Strictly Internal | Issue #22

55+ new jobs at Google, JPMorgan Chase, Medtronic, and 14 remote roles. Plus: Getting practical with AI tools.

Author

Kevin Blasko
October 03, 2024

Welcome to Strictly Internal #22! 55+ new internal communications jobs today from the US, UK, and Canada. A whopping 14 remote roles this week, which is way higher than usual, and several companies with multiple postings. Check it out!

So, it seems like AI is a thing. 😄 How are people really using it in internal comms though? Today’s newsletter includes a few thoughts on that topic, an AI podcast of this newsletter, and some new reports and resources on AI in comms that are worth a look.

Plus, the Insights section includes two new reports packed with data to benchmark your work and help make a business case for internal comms.

Let’s go…

New internal comms roles

PERSPECTIVES

Beyond the hype: Getting practical with AI

Like many of you, I’ve been excited about all the AI developments and I’m exploring ways to use AI tools in my everyday work. Still, I’m a practical guy, and my attitude when I see new AI tools or features tends to be: is this thing useful or merely interesting?

For example, Google has been evolving its NotebookLM product, which aims to be an AI “research assistant” — you dump a bunch of content into a “notebook,” and then you can brainstorm with the AI agent or tell it to make things. Great stuff, and for communicators, it could be good way to work with a large volume of content to make FAQ documents, briefings, etc.

Recently, Google upgraded NotebookLM so it can create a podcast based on your content using AI voices. For an example, here’s a podcast of today’s Strictly Internal newsletter.

All I did to make this podcast was cut & paste the newsletter into NotebookLM and press a button — I provided no direction on what to say at all. Pretty cool!

Still, is something like this actually useful in an internal comms context? Like, would employees want to listen to an AI-generated podcast instead of talking to their manager or reading a quick summary of something? (I mean, I write this thing and I’m not sure I want to listen to the AI podcast version of Strictly Internal.)

I'd love to hear from you: how are you practically using AI in internal comms? Vote in the poll below and then please share an example in the pop-up that follows. I'll round up the answers and share them with everyone in a future newsletter (I’ll sanitize any company names or identification details before sharing).

Which area of your work has benefited most from using AI tools?

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Speaking of practical, here are a few recent AI and internal comms-related things to check out:

New transformation & change comms roles

New insights

  • PoliteMail published its annual internal email best practices guide, including data-backed recommendations and benchmarks on open rates, send time, subject line length, and other things. It’s based on a 1 billion internal emails…if you’re looking for more impact with your emails, start here.

  • Speaking of data, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism in and Staffbase just published a very good survey on the importance of internal comms. I’m not sure there are a lot of new takeaways here, but the survey is well done, and there are tons of useful datapoints you can use to make a business case for internal comms, all in one place. Check it out!

173 Million Reasons to Revisit Your Resume

Job requisitions grew 9% last year, but applications surged 31% to 173 million, according to Workday. Don't let your resume get lost in the crowd…with these kind of numbers, recruiters and hiring managers won’t read between the lines to understand your skills, impact and potential.

I help comms pros and other executives boost their resumes by providing:

  • Independent “hiring manager” perspective. Truly fresh eyes on your most important career document.

  • Concrete edits to make your value prop shine. Spoiler alert: an accurate list of your jobs alone probably won’t break through.

  • ATS format guidance. With 60+ ATS platforms in the market, ensuring your resume is compatible is crucial.

✅ 45 min discussion + near-zero prep
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Not sure where to start? Want to chat before you sign up? No problem! Click the button below to book a complimentary 15 minute intro call with me.

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