Meet the "jobless employed" 💼

Hi there! Ever wish someone could quit your job for you? (my non-confrontational people can relate). Well, in Japan, you can hire a firm called Exit that will deliver a resignation on your behalf for about $350. Now the question is…how does the exit interview go down when you outsource your “I’m outta here” conversation?

 1   The "jobless employed" are all around you 🧑‍💻

Imagine you’re a full-time employee who has so little on your plate that you can spend the majority of your days hiking, swimming, or doing whatever else you want.

That’s the reality for the so-called “jobless employed,” AKA people who have a job but have little (if anything) to do. Vox has a handful of theories on why this is happening, ranging from poor management to companies clinging to outdated roles to the challenge of monitoring productivity in remote work environments.

There are mixed feelings about jobless employment. While some employees are enjoying the freedom of having a nonexistent workload, others feel guilty and stagnant. Would you want to join this crew if given the chance?

 2   AI is making the job searching process really, really weird 🤨

You perfected your cover letter and personalized your résumé—but weeks pass and you’ve heard zilch on your application. That could be because your app never made it to a human: It was all handled by AI.

Last year, the CEO of ZipRecruiter said that AI processes ~75% of résumés submitted for jobs in the U.S., making it more important than ever to optimize your application for AI hiring systems.

How to do that: There are a lot of tools out there (such as Resume Worded) that optimize your résumé. Plus, according to CBS, 70% of candidates said they saw a higher response rate when they submitted an AI-generated resume. Now that’s what we call AI-inception.

 3   No bachelor's degree? No problem 📜

U.S. Representative Angie Craig won’t require bachelor’s degrees to land a job in her legislative office, according to Bloomberg. Instead, she’ll evaluate candidates based on their training and work experience.

Craig is fighting the “paper ceiling,” a career advancement barrier that impacts those who don’t have a bachelor’s degree. FYI:

Want to join this fight to break through the paper ceiling? Check out this online petition right here.

Our Market Research Guide is Here! 🥳

Have you checked out our Market Research Guide? AKA your go-to resource to ensure you get paid what you’re worth!

This guide covers how to effectively conduct market research, so you can 1) get a data-backed number you can confidently negotiate for and 2) spot low-ball offers and comfortably walk away.

And if your market research shows you’re being underpaid?

We’ve got you covered. Our guide has built-in scripts to help you approach that compensation conversation so you can earn what you deserve. 👏

You can access the guide (totally free!) right here.

Salary Transparent Street just marked one year of talking to people like you about what you make and how you make it! 🎉

To celebrate, we threw a birthday party in D.C. with our community complete with pizza, balloons, and, of course…questions about salary transparency (what kind of party would it be if there wasn’t?!).

Here’s what we learned about our STS friends in the D.C. area: And FYI, D.C.’s cost of living is 39% higher than the national average, according to Payscale. The city’s minimum wage is currently $16.10, but on July 1, that’ll go up to $17 an hour. And the median rent? That’s about $1,681 a month.

Here’s the rundown: ⬇️

• A cybersecurity analyst is making $150,000 a year.

• This entrepreneur’s vintage store is making her $83,000 a year.

• A recruiter is earning $3,750 a month.

Curious to learn more about what it’s like to work in D.C.? Watch our video right here!

• This agency will pay you $100 an hour to watch TikTok for 10 hours. If you get the gig, we suggest investing in some blue light blocking glasses. 👓

• Here’s why posting your salary on LinkedIn could do more harm than good.

• The Curb calculated how much it would cost to live your dream life in NYC. Let’s just say we’ll be staying put in D.C. 😅

• There was a conference in LA to promote the emerging field of…pet benefits?

• Natasha Dinnall earns $86,000 a year as a NYC subway conductor—here’s what a typical day on the job looks like!

Thanks for reading! A recent poll from The Washington Post and Ipsos found that 55% of fully remote workers were willing to take a pay cut to continue WFH. We’d love to know—would you do the same?

We’ll post the results next week! See you next Tuesday!