SUCCESS
Annual Performance Reviews, Reference Checks And Exit Interviews Are Outdated And Unfair
While employers pull back on business practices that push the dial forward, like the remote work and flexibility that was offered during the pandemic, there are other stubborn traditions that Corporate America should rid itself of. Standards like the annual performance review, reference checks and exit interviews should be abolished, as they are all farcical and problematic.
Top Stories For January 25, 2024 In Wall Street, The Economy, Pop Culture, Sports, Politics, Tech And The Job Market
Wall Street
U.S. stocks are ticking higher Thursday following signals that the economy is growing much more powerfully than economists expected.
The S&P 500 was up 0.2% in afternoon trading and on track to set a record for a fifth straight day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 5 points, or less than 0.1%, as of 12:58 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.2% higher.
IBM was helping to lead the market with a gain of 10.8% after it reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It helped offset a 13.1% tumble for Tesla, whose earnings and revenue fell short of forecasts. The electric-vehicle maker also warned of notably lower sales growth this year.
Economy
The economy grew at a much more rapid pace than expected while inflation eased in the final three months of 2023, as the U.S. easily skirted a recession that many forecasters had thought was inevitable, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.
Gross domestic product, a measure of all the goods and services produced, increased at a 3.3% annualized rate in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to data adjusted seasonally and for inflation.
That compared with the Wall Street consensus estimate for a gain of 2% in the final three months of the year.
Pop Culture
After more than a year searching to find a new host, The Daily Show has tapped the man who built it into a media and show business institution to help forge its next chapter.
Jon Stewart, who hosted the program for 16 years before leaving in 2015, will return to The Daily Show as a part-time host and executive producer through the 2024 presidential election cycle. He'll lead the program on Monday nights beginning Feb. 12, leaving hosting on Tuesdays through Thursdays to the show's correspondents.
Let's Go Live with Jack Kelly: Valerie Vadala
One of the biggest complaints about human resources and employers is the cold and impersonal manner in which they lay off workers. How a company communicates and facilitates job cuts is essential for demonstrating empathy and providing immediate support to employees during a difficult and emotional time, as well as maintaining trust with its remaining staff and anyone looking to join the organization in the future.
In this LinkedIn Live, Valerie Vadala, an experienced global talent acquisition leader who served in executive roles at Wells Fargo, Shutterstock, Invesco, OppenheimerFunds, Credit Suisse and Lehman Brothers, will be giving her take on this insensitive layoff trend. We'll be discussing the viral Cloudflare firing video and how companies could conduct themselves better during these layoffs!
Sports
Jim Harbaugh is headed back to the NFL, this time as the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we got him,” the Chargers posted to X on Wednesday.
The announcement comes on the heels of an ultra-successful season in which Harbaugh led the University of Michigan to its first national championship since 1997 and after a nine-year stint as the Wolverines’ head coach.
“Jim Harbaugh is football personified, and I can think of no one better to lead the Chargers forward,” Chargers owner and chairman Dean Spanos said in a statement.
Politics
The United Auto Workers union is endorsing President Joe Biden for reelection this year, UAW President Shawn Fain announced Wednesday at a union conference in Washington, D.C.
“Today, I’m proud to stand up here with your International Executive Board and announce that the UAW is endorsing Joe Biden for President of the United States,” Fain said.
Tech
The Federal Trade Commission said Thursday it will conduct an extensive study on the artificial intelligence field’s biggest heavyweights, including Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, Anthropic and OpenAI.
FTC Chair Lina Khan announced the inquiry during the agency’s tech summit on AI, describing it as a “market inquiry into the investments and partnerships being formed between AI developers and major cloud service providers.”
By invoking its authority to conduct a so-called 6(b) study—named for Section 6(b) of the FTC Act—the regulator can look into the AI companies separately from its law enforcement arm and make civil investigative demands. For example, the agency can order companies to file specific reports and answer questions in writing about their businesses.
Job Market
Microsoft will lay off around 1,900 employees in its Gaming unit, or around 9% of Microsoft Gaming’s headcount, according to a Thursday memo obtained by CNBC.
Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said that the layoffs were part of a larger “execution plan” that would reduce “areas of overlap,” a little more than three months after Microsoft closed on its acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Former Blizzard president Mike Ybarra said Thursday on social media platform X he would be leaving Microsoft and Blizzard.
Blizzard co-founder Allen Adham, the unit’s design chief, is leaving, and Blizzard will stop developing a new survival game, Matt Booty, head of Microsoft’s gaming studios, said in a memo. The Verge published Booty’s memo, which a Microsoft spokesperson said was authentic.
How To Get A Job In Tough Times: All The Advice You Need To Succeed From A Top Executive Recruiter
There’s an old saying, “Tough times make tough people.” In this book, Jack Kelly will help guide you every step of the way in your job search to ensure that you stay strong, resilient and positive, and get that great, new job.
