cohen, a former third-year associate at Skadden's financial practice that virally quit her job over the firm's lack of support for Perkins Coie's suit against the Trump Administration. 'Outside of it, firms don't care very much about what law students think.' So students are taking advantage of recruiting season. A toolkit organized by Cohen is asking public interest students to apply to firms that have caved to Trump and pepper interviewers with uncomfortable questions, or to write to career services offices and ask for those firms to be barred from campus events. A spreadsheet organized by Georgetown Law students is tracking firms' responses to the executive orders, and student groups, like the Georgetown Energy Law Group, are pulling out of recruiting events with firms that capitulate to the administration. But with mounting debt, an uncertain job market and increasing recession fears, not all students are rushing to close the door to a possible $200,000 salary straight out of school. 'It's really hard to turn down that option,' says a first-year law student recruiting Big Law, who requested anonymity for fears of professional retaliation. 'It feels like Big Law is the only answer.' News from the world of work It was another contradictory month for the job market. The U.S. added 228,000 jobs in March, more than expected, with hourly wages increasing 3.8% year-over-year. But unemployment also rose to 4.2%. Job cuts also rose, increasing by over 205% from last March largely due to DOGE cuts at the federal government. In total, nearly 500,000 jobs were cut from the American economy, according to staffing firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Such market uncertainty has led to another month of poor employee confidence, according to Glassdoor senior economist Daniel Zhao. While business sentiment grew slightly, entry-level employees' confidence in their jobs fell the most as recession fears increased. It makes sense––these positions are often the least secure jobs during a recession and can stunt career growth for young workers. One of President Trump's main reasons for implementing tariffs was to support American manufacturing jobs. But his strategy won't bring those jobs back on-shore, writes senior contributor Erik Sherman. Even if companies wanted to, and enough people were willing to do those jobs, it takes a few years to build, equip, and make operational a new factory. Just one week before the tax filing deadline, the IRS is cutting between 20% to 25% of its staff. The first to go: civil rights employees as part of the government's effort to cut down on DEI initiatives. Deloitte is also slashing its workforce due to losing government contracts, the Wall Street Journal reports, though the firm did not specify how many employees would be laid off. It is just one of the government consultant firms that proposed billion-dollar cuts to their contracts last week in hopes of maintaining at least part of their initial deals with the government. That's the size of the newly announced National Apprentice Fund, a joint fund from Google and Jobs for the Future that will provide financial assistance to over 750 apprentices with a one-time award of $2,800. How Two Men Made Billions Exploiting Those With Bad Credit DOGE firings have mostly taken place at what time of the week? A. Monday mornings B. Friday nights C. Sunday nights D. Last day of the month Check if you got it right here.
Forbes
01-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Meet The World's Self-Made Billionaires
This is a published version of Forbes' Careers Newsletter. Click here to subscribe and get it in your inbox every Tuesday. Happy Billionaires Day! It's a busy one here at Forbes, as we just released our annual list of the world's billionaires, highlighting the richest––and arguably most powerful––people and families across the globe. In total, Forbes tracked and documented the wealth of more than 3,000 people worth a collective $16.1 trillion. The average fortune on the list now stands at $5.3 billion, a $200 million increase from 2024. While many of the world's billionaires inherited their wealth, nearly 70% of the newest names on this year's list are self-made, meaning they founded or cofounded the company that made them their billions. The newcomers include 73-year-old Sulaiman Al Habib, founder and chairman of Saudi Arabia hospital group HMG, as well as Scale AI cofounder and CEO Alexandr Wang, the list's youngest self-made billionaire at just 28 years old. Wang is one of just 21 individuals this year to reach billionaire status under the age of 30. Of those, only Wang and 29-year-old Ed Craven are self-made, with Craven being the cofounder of thought to be the world's biggest crypto-backed online casino. So what's the secret to their riches? For newcomer billionaire Steve Ells, it was Chipotle's compensation plan. Though Ells sold most of his stock throughout his time as CEO and then chairman of the board at the fast-casual chain, the company's compensation plan continued to award him Chipotle stock as it kept rising. And while it was the ultimate sale of fried chicken chain Zaxby that netted its cofounders their billions, it's the hard work they put into growing the business that allowed it to grow. Cofounder Tony Townley kept his day job running a mortgaging and loan business while running the first Zaxby location, sometimes mixing sometimes until 5 a.m. It goes to show that while entrepreneurship can be a struggle, it can certainly pay off. You can read more about the world's richest here. Practical insights and advice from Forbes staff and contributors to help you succeed in your job, accelerate your career and lead smarter Simply growing your network online won't cut it––there is no substitute for in-person connections. What you need to know about tariffs if you're in the job market. If you're preparing to answer behavioral questions in your next job interview, consider the CARL method. Why you should consider a gig job in this labor market. Your favorite finance friends saw their bonuses rise more than 30% last year. Where did the extra cash come from? After a profitable year for Wall Street in 2024, its bankers are cashing-in on generous bonuses. The New York State Comptroller said last week that bankers' bonuses rose 31.5% from the previous year, contributing to a total estimated bonus pool of $47.5 billion. The increase in performance incentives is largely due to one of the best years in history for the stock market and dealmaking. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each had record years in 2024, and Wall Street's profits rose 90%. 'Most of the time bonuses are based off of two things: What is your personal performance and what is the company's performance,' says Nich Tremper, economist at payroll provider Gusto. 'It's discretionary compensation based on those two things.' Add a securities employment increase––coming in at 201,500 employees, the highest annual level in at least 30 years, according to New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli––and you've got more employees earning six-figure salaries that qualified for the bonuses. Indeed, average salaries for analysts range from $160,000 to $210,000 per year after bonuses. That number can rise up to $475,000 for associates. But Wall Street wasn't the only place to see bonuses increase, albeit at a much lower rate. Average end-of-year bonuses for 2024 were up 2% compared to 2023 payouts for small businesses, according to a January report from Gusto, though the total share of workers who received bonuses decreased. Apart from Wall Street, those in the communications, technology and professional services industries saw the greatest bonus growth. Retail, for example, saw an 8% increase in bonuses from 2023 to 2024. But one major retailer held back from them altogether, citing fiscal year performance results. Salaried employees at Target who were eligible for bonuses will only receive 87% of their potential bonus for fiscal year 2024, HR Dive reported, down from the 100% they received the previous year. The state of the economy has a large part to play in how much employers are distributing to their workers. 'A bonus is backwards-looking,' says Tremper. 'But it's also forwards-looking. It's a business owner deciding that they don't need to keep that cash in the bank account and can actually invest that into their employees.' News from the world of work As the Ivy Leagues continue to amass criticism from wealthy alumni, parents of students and even the federal government, Forbes released its second iteration of the New Ivies list. Employers are increasingly looking at graduates from these 20 public and private universities, including newcomers Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Pittsburgh and the United States Military Academy at West Point, Emma Whitford reports. Top vaccine official Peter Marks quit his position at the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday, criticizing Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy's views on vaccines and his 'misinformation and lies.' He's not the first—and certainly not the last—federal employee to clash with his new boss. Just days later, cuts at HHS reportedly began. Kennedy is expected to cut about a quarter of the department's workforce, about 10,000 employees, across regional offices, the CDC, FDA, NIH, and the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare. Job applications from federal workers are surging, Indeed reports. USDA workers and those working in DEI roles are likely hitting the job market the most, as searches for horticulture and employee relations roles increased by more than 10 times compared to this time last year. While most federal employees looking for work are still in the Washington, D.C. and Virginia area, Texas, California and Georgia are not far behind. Are you worried about a potential recession and how it could impact your job? Forbes' Derek Saul has been tracking economists' recession warnings as 'Liberation Day' tariffs loom. Here's why it's not time to worry yet. Gen X creatives are in a career meltdown, the New York Times reports. Right when they should be at the peak of their career, advertising and media workers in their late 40s and 50s are trying to play catch-up in an industry now dominated by cheap, fast social media content, influencers and generative AI. How DOGE Cuts Are Impacting U.S. Businesses The Federal Communications Commission said it will investigate which major entertainment studio over its DEI practices among both its employees and its content? A. Universal Studios B. Disney C. Warner Bros. D. Netflix Check if you got it right here.
