Washington is considering a ban on the popular app. We asked teenagers what they thought. Their answers may surprise you.
LTUK23 – Vendors to Check Out
It’s London. It’s eXcel. It’s resturants and places that will overcharge because eXcel is out there away from all the good places in Central London. Trust me, three miles is about 45 minutes.
LTUK always has challenges with finding the vendors’ booths, because of the way they show the avenues on the floor – I call them that, it is the where you walk down each uh, pathway. They criss cross, the numbers change. Expecting to see clarity? Forget it. The map to really find the booth you want, is always in the back of the expo. It’s bonkers. eXcel is far superior to Olympia, a giant dump, where one time, the loos (toilets) stopped working – in the entire place. Fantastic. LTUK’s app, doesn’t have geolocation (ATD, doesn’t either for that matter), although every other app that has people going places, has it. To me, it would make the most sense, since I’m walking down pathways, which you show on your map in the app, but I never see where I am, compared to where I need to go.
Your food options at eXcel (which is a giant building, with lots of other shows/expos going on at the same time), will set you back a few pounds. The UK is heavily going cashless, thus I strongly recommend you focus on that credit card for purchases, rather than handing out some coinage. I know some places take the bills/coins at eXcel, but plenty want that card.
That’s the glory of eXcel, and in this case, the coverage of LTUK23. For those new to the show, or experienced and may not be aware, where the vendor’s booth is located, can make a huge difference in terms of traffic (which they want). At the top of each of those pathways – that is the gold – vendors pay a lot, and at LTUK, they go with a repeat approach – in that if you paid for that spot, last year, you get to pick better spots this year, including this one. So, it’s like seniority. ATD does the same thing, and actually most shows in general. Want to bigger booth? That will cost you. Think of a trade show floor – as location – in terms of where you find resturants, or places of business. The best locations cost the most. You want the traffic. It’s all about traffic. Ditto for the trade show floor. The ones that pay the least or a brand new and don’t want to pay a lot, are on the outer edges of the show floor. I call that the no-man’s land. It’s tough, and yeah, some will get traffic, but nowhere near the other places. The best spots are at the top, and really in the central middle area. That is where you always get the most traffic.
How can that change? Well, good thing you asked. This post is all about the vendor, and not where they are located on the show floor. If they are at the top and paid a fortune, hey, good for them, but it won’t play a role in my list. Outer edges? If you are in the list, you are there. Big booth, small booth – doesn’t matter. Plan to focus on your cell phone or talk to the folks next to you? Sure I’ll post it on my daily reviews, but here? Nope. Ignore people in the booth? A common occurrence, but not a factor here – although I might say, in the past, I’ve seen this. You can expect less than 50% will ever follow-up with you, even if you ask them to do so. You can say, I am really interested in buying your system, and it is a coin toss if they ever follow-up. There are vendors whose folks in the booth, do not even work for them. Surprise! Yep, you can hire fake people, okay, they are real, but you know what I mean. I often wonder if the Body Snatchers isn’t at play here. Who says not?
My vendor lists are broken up into three categories
- Vendors I recommend you go and see – some may have notes, others not. If they are in FindAnLMS or FindContent (my newest platform) I will note that. Whether they have notes are not, isn’t a factor, I may have written about said vendor multiple times, and thus, no need to – if they are on other blog post of mine, I will refer to it as a link.
What to have fun with a vendor? Turn your info card, around, so they can’t see who you are, or what you do. I cannot stand vendor’s salespeople who call me by my first name, as though we are buddies or hang out. Nor the infamous, “So what do you do? And what is XTZ?” If I want to tell you, I will. I do the turn the info card around, and then there are vendor’ salespeople who want to scan your card. Why? Knowing less than 50% ever follow up, what’s the point? To get on their e-mail list? Which does happen. Seriously, some sales execs should really pay attention to what is taking place. Okay, rant over. Let’s hit the booths.
For this year’s post, I have the vendor’s booth location – saving you valuable time. Okay, a bit of time. I am going in alphabetical order. No reason.
RECOMMEND READING – My papers/reports from best questions to ask a salesperson to buyer’s guides to support questions to ask (everyone should ask these, because the #1 reason people hate or leave their learning system is support). Also the demo time, one is a must too. Learning Library – Go to Craig Weiss’s Reports. Oh, and the Library now has a section with learning system screenshots, among other new materials.
FindAnLMS – link; FindContent.io – link (when you see them in the lists)
The Recommend Vendors to Check Out List
- Absorb (No booth location noted) (They are in FindAnLMS, so you can compare them with other vendors, get additional information too – best of all, when you request a trial, they actually respond) – Really good learning system, top 10 in 2023 – this post includes strengths and weaknesses.
- Area9 Lyceum (H50) – They spin as an adaptive learning platform, which okay, whatever works. The UI/UX is not a fit for everyone – so be prepared. Top 75 Learning System for 2022. Their built-in authoring tool is a major weak spot. Name sounds like a Sci-Fi movie.
- Arist (B65) -They are a learning system, but it is all text-based here. They had some studies done by Harvard and Stanford (I never get why vendors think these big names, make a difference – oh wait, folks think they do. Anyway, big names mean nothing in my book. Some of the best studies I have found are in Australia, with places you never heard of), showed that text-based is better and blah-blah-blah. I respectfully disagree, because not one of those folks actually worked in training or L&D, and oh yeah, Arist bases this on customer feedback. Great marketing. Okay, so I think they are a fit for some folks – in conjunction with another type of learning system. Not as a standalone. You get the best results, if you add deep thought-provoking questions, beyond some basics. One thing I did like, is that you have five options for delivery to take the content – WhatsApp, SMS, E-mail, Slack or MS Teams. Sidekick which uses ChatGPT is an authoring tool that can be tied into Arist. It takes about 10-15 minutes to create a course, and the course is all text for the solution. If you build your own, you can add some video clips, still this is text, text, and more text. Worth an exploration. Tell them Bigfoot sent you.
- Blossom (H75) (On FindAnLMS) – Intriguing solution, not a fit for everyone. Very streamlined. They are in my Top 100 Learning Systems for 21-22.
- assemble You (K58) (Coming soon to FindContent.io) – I like their approach, it is all around podcasts and sort of a Soundview angle, where the best bits are stripped out – and focused upon. Definitely worth a view – this is 3rd party off-the-shelf content for your learning system.
- Bridge (F75) (FindAnLMS) – 100% focus on L&D. Top 75 learning system for 2022.
- Civica (B30) (FindAnLMS) – It’s Agylia on FindAnLMS. They are really tailored – okay, strong in mobile side of the house for learning and training. Top 75 Learning System for 2022.
- Cornerstone (H10) (FindAnLMS) – The Cornerstone LMS finished #2 in Learning Systems for 2023. The new UI/UX on the learner side is really impressive. Even some solid analytics learners can see. The admin side has been cleaned up and improved upon. The system includes Content Anytime (you still have to purchase the content/courses), can integrate quite nicely with EdCast (separate fee, an LXP) – even though I should note that Cornerstone has strong LXP capabilities in their LMS. Skills management – i.e., skills capabilities is still the best in the industry. Using my template on the skills side, which is massive, they are at 90%. Nobody is even close. Just launched an Opportunity marketplace – intriguing, but this aligns more with talent management side of the house – okay HR too. Add-on. Oh, anyone who says this is a traditional LMS, needs to really take it down a notch. Constantly in the upper Grid for NexGen feature sets. Are they perfect? No. But then again, nobody is. Best fit for L&D (employees).
- Cypher Learning (L50) (FindAnLMS) – MATRIX – #17 Learning System for 2023. I’m a bigger fan of MATRIX, although their other two platforms are nearly identical, maybe a tweak of feature here and there. MATRIX is for the employees and customer side. Again, better fit for employees. UI/UX is nice.
- D2L (D10) (FindAnLMS) – Top 10 Learning System for 2023. I’m focusing specifically on Brightspace for Corporate. This system is really strong for customer training and association space. L&D doable, but I like them for the other two. It is robust and I mean robust – especially with skills. NexGen impressive. Metrics are solid. The minus – that UI/UX. They have done a few areas in the system that are really good, but overall, yeah, needs the improvement button. I really dig this system.
- Degreed (K35) (FindAnLMS) – #4 Learning System for 2023. They are around upskilling, so the notion they are an LXP, is no longer the case. I think it is an insult to call them an LXP, because they do so much more than the LXPs on the market today. This is a sweet system, as my grandpa used to say (if he was alive, I’m sure he would say it). Seriously though, this system continues to improve, and what I have seen coming down the pipe, is going to rock. Degreed Intelligence is an add-on (which I wish it wasn’t but what it can do; plus the metrics are far better than what comes out of the box). Opportunities is an add-on, and they have another offering that is an add-on. Too many add-ons.
- Docebo (F10) (FindAnLMS) – #6 Learning System for 2023. Better suited for customer training, although they sell plenty to employees side of the house. Add-ons reign supreme here too, and their metrics out of the box are weak. Learning Analytics is what you want, but it is an add-on. Great UI/UX, skills is so-so, a bit better than overall, but not enough to be the key buying factor. Extended Enterprise which is more widely known as customer training is an add-on, but you do have another option with pages (which is odd, because they never mention it). Best add-ons are Docebo Connect and Docebo Coach, Discovery and Share.
- enabley (D65) – Top 75 learning system for 2022. Definitely a different look that many systems. Hyped a bit too much marketing wise, good for them, but, let’s focus on the system more so, than the hype? Anyway, worth a visit.
- Entelechy Academy (K30) – I will be doing a Q/A at the booth on the first day of LTUK at 11 a.m.; I didn’t select them here for that reason though. This is really a very cool learning system. There isn’t any content here, this is more about identifying characteristics in people with the appropriate skills they should select and/or align best. Mobile-focused all the way.
- Eurekos (C20) (FindAnLMS) – #1 customer training learning system for 2023, #7 overall for 2023, there is a lot here – So read all about them in the above locations. If you are seeking or interested in customer training (formally known as customer education) – this should be a must go stop! BTW, the most affordable system I’ve seen with the most robust functionality for customer training.
- Frog Education (A22) – Frog LMS is an outstanding learning system for the K-6 crowd (primary) – This is an EdTech platform, which I cannot stress means education technology as in K-12 and higher ed. If you want a system for your elementary/primary school, definitely worth a visit.
- Fuse Universal (G40) (FindAnLMS) – #5 Learning System for 2023; outstanding system across the board. The UI/UX is quite different, and they have components that are cohort-based learning, but not fully cohort-based. You can type in a question or a statement or a word or skill in their search bar in one of their areas, and it will surf the net and pull back free content that aligns to it, and any paid that you have purchased that exists in the system. Analytics on the back-end are the best in the industry.
- GO1 (G30) (FindContent.io) – Content aggregator (this means lots of publishers/providers in the 3rd party, off-the-shelf course side). Acquired Anders Pink, an outstanding search the web, bring back content solution; will include Anders Pink when you purchase their premium solution; if not you can buy it as an add-on.
- iAm Learning (J05) (FindContent.io) – A very good 3rd party off-the-shelf content provider.
- IMC Learning (C60) (FindAnLMS) – Top 75 Learning System for 2022. UI/UX continues to improve. Ideal for L&D.
- Learn Amp (Stand K60) (FindAnLMS) – #3 Learning System for 2023. Skills capabilities are very strong, in the top half for the industry. UI/UX is slightly different, but it works. Metrics continue to improve. Another system I totally dig. A must visit! Competes well against Docebo.
- LearnUpon (K40) (FindAnLMS) – Top 75 Learning System for 2022. #15 Learning System for 2023. Really wonderful learning system, so much to like here. Can go customer training, associations included or employees. Affordable, although they charge extra for some customer training capabilities. Ideal in the SMB space.
- LMS365 (C15) (FindAnLMS) – System aligned around Microsoft365, especially the SharePoint side of the house. I like them, enough said. Top 75 Learning System for 2022.
- Netex (L20) (FindAnLMS) – Ideal for Small business, maybe mid-market up to 1,500. Very slick UI/UX. Metrics are fair.
- Odlio (D70) – The Learner side for the most part is like a luxurious blend of happiness, but other parts, absolutely not. The admin side needs improvement, on the pronto side. This is all about content, I would say they are a content aggregator from the ebook and audiobook side of the house, and we are talking the latest books, big name publishers – that is a huge win. The pricing is outrageously expensive. For whatever reason, they went from trying to get the corporate learning side, to focusing more around edtech (which they always did), institutions (ditto) and libraries (ditto). My personal feeling is that they never really understood the corporate space, and really failed on the marketing which is a factor. By appearing here, they are going to try to land corporate clients – I think that is the play here, if they can, but edtech for sure.
- OpenSesame (A60) (FindContent.io) – Awesome content aggregator (similar to GO1, with some exceptions). I love that when you select them as a provider, they will meet with you, go thru their library and scale down – based on your use cases. Sure, others do that, but not to the extent they do. Plus, they have machine learning (the industry loves to push it as AI) that can adapt to what content your learners are consuming. A really cool generative AI (that’s what you want) is coming. Sorry, can’t share any more than that.
- Pluralsight (E60) (FindAnLMS) (Coming soon to FindContent.io) – It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s Pluralsight. You might see them in other vendors’ marketplaces, which is why the duality gets a bit confusing. You can purchase the Pluralsight platform with all that wonderful content (additional costs) and use that as your primary or secondary learning system – with front and admin capabilities. OR you can use Pluralsight for your technical skills content/courses. The metrics on this system are outstanding. Seriously, you can identify your learning story with these metrics – which is not common, as most vendors out of the box metrics, can’t tell you – your learning story which you want. Expensive system though, content equally so. This is only tech skills here. But the best technical skills content on the market.
- Schoox (B20) (FindAnLMS) – Top 20 learning system for 2023. The name is hard to pronounce – Scooo-X; but this is a very strong learning system for L&D. I wish they would decide whether they are a learning platform, or what they now pitch as a workplace learning software. I really hate when vendors ignore what they are, and try to get clever. You are a learning system, not learning software – trust me, there is a difference. I wonder how many people who are searching for a learning system, will type in workplace learning software? My guess is zero. Other vendors are jumping into the software angle, but only for clicks. They still see themselves as an LMS, LXP, Learning Platform – all of which are learning systems. This is a far better system, than the marketing pitch side. I like it, very robust, the UI/UX has always been the challenge. Oh, they pitch themselves on the web as a Workplace Learning Platform. Wait? I thought you were software!
- Techsmith (A38) – I admit I use their products. I like Snagit, but their pricing is inflated, when you want to renew. It’s good for the basics. Camtasia -Yep I use it, but it can be cumbersome, offers a lot, especially add-ons. The one add-on I did buy, and think is absolutely brillant but expensive is Audiate. Probably the best learning technology product I’ve seen this year for the content side of the house. You have to have Camtasia to buy it. The rest of their stuff? Pass.
- Tesseract (N35) (FindAnLMS) – It’s all about KREDO. Very inexpensive, but lots to like. This is streamlined, but offers a variety of nice capabilities. Top 25 Learning System for 2023.
- The Access Group (K20) (FindAnLMS) (FindContent.io) – Another double whammy. The LMS is solid, still heavily around compliance and regulatory – so if that is your angle – they are very strong in that; the content side of the house is across various topics, but their UK Finance Regulatory content is the best in the industry.
- Thought Industries (M68) (FindAnLMS) – #1 Learning System for 2023. Top two for customer training. In fact, going back the last three years, they were number one at that, just a recent change. Still a powerhouse. Helium is by far the coolest offering in 2022 for learning capabilities within any learning system. You probably will hear or have heard of headless technology. Well, helium is headless technology. The others in our space? No. The system is solely focused on the customer training space, and thus they are not strong in skills, nor would I expect them to be. They have some, but if that is your goal here, lots of skills, then go combo. This is another must stop!
- Training Orchestra (E15) (FindAnLMS) – 100% Training Management System, which means it is all about scheduling, ILT resources, facilities management and much more.
- Valamis (H55) (FindAnLMS) – Top 20 Learning System for 2023. Lots of new capabilities, that I am a huge fan of. Totally L&D focus here.
- Watershed (F20) – This is an LRS – which means Learning Record Store. What an LRS was designed for and how vendors use it are two different things. I can’t understand why a learning system doesn’t have an LRS in it, let along activated? (Yes there are vendors that it, but have it turned off). If you want to know about content/course engagement status and levels, and anything around engagement or usage, this is it. Data visualization is nice, needs to be better. An LRS captures everything in a learning system – EVERYTHING. So if Scotty is bad mouthing the CEO in the chat, that LRS captures that data. Now, that said, the vendors who have it, use it around engagement. If you want more, you tell the vendor, what else can Watershed do in your system – beyond what I see, and can you get that turned on. Their response should only be – yes.
Post-Notes
I will be walking the floor checking out various vendors, whose offerings I am curious about or want to know more. Here is my mode of operandi – and yes, just like you, at least 50% will never follow up.
- Check out booth, hope they have product that can be seen; not always the case though depending on offering
- Seek to get a demo scheduled – Want to see one. I never like doing it on the show floor, because you can’t hear half the stuff they are saying; you have no idea if this person knows everything to know about it; you may need or want other folks on the call. You get the point.
That’s it.
A vendor BTW should never try to qualify you at a trade show. That should never be their goal – but way too many do this. I swear, does anyone train salespeople on how to do a trade show? This is 101 stuff here. The goal here is get your name and level of interest. Yes, talk to them about your system – if you have it visible – which you should – then show it to them, let them ask questions. Then reach out to them, one week after the show, and schedule a demo. Ask for their use case(s) so you can apply that to the demo. That’s the goal here. Not qualify, not irritate, not seem indifferent. You never know what decision-making level that person is, who is seeing your solution – at a trade show. Thus, they may be reporting back to someone. Or that person may have full power, and you treat them as though they are irrelevant.
I write about this all the time, because it is so awful. I mean here are some basic rules that everyone who is working in a booth should adhere to (And trust me, many don’t)
- Drinking coffee in the booth. Ever heard of coffee breath? Exactly. Ditto on smoking outside and then coming in. We all can tell.
- Eating in the booth. This is really bad. You eat outside of the booth. Even if you are the only person during lunch, you simply put up a note or something visible that says you are out to lunch and will be back at X time. I guarantee you, that you will see no less than 10 vendors, whose folks are eating in the booth – and visible at that. Oh, and afterward eat a mint or chew minty gum. Remember the breath rule?
- Checking their phones. It’s bad. Want to check your phone? Do so at lunch or on a break. Nothing says indifference, than the salesperson checking out their phone. I’ve seen senior executives do this, even the founder of the company who is the only person in the booth. The moment you hit that floor you are “on.” Never forget that.
- Have your system video on YouTube. This happens, and yowsa it can be bad. A vendor did this at DevLearn, and then all those other items, like similar which are never similar appeared too. Plus, it had commercials. Either loop it ahead of time or if you go fully online and are worried about net speed (it’s always awful and expensive for a vendor), tie it to your smartphone. I’ve seen this with vendors, it works.
- Show your System – Simple. Simple. I guarantee there will be booths there who are selling a learning system, and you can’t see it -because they are not showing it on a monitor. Speaking of which, never check out your email, on the laptop or device that is linking to that monitor. I’ve seen that, everyone can see that – and the person is clueless it is happening.
- Don’t talk to other salespeople in the booth when folks – i.e. not your folks are in the booth. It’s really basic here – your job is to say, “This is an amazing system, and how can I help you?” Not, sorry, my friend is asking me about where they should eat tonight. When folks are walking the floor, be cognizant of that. Eye contact is huge. A smile when someone walks by is even better. You should appear happy in your booth. I guarantee you will walk that floor and see grumpy. It happens at every show.
- Have candy wrapped or whatever things you can eat wrapped. This is just about health here. You are aware that COVID is still around right?
For attendees – bring a hand gel – you can get a small one for less than a soda. Think of all the hands you will be shaking, the stands you will place your hand on, the materials they may have on the counter, that someone else touched. I’m not talking Howard Hughes here (and if you never heard of him, it was a zillionaire, totally controlled the world, and a major germaphobe. On the flip side, he made produced one of the most amazing movies ever to the point, that nobody could replicate what he did)
Bottom Line
Enjoy LTUK. If you are a first-time attendee and have attended ATD, you will notice a difference in those foot pathways. If you are a first-time attendee, the show is impressive in its own rights.
If you are a returnee, welcome back – as the unofficial greeter of LTUK, I welcome you with all the tributes you so richly deserve.
Remember to use the guide above. This post can be printed out – you will see this option on the main page right next to the post.
Share it with friends.
Share it with the salespeople who are drinking coffee, eating their lunch in their booth, and checking out their phones.
Because I guarantee you will find at least one.
See you there!
E-Learning 24/7
NOTE – There will be no blog for the next three weeks. I’m getting into a hot air balloon and attempting to cross the world in 80 days. Actually, I will be speaking next week in Israel, then off to holiday in Turkey, before making the jump over to London. While I will be publishing updates on LinkedIn – via my thread there, about LTUK23 – so check often; the post LTUK event will be covered on LinkedIn, with lowlights and highlights, and the best booth I saw at LTUK, best sales team, and what stood out.
The blog itself – Let’s go Product Review – BizAcademy – A very cool learning platform focused on a specific objective…. .
Can ChatGPT Help Your Job Search? Here’s What Recruiters Say
Applying to jobs is notoriously a “numbers game” — the more resumes and applications you get out, the better your chances supposedly are of landing a gig. Resourceful job seekers are turning to new technology to help streamline the tedious application process: ChatGPT. With the free AI chatbot, you can produce a polished resume and cover letter in just seconds. But can using ChatGPT as a shortcut mess with your chances of landing the job? It depends.
Mindlessly copying and pasting whatever ChatGPT generates into a job application, resume, or cover letter and passing it off as your own is not the best use of the technology. “I would caution candidates against copying and pasting,” says Robert Lingham, a technical recruiter who most recently worked at Lever.
A human recruiter or hiring manager will likely be able to tell that you’ve submitted something written by an AI chatbot, because it might lack human tone, nuance, and context. Not to mention, ChatGPT could fabricate points about your experience and qualifications that are straight-up untrue, and lying on a job application is a bad idea in general.
This doesn’t mean that ChatGPT is off-limits for job seekers. “If you’re using ChatGPT smartly, and incorporating things that are true about yourself — more power to you,” says Mandy Tang, a career coach and founder of Rose Gold Careers. “I’m a huge fan of it.”
As ChatGPT touches more areas of our lives, there are new ethical questions about AI to consider. In our new free course Intro to ChatGPT, we’ll break down the risks and limitations of AI, and help you figure out how and when to use the technology in your life and in the products you build. Here are some ways you can use ChatGPT as a tool in your job search while maintaining your integrity and honesty as an applicant.
Let ChatGPT write a rough draft
Writer’s block is real, even when you’re writing about a topic you know a lot about — in this case, yourself. “Writing requires a lot of momentum,” Mandy says. “You need a prompt or something to react to.” Having ChatGPT write a rough draft of your cover letter or resume is a great way to get your writing process started, she says. (Here are some more tips for writing a bio about yourself.)
Rather than just copying and pasting the ChatGPT-generated response as-is, you can use it as inspiration to build something that’s more personal and accurate to you, Robert says. For example, if you ask ChatGPT to build a resume based on a job description, take a look at the skills that it pulls out, and see if they align with your own experience. “You might think, Oh that bullet is a good point, I actually did something similar to that,” he says.
Proofread and fact-check
While ChatGPT can do a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to applying for a job, it’s on you to make sure that the information you submit about yourself in a job application is truthful and coherent. “A large language model tool like ChatGPT still has boundaries,” Robert says.
It’s very important to proofread and edit whatever material ChatGPT provides. “It’s still a bot,” Mandy says. “ChatGPT will take its best guess based on your prompts, but you still have to read it with human eyes to double check that it makes sense and has a nice flow.”
Know how to write detailed ChatGPT prompts
How you word a ChatGPT prompt can influence the quality of the response it generates. As a large language model, ChatGPT is trained on datasets from the internet to predict the word that’s likely to come next in text using probability distributions over words. The more specific data you can train ChatGPT on, the more relevant the responses will be.
If you’re using ChatGPT to help you write a resume or cover letter, you’ll probably want to run at least 3-4 cycles, getting more specific and feeding additional information each round, Mandy says. “Keep telling it to refine things,” she says. For instance, you can tell ChatGPT to write your cover letter in the writing style and voice of an article or use a standout resume example as reference material. Or you can ask the AI to tweak your resume so that it includes measurable outcomes that align with the job description.
We’ll teach you how to write clear and specific prompts for ChatGPT in our free course Intro to ChatGPT, so you can boost your chances of generating a useful response.
Customize according to the job
Sending the same exact generic cover letter for every job is not great form: “You don’t want to send the same cookie-cutter template to every job, because it will look like you’ve just copied and pasted,” Mandy says. ChatGPT can help you tweak your application materials slightly depending on the position or organization, she says. “Try to include at least one specific detail about each company.”
For instance, you could give ChatGPT the job description and your resume and say: “Here is my resume. I am applying for a job as a UX Researcher. Can you optimize my resume so it fits the keywords in this job description?”
Brainstorm interview questions
You can also use ChatGPT to help you get ready for a job interview, Robert says. For example, say you’re interviewing for a position at a climate tech company, but you’re not super familiar with the space or field, so you don’t know how to prepare. Here’s a ChatGPT prompt you could use:
Pretend you are an expert in the climate tech space, and you’re interviewing a candidate for a Software Engineer position. Give me some questions that you would ask someone at the senior level. Please limit it to five responses and provide any links for any additional information.
As you can see, ChatGPT generates a solid list of relevant interview questions about key topics related to climate technology. With this list, you can identify your knowledge gaps and start thinking about how you might answer the questions.
TL;DR
The debate about using ChatGPT in your job search speaks to the deeper frustrations that people have about the hiring process. “For the candidate, it’s really difficult, confusing, and opaque when your effort is not tied to a result,” Mandy says. Lots of employers have gotten rid of cover letter requirements altogether. Considering that many organizations use AI in the hiring and screening process, why shouldn’t applicants be allowed to use it, too?
Ultimately, ChatGPT can make you look like the perfect candidate for a role on paper in just seconds — but you’re still expected to prove your skills on your own. “If you somehow hack a system in order to get in front of a recruiter or a hiring manager, you need to be able to talk about the things that are on your resume,” Robert says. “No matter how many prompts you give ChatGPT, and how creative you get, if you get into that seat, you need to be able to execute against it.”
Nature’s Solution to Plastic Pollution: The Amazing Power of the Wax Worm
We are honoring the top 10 winners of our Student STEM Writing Contest by publishing their essays. This one is by Justin Wang.
Computing Creativity: Can A.I. Produce Art?
We are honoring the top 10 winners of our Student STEM Writing Contest by publishing their essays. This one is by Judah Spiegel.
Hearing Colors and Tasting Sounds: What Is Synesthesia?
We are honoring the top 10 winners of our Student STEM Writing Contest by publishing their essays. This one is by Erica Frischauf.
Announcing several new degrees and certificates, generative AI platform features, and Coursera Hiring Solutions to better serve the community worldwide
By Jeff Maggioncalda, CEO of Coursera
Our annual Coursera Conference brings together leaders from across global higher education, industry, and governments to discuss critical trends, ecosystem collaborations, and technological advancements shaping the future of learning and work. This year’s conference, in its 11th edition, is particularly significant. The growing demand for remote jobs continues to transform the global labor market, and the astonishing rise of generative AI creates new possibilities for personalized and interactive learning. As businesses adopt generative AI to improve customer offerings and productivity, it will also create an unprecedented demand for reskilling – with up to 49% of workers having half or more of their tasks exposed to large language models.
Today, we’re excited to announce several new content offerings, ChatGPT-powered platform innovations, and expanded immersive learning experiences to better serve our learners and educators worldwide. Additionally, we’re launching Coursera Hiring Solutions to help connect learners with entry-level digital jobs around the world.
Launching 8 new degrees, 3 Professional Certificates, and a growing catalog of generative AI content:
- We’re excited to expand our portfolio of job-relevant online degrees with eight new programs in high-demand areas such as computer science, data science, and business administration. Offered by leading universities like Illinois Tech, UC Boulder, Ball State University, and SPJIMR, these additions bring our catalog to over 50 bachelor’s and master’s degrees available on the platform. Many of these programs will offer accessible pathways — including performance-based admissions with no prerequisites to serve students with or without the relevant background. With pricing under $20,000, all new degrees offer exceptional affordability and accessibility, especially well-suited for working adults.
- To help learners prepare for in-demand jobs, we’re launching two Entry-Level Professional Certificates from IBM in front-end development and IT project management, designed specifically for learners without a degree or industry experience, and Spark AR Developer Advanced Professional Certificate from Meta for intermediate or advanced learners.
- We’re also expanding immersive learning on the platform with several VR course experiences for learners. These include Courses from Duke, Peking University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Washington covering a range of skills such as public speaking, leadership, human physiology, mobility, language learning, and training for healthcare practitioners.
- To meet the growing demand for AI skills in the workforce, Coursera is increasing its selection of AI-related courses, including a ChatGPT Teach-Out (University of Michigan) and AI for Good Specialization (DeepLearning.AI).
Read this blog to learn more about the new degrees and content, announced at the 2023 Coursera Conference.
Ushering in a new era of personalized and interactive online learning on Coursera
Online learning has evolved from a passive experience of watching videos to active engagement through collaborative projects, quizzes, and assessments. Today, we’re excited to announce two ChatGPT-powered tools to make learning more interactive and teaching more effective on Coursera.
- COURSERA COACH – Learners will have access to a virtual coach, powered by generative AI, that can answer questions and share personalized feedback. Coach will be able to provide quick video lecture summaries and resources, such as a recommended clip, to help learners better understand a specific concept. Over time Coach will also support learners with career guidance and interview prep. We will start rolling out Coach to our learner population over the coming months.
- AI-ASSISTED COURSE BUILDING – Based on a few simple prompts from a human author, the course-building tool will use generative AI to quickly auto-generate course content, such as overall course structure, descriptions, tags, readings, assignments, glossaries, and suggestions of relevant public content already on Coursera that could be included. This tool will be available through a pilot to select educator partners later this year.
We’re also deploying machine learning-powered translation at scale to make learning on Coursera more accessible to our learners across the world. Over the coming months, thousands of course readings, lecture video subtitles, quizzes, assessments, peer review instructions, and discussion prompts across 2,000+ courses will be translated from English into Spanish, French, German, Arabic, Portuguese, Thai, and Indonesian. As of Q1 2023, more than 35 million registered learners on Coursera are in countries with these seven languages as the official language.
Read this blog to learn more about the new platform tools and features, announced at the 2023 Coursera Conference.
Launching Coursera Hiring Solutions to connect learners with jobs
Broadband connectivity, online learning, and remote work opportunities are unlocking new ways for skilled individuals to participate in the global economy, regardless of their location or prior experience. Increasingly, employers are considering skills-based hiring to address talent shortages and boost their workplace diversity. However, verifying a candidate’s skill remains challenging, especially for entry-level roles, when a career starter or switcher may lack a college degree or relevant prior work experience.
Today, we’re excited to announce the launch of Coursera Hiring Solutions (Beta), our skills-based recruitment service that matches industry-trained, job-ready talent for companies filling entry-level digital roles. With Coursera Hiring Solutions:
- Job seekers can develop the skills and credentials they need to be considered for entry-level, digital jobs – and they can use their Skills Profile to showcase their job readiness to employers with credentials, assessments, projects, and more.
- Recruiters can use the Talent Dashboard to view pre-qualified entry-level talent all in one place, with filters for skills and credentials to identify candidates that meet their unique sourcing requirements. They can also verify candidate skill proficiency at scale with job-aligned assessments.
We’ve launched the solution in India to learners and a select number of employers, with plans to expand to the US in the coming months.
Read this blog to learn more about Coursera Hiring Solutions, announced at the 2023 Coursera Conference.
The pandemic has propelled the adoption of online learning and remote work at an unprecedented scale, creating new opportunities for talent worldwide. Generative AI once again reminds us that relentless change will force everyone to continually learn and adapt. Together with our educator partners, we’re committed to helping learners and institutions turn change and disruption into more equal opportunity for everyone.
Announcing Coursera Hiring Solutions to connect learners with entry-level digital jobs
By Shravan Goli, Chief Operating Officer
Broadband connectivity, online learning, and remote work are unlocking new ways for individuals to participate in the global economy, regardless of their location or prior experience. The new labor market can uncover more equitable career opportunities for job seekers with the right skills and credentials. Increasingly, employers are considering skills-based hiring to address talent shortages and boost their workplace diversity. However, verifying a candidate’s skill remains challenging, especially for entry-level roles, when a career starter or switcher may lack a college degree or relevant prior work experience.
Today, we’re excited to announce the launch of Coursera Hiring Solutions (Beta), our skills-based recruitment service that matches industry-trained, job-ready talent with companies filling entry-level digital roles.
With Coursera Hiring Solutions:
- Job seekers can develop the skills and earn credentials they need to be considered for entry-level, digital jobs – and showcase them to employers. They can use their Skills Profile to showcase their job readiness with credentials, assessments, projects, and more. This can include entry-level Professional Certificates from leading companies like Google, Meta, and IBM, skill proficiency assessments, and projects that allow job seekers to demonstrate their skills to employers with work samples.
- Employers can expand and diversify their candidate pool by gaining access to industry-trained, job-ready talent. Recruiters can use the Talent Dashboard to view pre-qualified entry-level talent, all in one place, with filters to identify candidates that meet their unique sourcing requirements. They can also verify candidate skill proficiency at scale with role-based skills assessments and use projects to evaluate a candidate’s ability to apply their skills in realistic on-the-job scenarios.
- Universities and governments can strengthen employment outcomes by helping job seekers demonstrate job readiness and unlock career opportunities outside their local community.
Job seekers can use their Skills Profile to showcase their job readiness with credentials, assessments, projects, and more.
Recruiters can use the Talent Dashboard to view pre-qualified entry-level talent, all in one place, with filters to identify candidates that meet their unique sourcing requirements.
Coursera Hiring Solutions is now available to learners and a select number of employers in India, with plans to expand to the US in the coming months.
In India, 2 out of 3 employers say that a major hiring challenge is finding applicants with the right skills for the job – a trend likely to rise with a growing skills gap and rapid population growth. Leading Indian employers, including Axis Bank are piloting the offering to address this challenge by uncovering talent from campuses across India, such as Graphic Era Deemed to be University, K L Deemed To Be University, and Chandigarh University.
Axis Bank has implemented an inclusive hiring approach that evaluates candidates based on their skill set, instead of subjective criteria like company “culture fit.” The company is using Coursera Hiring Solutions to identify and recruit talent based on skills, rather than relying solely on formal qualifications such as having a college degree, or limiting candidates to certain cities or colleges.
“We are excited to leverage Coursera Hiring Solutions to access their pool of industry-certified campus learners and recruit entry-level talent faster and at scale. This partnership provides us with a unique opportunity to reach learners across the country to build a more inclusive and diverse workforce, aligning with our strategy of hiring and training skilled talent.”
–Rajkamal Vempati, Head of Human Resources at Axis Bank
“With the hiring solution from Coursera, we’re able to augment our placement program and create more opportunities for success in new economy careers. The Professional Certificates help our students build and showcase their skills, giving them a competitive edge with employers seeking candidates for high-demand tech roles.”
– Dr. Durgaprasad Gangodkar, Dean-International Affairs and Professor at Graphic Era Deemed to be University
“Coursera’s high-quality career training from industry leaders allowed me to build a competitive skills profile and gain visibility among top recruiters that landed me my dream job as a software developer at Axis Bank in a highly competitive industry.”
– Anagha Bhardwaj, Graphic Era Deemed to be University graduate and now a software developer at Axis Bank
Rapid technological shifts have created a qualified talent shortage, causing employers to look beyond traditional hiring pools and degree requirements to fulfill open roles. Global companies such as Google, IBM, and EY have adopted skills-based hiring to expand and diversify their talent pipelines – and roughly 90% of employers using skills-based hiring have reduced their time and cost to hire and increased workplace diversity. According to a global Coursera 2022 survey, 97% of employers are considering following suit to address skilled talent shortages.
We’re delighted to present Hiring Solutions, an innovative approach to connecting learners with entry-level digital jobs, and advance our efforts to make skills-based hiring a reality.
For more information, visit coursera.org/hiring-solutions. If you are an India-based Coursera for Business or Government customer interested in joining the Beta, please reach out to your customer success manager.
Expanding immersive learning: Coursera launches new VR course experiences from leading universities and AR content from Meta
By Shravan Goli, Chief Operating Officer, Coursera
Augmented, mixed, and virtual realities are poised to reshape education and work. The global markets for augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) specifically are projected to reach $88 billion by 2026.
Today, we’re excited to announce new VR-enabled course experiences from Duke University, Peking University, and the University of Washington, which harness the power of VR to make learning even more engaging. Additionally, to help learners develop job-relevant AR skills, we’ve launched a new AR Professional Certificate and Specialization from Meta. The new experiences and content are available to learners on Coursera today.
Experience new VR features in popular courses from leading universities
Three popular courses in human physiology, Chinese language, and public speaking now have VR experiences to help learners engage with concepts more deeply. The VR additions complement the courses’ existing lecture videos, readings, and assessments, are designed for learners of all educational backgrounds, and increase in difficulty as a learner progresses through the course material. They can be experienced via desktop or most VR headsets and are available in both paid and audited versions of each course. Coursera worked closely with Duke, Peking, and the University of Washington to create these new experiences, along with support from Meta.
Introductory Human Physiology from Duke University: Learners will be transported through different physiological systems to develop a holistic understanding of the human body. From being immersed within the walls of a blood vessel to measuring a patient’s blood pressure with a sphygmomanometer device, the course’s VR components will provide up-close views and gamified tasks to deepen key concepts and vocabulary, specifically around the topic of blood pressure.
Chinese for Beginners from Peking University: This course teaches beginner-level Mandarin Chinese for basic daily conversations, such as ordering food or discussing hobbies. Through VR, learners will virtually travel to a Chinese market and interact with native Chinese speakers to practice listening, speaking, pronunciation, and applying vocabulary.
Introduction to Public Speaking from the University of Washington: Learners can hone their skills in realistic environments via VR, beginning backstage with speech practice and preparation techniques before delivering their final speech in front of an audience. They’ll have the opportunity to change venue type (auditorium or conference room), adjust audience attributes (restless or calm), and receive feedback and coaching from the professor in real time. By performing a short speech in VR, learners can track improvements in self-awareness, technique, and confidence.
These new experiences expand the immersive coursework on Coursera. The University of Michigan (U-M) already offers courses in health equity, the future of mobility, and giving effective feedback that use extended reality (XR) on Coursera. Each U-M course includes immersive 360-videos, allowing learners to interact with course material in new ways. Together with our university and industry partners, we’re excited to continue rolling out new immersive learning content over the coming months and years. Partners interested in adding immersive components to their courses can contact their Coursera Partnership Manager to learn more.
Learn how to build AR experiences with new content from Meta
Meta is launching a new Professional Certificate and Specialization on Coursera to help learners build in-demand, job-relevant AR skills. Both are available today to learners globally and, upon completion of either one, learners will gain exclusive access to the Meta Career Programs Job Board, which includes 200+ employers looking to source talent through Meta learning programs.
- Meta AR Developer Professional Certificate: This advanced, six-course certificate teaches learners about AR, including the nuances of AR within social media, browsers, and mobile apps. Learners will explore how to build AR applications for marketing, education, gaming, and entertainment, using the latest tools including Unity, Meta Spark, Vuforia, Playcanvas, and more. The certificate is designed for learners with software development experience. To get the requisite background, learners can first take Meta’s entry-level Front-End Developer certificate on Coursera.
Last year Meta also created What is the Metaverse?, a free, beginner-level course to help make sense of the metaverse and illustrate how both individuals and companies might participate in it. It’s attracted more than 45,000 global enrollments since launching on Coursera in late 2022.
Download the free Coursera app in the Quest Store and start your immersive learning journey today.
Unleashing the next chapter of personalized and interactive online learning with generative AI, machine learning, and virtual reality
New products, tools, and features will help enhance educator and learner experiences on Coursera
By Shravan Goli, Chief Operating Officer, Coursera
Today, we’re excited to announce several new platform features to support and empower the needs of learners, partners, and organizations around the world. From personalized coaching and expanded course translations to seamless course building and ever-faster grading tools, these innovations mark a new chapter for teaching and learning on Coursera and our vision for generative AI in online learning.
Want to dive deeper into Coursera’s vision for generative AI in learning?
Check out the “The Future of Learning and Work: Creating More Equal Opportunity in a More Digital World” session at Coursera Conference 2023 to hear from Jeff Maggioncalda, Coursera CEO, and Coursera product leaders about generative AI tools and features in development, including demos of early product prototypes.
Building a highly personalized learner experience
Every learner on Coursera has unique needs and goals when it comes to their learning journey. We are particularly excited to share new tools and features designed to create even more personalization along each of these journeys.
- COURSERA COACH POWERED BY GENERATIVE AI– Learners will have access to a virtual coach, powered by generative AI, that can answer questions and share personalized feedback. The coach will also be able to provide quick video lecture summaries and resources, such as a recommended clip, to help learners better understand a specific concept. Pilot launching in the coming months.
- ML-POWERED TRANSLATIONS – To make the platform more accessible, we are deploying machine learning at scale so learners take coursework in their own language. Over the coming months, thousands of course readings, lecture video subtitles, quizzes, assessments, peer review instructions, and discussion prompts across 2,000+ courses will be translated from English into Spanish, French, German, Arabic, Portuguese, Thai, and Indonesian.
- FLEXIBLE VIEWING IN GUIDED PROJECTS – Coursera offers over 3,500 Guided Projects focused on building and practicing job-ready skills. Now, to provide even more flexibility in these Guided Projects, learners can watch instructional videos side-by-side with their cloud workspace or in a separate window, depending on their preferred screen setup.
Helping educators create more engaging content faster and at scale
We know partners and organizations want to offer engaging content to learners in a scalable way. That’s why we’ve designed tools and features to make every step of the content creation process easier, while also expanding the modes for educational delivery on Coursera.
- AI-ASSISTED COURSE BUILDING POWERED BY GENERATIVE AI – Based on a few simple inputs from a human author, a new set of AI-powered features can auto-generate course content — such as overall course structure, readings, assignments, and glossaries — to help educators dramatically reduce the time and cost of producing high-quality content. Pilot launching later this year.
- VR COURSE EXPERIENCES – Educators can now incorporate virtual reality (VR) components into their courses to help learners engage with content more deeply, whether that’s practicing a speech in front of a simulated audience or touring the interior of a blood vessel. Learners can access these immersive experiences via desktop or most VR headsets. Read more about new VR capabilities for educators.
- ACADEMIC INTEGRITY AT SCALE – Newly launched and expanded features support increased academic integrity and rigor on the platform. Among these new features are the Coursera for Campus plagiarism portal where educators can examine plagiarism metrics and handle learner appeals, ID verification to confirm learners are who they say they are, and enhanced plagiarism detection capabilities on course assessments. In the coming months, we’ll also be rolling out the ability to improve assessment robustness with hybrid-live proctoring capabilities
- QUICK GRADER – The grading process just got easier with intuitive navigation and keyboard shortcuts. Quick Grader also enables educators to seamlessly render uploaded assignments to review alongside grading rubrics. Educators can also now provide targeted yet scalable feedback with reusable comments and enhance feedback to learners using rich text to include hyperlinks, formulas, or code blocks. All features are currently available in beta to degree partners.
- IMPROVED AUTHORING CAPABILITIES – The authoring experience is now even faster and more customizable for all course authors with Rich Text Editor 2.0 and a revamped Version History. New capabilities include embedded plug-ins with Readings, improved formatting features, and easier editing for math formulas, alt text, and accessibility descriptions, to name a few.
Today we also unveiled Coursera Hiring Solutions (Beta), our skills-first recruitment platform that matches industry-trained, job-ready talent with companies filling entry-level digital roles. Coursera Hiring Solutions, together with the tools and features highlighted above, help propel our broader mission to make high-quality education more accessible for learners, educators, and organizations around the world.
* Planned pilot, launch dates, and features referenced are subject to change. Further, these statements are not guarantees and purchasing decisions should not be made on the basis of forthcoming features.
