📰 In this issue

🔹 Skills First, Then Resume: Polishing your resume is pointless without the right skills

🔹 AI Skills: Your Job Market Edge: 80% of leaders prefer candidates comfortable with AI tools

🔹 Top AI Certifications for 2025: The best ones for knowledge workers

🔹 Business Outlook: Tariffs, Cuts, and You: Up to 7.5 million jobs at risk

Future-Proof Weekly: AI Skills & Surviving Economic Chaos 🚀

TL;DR: No AI skills? Your resume and LinkedIn are just noise. Master AI literacy, grab top certifications, and navigate tariffs and layoffs like a pro.

Skills first, then resume 📝

Polishing your resume or LinkedIn profile is pointless without the right skills. Two thirds of leaders would not hire someone who does not have skills in using artificial intelligence, according to the 2024 Work Trend Index Annual Report by Microsoft and LinkedIn. Key takeaways from Microsoft's 2024 Work Trend Index:

• 66% of leaders won’t hire without AI skills.

• 71% prefer hiring a candidate with AI skills, even if they have less experience.

• 77% of leaders say entry-level professionals with AI skills will take on more responsibility, accelerating their growth and development.

Action: Focus on skills first, then tailor your resume and LinkedIn with keywords like “AI literacy” or “prompt engineering” to pass Applicant Tracking Systems.

• Tip: Use ChatGPT to analyze job descriptions and mirror their language.

• Tool: Try ResumeCoach for AI-driven resume tweaks.

AI Skills: Your job market edge ⚡

AI is no longer optional—80% of leaders prefer candidates comfortable with AI tools. LinkedIn’s COO notes that AI-literate workers are outpacing others in hiring and promotions. Key skills: AI literacy, prompt engineering, and data analysis. Why? Companies like KPMG are using AI to handle tasks once reserved for mid-level pros, leaving unskilled workers behind.

• Start Here: Learn to use tools like ChatGPT or Microsoft 365 Copilot for daily tasks.

• Showcase It: Add “Applied AI to streamline workflows” to your LinkedIn.

Top AI certifications for 2025 🎓

Certifications validate your skills and boost ATS matches. Industry reports highlight these as the best for knowledge workers:

• AI and Machine Learning Specialization by Stanford University

• Google Professional Machine Learning Engineer Certification

• Google Cloud: Professional ML Engineer Exam Guide

• Jetson AI Courses and Certifications (NVIDIA Developer)

• NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute Training and Certification

• AI and Machine Learning Masters Program by Sprintzeal

• Microsoft Certified: AI Engineer Associate

• Artificial Intelligence Certification (ARTiBA)

• ChatGPT / AI Ethics: Ethical Intelligence for 2024

• Post Graduate Program in AI and Machine Learning

CompTIA: Lest we forget CompTIA, (Computing Technology Industry Association) which is a non-profit trade association that provides professional certs. It’s been around for 40+ years, and is one of the largest IT certification bodies in the world.

It offers globally recognized, vendor-neutral IT certifications that validate skills in hardware, networking, cybersecurity, cloud, and data analytics. Certifications like A+, Network+, and Security+ are ISO/ANSI accredited and trusted by major employers such as HP, Dell, Intel, and the U.S. Department of Defense. Their vendor-neutral approach ensures professionals gain adaptable skills applicable across diverse technologies, making them a reliable industry standard for IT competency.

Industry surveys show 91% of employers value CompTIA certifications as indicators of ability, often requiring them for IT positions. Regularly updated to align with industry trends, these credentials boost confidence, enhance employability, and support higher salaries and career advancement.

Business Outlook: tariffs, cuts, and you 🌎

Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs - TACO (e.g., 50% on steel) and government contract cuts are shaking things up. Federal funding freezes have triggered thousands of private-sector layoffs, with up to 7.5 million jobs at risk due to the extensive economic ties between private companies and federal contracts. The effects are being felt rapidly in small businesses and are expected to ripple through state economies and unemployment systems.  

Upside: Demand for AI-skilled workers is surging in resilient sectors like cybersecurity and data analytics.

• Pivot Plan: Upskill in AI or cybersecurity to stay relevant.

• Stay Sharp: Monitor Layoffs.fyi for real-time job cut trends

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