Hello and Happy Friday!
This week I’ve seen several articles and social posts about women finding it difficult to secure new roles as they get older. The issue is complex, and I’ve shared one of those articles below.
Also this week I’ve found an interesting read about why we lose motivation. Another complex issue, but a fascinating take on it that I’ve shared.
Finally, for those of you in Australia, there’s an opportunity for you to nominate yourself (or others) for an industry-leading award - be sure to check that one out.
I hope whatever you are up to this weekend, you have a good one.
Yvette 🏅
NewsWrap
If you are middle aged, or in the Summer/Autumn of your career, it’s becoming harder and harder to find a new role. Add to the fact that it’s becoming harder anyway with AI and every role seemingly having hundreds and hundreds of applicants, PLUS the fact that employers tend to lean towards the younger generation (unconscious bias, potentially cheaper, etc), it’s nigh on impossible these days. LinkedIn had a good discussion about this this week - go check it out.
Nominations are open for the 2026 Australian Institute of Office Professionals Awards. They close on 31st August, so there’s plenty of time to get your nomination in. If you are off on holiday over the coming weeks, set your self a reminder to fill it out when you get back.
I said this with the last administrative awards I mentioned on the Admin Wrap - it is ALWAYS ok to nominate yourself. Blow your own trumpet, people! Chances are no-one else is going to do it for you.What’s the number one killer of motivation? My first thought was doomscrolling - I always struggle to get back to work when I’ve popped onto Instagram for five minutes and been distracted for at least 20. Interestingly, we generally get motivation when three things are present - including a sense of completeness (which makes sense). This article walks us through the number one thing to kill our motivation, and also explains why it’s mostly hidden. It really resonated with me - let me know what you think!
What happens when you use AI and then get held accountable for it’s work? We say over and over again that you must check any AI-generated output. Even the AI tools themselves have a disclaimer saying that it can sometimes hallucinate. But there are a lot of people who don’t, so what happens when something that is produced gets questioned? This article looks at a few companies where this has happened - including one where employees weren’t able to override AI-generated decisions.
Did you hear about the AI hack this week where an AI agent tasked itself with hacking into a database? It’s pretty scary that this happened - despite there being no damage caused. The thing with AI is that it is only limited by itself - and has no morals to follow. It worries me about this getting into the wrong hands, because whilst there was nothing which went badly wrong here, it feels like it’s only a matter of time. Even more reason to stick to your company’s AI guidance and not to upload anything sensitive to a public AI model.
When Your Exec Goes Dark
You know the feeling. You’ve sent the message, watched it sit there unread for six hours. Or you finally find a slot for your 1:1 meeting and your exec doesn’t join - you just sit there for ten minutes and wonder what they are doing. Things like this don’t happen once in a blue moon. Its regular. Every week.
By referring your friends and colleagues to The Admin Wrap, you can earn yourself free access to The Extra Wrap - our in depth thought leadership pieces which are sent out every Monday. Can you make it to the top of the leader board?
🔎 RealityWrap:
Loyalty Is Not A Career Strategy
“I’ve been with him twelve years.” You say it like it’s a medal. Sometimes it is one, but most of the time it’s not.
Twelve years is a long time to be somebody’s second brain. It’s also, and nobody says this part to your face, twelve years you could have spent job hopping your way to a better title, a better salary, and a CV that doesn’t need a paragraph explaining why you stayed.
Loyalty gets talked about like it’s a virtue with its own payout. It used to be. Back when our grandparents worked for the same company for their entire careers. It isn’t anymore. It’s a decision, and like every other decision it has a cost. This cost being the gap between what you’re worth on the open market and what you’re currently paid to not go and find out.
None of this is a dig at staying. Some people stay because the job’s genuinely good, the exec’s genuinely decent, and the trade is worth it. Fine. Great, even. The problem is the ones who stayed because leaving felt disloyal, and never once ran the numbers on what that loyalty was actually costing them.
So run them. What would this role pay elsewhere. What’s your actual title versus what you actually do. What happens to your position the day your exec leaves, gets promoted, or retires, because that day is coming whether or not you’ve planned for it.
If you’re unsure where to look for those salary comparisons, I’ve got your back. Head over to EA Salary Survey and find out.
EventWrap
Have you been tasked with organising or summarising dozens of documents? What about trying to find an answer in a suite of playbooks? NotebookLM is what you need - and EA How To are hosting a drop in hour on exactly this topic. If you’ve not tried NotebookLM, it will change your life. Some of the standard AI tools have limits on the number of “images” (or pages of a doc) that they can handle. This tool helps with that. Drop in on 5th August at 4-5pm UK time to find out what it’s about!
The IAAP Summit is taking place between 27-29th July at the JW Marriott in Los Angeles, CA. There’s an in-person option for those who are local, and a virtual option for everyone else! Get all the details here
ASAP have a free (for members) webinar on 29th July on Applying Emotional Intelligence in High-Pressure Situations. Hosted by ASAP expert, Kristine Goebel, it takes place at 1pm Eastern Time. Get all the details here.
For a list of Conferences, head over to the Conferences section in our Ultimate Assistant’s Toolbox.
If you are running an event aimed at administrative professionals, please send me an email and let me know all about it - hello@theadminwrap.com
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