Dear Reader:

Have you ever really stopped to think about the psychology behind how we make choices?

I was standing in the grocery store last week, staring at the ice cream freezer.
Every pint was roughly the same size.
Most had nearly identical core ingredients—milk, cream, sugar.
And yet… prices varied by 20–25%.

So what are we actually buying?
Brand. Familiarity. Perceived quality. Flavor reputation.
Because if you’re like me, you’re not experimenting much with ice cream.
It’s an occasional indulgence—and you want to minimize the margin of regret.
I almost always go with my default: Graeter’s cookie dough. Reliable. Proven. No surprises.

But then a friend told me the store started carrying McConnell’s salted caramel chip—and said it was “the best ice cream she’s ever had.”

Here’s the thing:
I wasn’t even thinking about that flavor before she said it.
But the second she did? I wanted it.
She changed my buying behavior with one simple thing: trusted endorsement.

That’s exactly how hiring works.

Companies say they want the “best” candidate.
But most of the time, they hire the safest candidate:
✔️ The one from a recognizable competitor
✔️ The one with the elite MBA
✔️ The one with the perfectly linear career

In other words, what they already know. Because just like in the freezer aisle, familiarity feels like less risk.

But that changes when someone trusted says:
“You need to talk to this person. They’re exceptional.”

That’s when doors open for candidates who don’t look “obvious” on paper.
If you’re job searching and relying solely on applications, you’re asking someone to pick an unfamiliar flavor with no context.
Most won’t.

But when the right person tells your story for you?
Now you’re not a risk—you’re a recommendation. And that’s when decisions chang/

My advice, dear reader, is to find that internal champion.

Rooting for you,

Table of Contents

• Dear Reader:

• Meet Our New Interview Coach & Strategist

• Non-compete Legislation Changes

• Beware: Job Search Scam

• Chinese Tech Workers Pushing Back on Training AI D …

• The New Grad Hiring Market is….Interesting

• AI Prompts for DIY Resume

Meet Our New Interview Coach & Strategist

I’m excited to introduce Robin, the newest member of the Briefcase Coach team. With more than 20 years of experience in career development, she has guided professionals and graduate students toward clear, results-driven career outcomes, most recently as Associate Director of Career Development for graduate business programs at UNC Charlotte. Her background spans higher education and corporate recruiting—including Wake Forest University, Johnson & Wales University, Wachovia, and Carolinas Healthcare System—giving her a well-rounded view of how hiring decisions are made. At the senior level, opportunities for candid feedback are rare, yet the stakes are high—clients need both honest critique and thoughtful validation. Robin is uniquely equipped for that work: equal parts savvy and warm, she creates a space where clients can be vulnerable and practice with confidence, while delivering sharp, actionable insights that help them elevate their positioning and performance.

Check out the entire Briefcase Coach team of job search and career experts.

Non-compete Legislation Changes

A major shift is coming out of Washington state (not DC)—and it’s one every executive (and employer) should have on their radar. The state just passed a sweeping law that will void nearly all non-compete agreements by mid-2027, including many that are already in place. Supporters argue this will unlock innovation and talent mobility (think Silicon Valley dynamics), while critics warn companies will simply tighten other restrictions like NDAs and non-solicits. I’ve linked the full article below—it’s worth a read.

Geekwire Article: Non-compete Ban & What it Means for Tech

Beware: Job Search Scam

A quick (and important) heads-up: there’s a highly sophisticated job search scam circulating right now—and it’s catching incredibly smart, senior-level professionals off guard. I’m getting multiple emails a day from executives who’ve been approached about a “perfect-fit” role, only to be told they need a stronger resume and then referred to “me.” The catch? It’s not me. Bad actors are impersonating my brand using fake email addresses, scraped content, and AI-generated messaging to build credibility, collect personal information, and take payment for services they never deliver. They’re mining LinkedIn for details, creating convincing outreach, and targeting people who are actively exploring opportunities.

I have heard from over 50 Vice Presidents, C-Leaders, etc., who have been catfished. And it’s not just me who is being impersonated. I exchanged emails with Lindsay Ellis over at the Wall Street Journal this week and it sounds like this is a massive issue.

WSJ Article (paywalled): Scammers are Stealing Recruiters’ Identities to Scam Job Seekers

Chinese Tech Workers Pushing Back on Training AI Doubles

Hung Lee—the voice behind Recruiting Brainfood—shared the article below in his latest issue, and it felt like important mind fodder for this audience. His stuff is really good and worth the subscribe.

With the news that Meta is making another round of mass lay offs, days after the internal announcement that it’s going to use employee keystrokes as training data for it’s AI models, the penny is starting to drop for the early AI enthusiasts who are building the machines that are going on to replace us all. Employers using employee metadata to train their AI Agent replacements is certainly going to be resisted, and I’m beginning to wonder whether then slow adoption of AI in enterprise may in fact in some part surreptitious sabotage by employees concerned that they will not be the ones sharing in the productivity gains delivered by AI. Resistance is happening in China, where “Colleague Skill” - a Github repo where you can distill your team mates metadata in an effort to make your colleagues more dispensable - went viral, whilst other developers have built ‘anti-distillation’ tools, a form of data poisoning which make sure any AI replacements trained on your data actually become incompetent AI workers.

Another interesting read: Employers say they struggle to find workers with the right AI skillset

The New Grad Hiring Market is….Interesting

Here’s an interesting (and slightly conflicting) reality check for the Class of 2026: starting salaries are actually trending up—even as the job market gets tougher. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, most majors are seeing solid salary growth, with computer science leading the pack (up nearly 7% to an average of $81K+), followed closely by engineering and math/science fields. Business grads are also seeing a healthy bump, especially in marketing, sales, and management roles. In-demand majors? No surprise—it’s still business, engineering, and computer science dominating hiring plans.

But here’s the tension: higher salaries don’t mean an easier job search. Recent grad unemployment is hovering around 9.7%, on par with high school grads, as companies pull back on entry-level hiring amid economic uncertainty and AI disruption. The encouraging part? Data from ZipRecruiter shows this class is adapting—adjusting expectations, staying flexible, and actually landing roles faster than last year’s grads.

💼 Translation: the market is tougher, but not impossible—if you know how to navigate it.

AI Prompts for DIY Resume

I recently led a corporate webinar for early-career professionals at a F100 Tech company, and one thing was clear: this group isn’t just AI-curious—they’re AI-fluent and eager for practical ways to use it well. We spent time on how to use smart prompts to build stronger, more professional resumes, and while I’ll always stand by the value of a professionally written resume for senior leaders, AI can be a powerful starting point for those earlier in their careers. It helps you get unstuck, organize your experience, and build real momentum.

I’ve included a set of the prompts I shared so you can put them to work (download below and save for later). And if you’re planning programming for an ERG, SIG, or team event, I’d love to partner with you to bring this kind of practical, strategic career guidance to your group.

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