Wednesday, 17 September 2025 Issue#049

Transition Smarter. Tech-Driven Guidance for What’s Next.

This week, the job market is showing its claws as Americans cling to stability while the economy wrestles with tight housing and cooling hiring. Veterans will need to switch to Login.gov or ID.me to keep accessing VA services, and AI continues to reshape how we work, learn, and even write resumes. From practical uses to full task handoffs, AI is moving from novelty to necessity, but recruiters are catching on when it oversteps. Stay ahead by knowing the trends, the tools, and the transitions shaping today’s workforce.

Weekly Roundup

The Great Job Hug

Americans are increasingly holding tight to their current jobs, even when they’re unhappy, in a trend now dubbed “job hugging.” With economic uncertainty ramping up, confidence in finding new opportunities has plunged, keeping many workers from making moves. Hiring has cooled significantly, quits are down, and even high-performing employees are staying put until the labor market steadies. For employers, this shift could mean retention becomes easier than recruitment, and for workers, it may mean settling for stability over advancement. (businessinsider.com)

The Economy’s Double Squeeze

The U.S. economy is being squeezed from both ends: the labor market is cooling fast with unemployment and jobless claims rising to their highest since 2021 and workers now outnumbering job openings, while the housing market is straining under near-record low affordability and inflated mortgage and rent costs. Mortgage rates remain high even as some long-term yields drop, trapping many homeowners in post-pandemic low rates and shrinking geographic mobility just when it’s most needed. Taken together, these twin pressures threaten to slow consumer spending, erode business revenue and tip growth into choppy waters. (reuters.com)

Logging Off DS Logon

Veterans will need to trade in their DS Logon credentials for either a Login.gov or ID.me account by September 30, 2025, in order to continue accessing VA.gov and related mobile apps. The change is intended to tighten security, meet federal identity standards, and simplify access by offering a single sign-on for VA and other government services. The VA is providing step-by-step guides, verification help, and support resources to ease the transition, especially for those not yet moved over. (VA News)

Recruiters Can Spot AI—Can You?

Recruiters are getting sharp at spotting AI fingerprints in resumes, and there are a few big red flags. Use of terms like “realm,” “intricate,” “showcasing,” or “pivotal” tends to give it away, especially when paired with flat or generic achievement statements. Things like fancy vocabulary without substance, impersonal tone shifts, overuse of buzzwords, and inconsistent formatting are other common telltales. AI tools can help polish grammar or suggest structure, but going in heavy without editing your own voice is more likely to raise suspicion than get you ahead. (Entrepreneur)

Weekly Feature

AI Isn’t a Toy Anymore

We’re finally getting a solid picture of how people are actually using AI. Two recent studies shed light: OpenAI looked at 1.5 million ChatGPT conversations, while Anthropic analyzed how people use Claude. The big takeaway is that AI is no longer just a novelty. Most interactions focus on practical needs like research and writing help, though personal use is climbing quickly. Roughly 30% of usage is work-related and 70% is not, and both are growing. Geography also shapes patterns, with coding making up over a third of Claude usage and adoption rates far higher in places like Singapore compared to India or Nigeria, where access still lags. The gender gap has nearly closed too, with women now representing a slight majority of ChatGPT users. And perhaps most telling, more people are treating AI less like a collaborator and more like a direct employee, handing off entire tasks instead of working step by step. Education and science applications are surging, showing how quickly AI is moving from experiment to everyday tool.

Weekly Prompt

Prompt: Evaluate the credibility of this article: [insert link or paste text].
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Bias (1–10): Does the article use loaded language, omit counterpoints, or show political/financial/ideological leanings? Explain briefly.
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Evidence Quality (1–10): Are claims backed by verifiable data, peer-reviewed studies, or credible experts? Identify any weak or unsupported claims.
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Relevance (1–10): How relevant is this source to the topic at hand compared to alternatives (e.g., primary research, domain experts, institutional reports)?
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Authority Check: Who is the author/publisher? What is their track record, expertise, or potential conflict of interest?
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Cross-Verification: Point out at least 2–3 better or more authoritative sources (e.g., peer-reviewed journals, government/academic reports, or established outlets).
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Final Verdict: Summarize whether this article is reliable enough to cite directly, or whether it should be treated cautiously/secondary.

Productivity Spotlight

Tools that help you stay, or get, productive

✅ Career Steer - Career guidance, mentorship, job search, and talent match tool powered by AI.

✅ Imini - AI super agent to automate research, document drafting, slide creation, and multimedia generation

✅ Coreviz- Do visual search and analysis using AI

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