The IT Nerd

I have to admit that LinkedIn really screwed this up and trusting them going forward is going to be difficult. 404 Media is reporting the following:

LinkedIn is using its users’ data for improving the social network’s generative AI products, but has not yet updated its terms of service to reflect this data processing, according to posts from various LinkedIn users and a statement from the company to 404 Media. Instead, the company says it will update its terms “shortly.”

The rest of this is paywalled. But this one paragraph alone will make you say “WTF? Not only that, if you look on your LinkedIn app, you’re opted into this by default:

I got to this screen by going to my LinkedIn App and going to:

• Account
• Settings and Privacy
• Data Privacy
• Data for Generative AI Improvement

I don’t know which bothers me more. The fact that they want to use my data without having their terms of service reflect that, or that I’ve been opted into this which forces me to opt out rather than given the choice to opt in. The fact is clear that were it not for 404 Media, I would have had no clue and LinkedIn would have been using whatever data I have on LinkedIn forever. That seems wrong on so many levels, and needs to be called out. Or in my case, I need to push this out via this blog so that people see this and decide if this is LinkedIn being an honest broker, or if they were doing something that on the surface appears to be kind of shady.

Searching for a job can feel really challenging, especially when the competition is tough. In February 2024, Statistics Canada reported 41,000 new jobs were added. Despite this growth, the unemployment rate still increased by 0.1 percentage points to 5.8%, as more people entered the labour force seeking employment. 

This week, LinkedIn announced several new features and product enhancements aimed at making it easier and more efficient for job seekers to put their skills and experience centerstage and focus their energy on finding the best job for them.  

• AI powered job search is now available to all Premium subscribers in English worldwide. Jobseekers can discover relevant and tailored job opportunities based on their skills, interests, and preferences and assess how well they’re a fit for a job in seconds.  

• Conversational Job Search: search for jobs in the same way you’d ask a question, using plain language to find a role that’s the best fit for you. 

Around half of professionals on LinkedIn say writing resumes and cover letters are a painful part of the job search. LinkedIn’s new AI-powered resume feedback and cover letter drafts help ease the experience of applying to roles where your experience and skills align. 

• Resume Review: Get tailored recommendations on your resume to help save you time and showcase your most relevant skills for the job.  

• Cover Letter Assistance: With one easy click, we can help you draft a compelling cover letter. By utilizing AI, you can save time, make sure relevant information is included, and increase chances of making a positive impression. 

You can find more detailed information about these new features from LinkedIn’s Rohan Rajiv in his announcement here.

LinkedIn has announced the launch of the brand-new LinkedIn games,  a daily lineup of three new thinking-oriented games, for the company’s more than 1 billion users worldwide (23.7 million users in Canada). There’s no question puzzle based games are popular and LinkedIn’s new Pinpoint, Queens and Crossclimb aremeant to encourage people to take a quick break and exercise their minds.  The games create moments of camaraderie that help professionals find common ground, break the ice, and spark conversations.

More details are available from LinkedIn Editor in Chief, Dan Roth and Lakshman Somasundaram, Director of Product Management at LinkedIn who both announced the launch on LinkedIn. 

As the Canadian job market evolves, LinkedIn unveils its 2024 Top Companies list, coinciding with shifting employment trends in the country. Recent data highlights a growing labor pool and rising unemployment rates, signaling a transition to an “employer’s market”.

LinkedIn’s Top Companies is an annual list driven by exclusive LinkedIn data, aimed at assisting professionals in discovering leading global organizations renowned for their commitment to growth, learning opportunities, workplace equity, and vibrant company culture.

Below is the list of the top 10 companies on LinkedIn’s Canadian edition list for 2024.

1. AstraZeneca
2. Specsavers
3. RBC
4. EQ Bank | Equitable Bank
5. RSM
6. Gallagher
7. McKinsey & Company
8. BHP
9. HOOPP (Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan)
10. Brookfield Asset Management 

This list showcases a diverse range of industries, with banking and financial services taking the lead (RBC, EQ Bank | Equitable Bank, HOOPP). Following closely are accounting and consulting firms, such as RSM and McKinsey & Company. Additionally, pharmaceuticals (AstraZeneca), optometry and eyewear (Specsavers), mining (BHP), insurance (Gallagher), and asset management (Brookfield Asset Management) are also represented.

The full 2024 Top Companies in Canada list is linked here.

Methodology

The Top Companies methodology is based on eight key pillars shown to lead to career progression, including (1) ability to advance, (2) skills growth, (3) company stability, (4) external opportunity, (5) company affinity, (6) gender diversity, (7) educational background, (8) employee presence. The time frame for data analysis was January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2023, and only looked at company employees within the associated country. More details on the methodology pillars and eligibility criteria can be found in the appendix.

For the second straight day, we have an online service that has fallen and can’t get up. This time it’s LinkedIn. This is what my LinkedIn app looks like at the moment:

And Down Detector confirms that they have issues:

You will also note that Twitter and Facebook apparently have issues. I can’t find any evidence that Twitter has issues. Though given Twitter’s track record under Elon Musk, it would not be a shock if they did. I also don’t see evidence that Facebook is currently down. But they were down 24 hours ago so who knows. In any case, I’ll be watching this and providing updates when there are any.

UPDATE: This is now fixed.

Today, LinkedIn is unveiling 2024’s Most In-Demand Skills offering an insider look at the key skills employers need most right now. The good news is young professionals may already possess the skills and job experience they need to succeed in the workforce regardless of what has been considered a formal education in the past. A recent LinkedIn study revealed 61% of Canadian Executives disagree with the notion that a four-year degree is crucial for their organization’s success.

And good thing there’s appetite from workers to keep learning new skills, which are key to getting the attention of hirers:

• 9 out of 10 global executives say soft skills are more important than ever, with nearly 7 out of 10 saying that soft skills are more valuable to their organization than AI skills, according to LinkedIn’s Executive Confidence Index 

Professionals should take pride in the skills they already possess and embrace learning new ones to navigate job changes – planned or not!

Listed below are 2024’s top 10 Most In-Demand skills in Canada:

1. Communication
2. Customer Service
3. Leadership
4. Project Management
5. Teamwork
6. Management
7. Analytical Skills
8. Problem Solving
9. Sales
10. Time Management

To assist job seekers in boosting their skills and standing out this year, LinkedIn is also offering FREE LinkedIn Learning courses available until May 31, 2024, to help professionals learn these sought-after skills.

Below, you’ll find the courses aligned with the top skills currently in demand by employers in Canada:

• Communication Foundations with Brenda Bailey Huges & Tatiana Kolovou
• Customer Service Foundations with Jeff Toister
• Human Leadership with Erica Keswin
• Project Management Foundations with Bonnie Biafore
• Being an Effective Team Member with Daisy Lovelace
• Be The Manager People Won’t Leave with Laurie Ruettimann
• Critical Thinking and Problem Solving with Madecraft
• Sales Foundations with Jeff Bloomfield

For the full list of the Most In-Demand Skills visit here.

As we enter the new year, many may take the time to consider ways to reboot and hit the reset button. For those looking to switch up their career paths, navigating change can be a daunting task, especially as Canadians navigate a competitive job market in 2024. To assist job seekers in equipping themselves with the tools needed to find roles with growth potential in 2024, LinkedIn reveals its Jobs on the Rise list, offering fresh insights into the fastest-growing jobs of the past five years.

The top 5 roles in Canada include:  

1. Growth Manager – Growth Managers work with sales, marketing, and communications teams to develop marketing and communication strategies that will help to grow their companies’ business revenue.

2. Energy Advisor – Energy Advisors measure energy use in a home and help reduce consumption.
3. Wealth Management Associate – Wealth Management Associates provide advice and assist Wealth Managers.

4. Diversity and Inclusion Specialist – Diversity and Inclusion Specialists work with recruiters to reinforce diversity in the workplace and design company-wide policies that address issues.
5. Strategy Associate – Strategy Associates develop and execute an organization’s strategic vision to create growth and improve performance.

Methodology

Jobs on the Rise: LinkedIn Economic Graph researchers examined millions of jobs started by LinkedIn members from January 1, 2019, to July 31, 2023, to calculate a growth rate for each job title. To be ranked, a job title needed to see consistent growth across our membership base, as well as have grown to a meaningful size by 2023. Identical job titles across different seniority levels were grouped and ranked together. Internships, volunteer positions, interim roles and student roles were excluded, and jobs where hiring was dominated by a small handful of companies in each country were also excluded. Additional data points for each of the job titles are based on LinkedIn profiles of members holding the title and/or open jobs for that title in the country.

LinkedIn recently launched their Global Trends Report that shares data insights about labour-market trends and how they are impacting candidates, employees and workplaces.

Some of the key findings include:  

• Between August 2022 and August 2023, hiring rates in Canada remained down by -24%  
• Employee confidence in career development is declining worldwide, with Canadian respondents expressing less confidence in their prospects to progress their careers in the past year. HR professionals are emerging as strategic leaders, with 9 out of 10 stating that their roles have become more strategic.  
• Job posts mentioning AI or generative AI have more than double globally in the last two years, with applications growing 17% faster compares to non-AI related posts. 

These findings highlight the transformative impact of AI on the job market and the crucial role of HR professionals in guiding organizations through this transition. With AI becoming a vital tool in HR’s toolkit, it enables them to emphasize human aspects such as strengthening relationships with candidates and colleagues, ultimately contributing to a stronger company culture. 

LinkedIn is also piloting new generative AI tools, including Recruiter 2024, which simplifies hiring processes by providing high-quality candidate recommendations from an extensive pool based on natural language search prompts. Additionally, LinkedIn Learning offers AI-powered coaching to help individuals upskill in essential areas. 

The full report can be found here. 

Today, LinkedIn released the 2023 Canadian Top Startups List, featuring the 15 emerging companies attracting attention and top talent in 2023.  

Grounded in unique LinkedIn data, Top Startups is an annual ranking of the young, emerging companies attracting professionals who want to work there. The list reveals the companies that are forward-thinking and innovative around the future of work. These growing startups are successfully navigating through the current world of work at a time where there is economic uncertainty.  

LinkedIn’s methodology is based on growth and demand. The data to rank startups on the list is based on four pillars that are synonymous with successful startups:  

• Employment growth
• Engagement
• Job interest and attraction of top talent

This year, LinkedIn adjusted their eligibility requirements, lowering the age criteria to five years or younger in order to feature more companies in their earlier, venture stages of growth. 

2023 Top Startups Canada List  

1. Neo Financial  
2. Float  
3. Cohere 
4. Fable 
5. ODAIA  
6. Felix  
7. AltaML 
8. PurposeMed 
9. Novisto  
10. Vessi  
11. Conquest Planning  
12. Summit Nanotech  
13. Sanctuary AI  
14. Makeship  
15. nesto 

Methodology  

LinkedIn measures startups based on four pillars: employment growth, engagement, job interest and attraction of top talent. Employment growth is measured as percentage headcount increase over methodology time frame, which must be a minimum of 10%. Engagement looks at non-employee views and follows of the company’s LinkedIn page, as well as how many non-employees are viewing employees at that startup. Job interest counts rate at which people are viewing and applying to jobs at the company, including both paid and unpaid postings. Attraction of top talent measures how many employees the startup has recruited away from any global LinkedIn Top Company, as a percentage of the startup’s total workforce. Data is normalized across all eligible startups. The methodology time frame is July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023.  

To be eligible, companies must be fully independent, privately held, have 50 or more full-time employees, be 5 years old or younger and be headquartered in the country on whose list they appear. We exclude all staffing firms, think tanks, venture capital firms, law firms, management and IT consulting firms, nonprofits and philanthropy, accelerators and government-owned entities. Startups who have laid off 20% or more of their workforce based on corporate announcements or public, reliable sources between July 1, 2022 and the list launch, are not eligible. These decisions are made by the LinkedIn News team based on company statements and/or reputable news outlets. 

In an era marked by the increasing presence of AI, the workplace landscape is undergoing a transformative shift. LinkedIn’s latest global survey reveals that Generation Z (Gen Z) and Millennials are at the forefront of this transformation and are embracing AI, demonstrating unique perspectives and unprecedented readiness.

Despite 45% of Gen Z feeling overwhelmed by the amount of changes AI may bring to future jobs, 54% of Canadian Gen Z’s feel that using AI tools at work will provide more time for tasks they enjoy, indicating a positive outlook on AI’s potential to enhance job satisfaction and work-life balance.

Other key takeaways from the report include:

• Changing Work Dynamics: Gen Z recognizes that AI will significantly alter the way they work, paving the way for more focus on tasks they enjoy and skill development. 43% foresee AI reducing their workloads, enriching their work-life balance.
• Skills Enhancement: Gen Z and Millennials understand AI’s role in handling routine tasks and recognize the increasing importance of soft skills like leadership, communication, and problem-solving. 49% of Gen Z and 51% of Millennials agree that leadership skills will become more vital while 52% of Gen Z and 48% of Millennials believe people management skills will become more critical with AI integration.
• Productivity and Efficiency: Gen Z anticipates AI will streamline their work processes, enhance productivity, with 43% anticipating reduced workloads and improved work-life balance. 
• Confidence at Work: 74% of Gen Z and Millennials say they are confident discussing AI and the impact it will have on their job with their boss.

To address the growing skills for those across generations, LinkedIn is offering a range of learning courses  designed to boost confidence of professionals in using AI effectively, including courses on how to use Generative AI as a tool for research and writing, what Generative AI is, and things to know when it comes to using it.