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A recruiter posted a TikTok telling Gen Z candidates to finish their iced coffee before walking into an interview. And thus, "The Great Iced Coffee Interview Debate of 2026" was born. Half the internet views it as a basic professionalism thing. The other half claims if a drink is the reason you're screening someone out, you might be screening out the wrong things. We prep hiring managers and candidates for interviews all day, every day. So naturally, we have thoughts. But we want to know yours. Vote and comment your thoughts below!

Welcome to the Kelly team Kip Havel! 💚

Standards like this don't set themselves. Congrats Kelly Professional & Industrial 👏

A global automotive manufacturer's lowest-performing parts distribution facility was holding back the rest of the network. Kelly had been managing the site through a standardized outsourcing program that consistently met its contractual KPIs. But meeting KPIs wasn't the same as improving performance. The team redesigned the outsourced program around the site's specific operational challenges instead of applying the same model at greater scale. The result: the facility went from the lowest performer in the manufacturer's network to the highest, generating $784,000 in annual savings through efficiency gains. When workforce operations fall short, many organizations respond by adding headcount or changing vendors. Another option is to ask whether the operating model fits the work. At Kelly, we build outsourced workforce programs around the operational needs of each facility, because the model should fit the site, not the other way around. Read the full story at the link in comments 🔗

Join Chris Layden, Troy Anderson, Alan Stukalsky, Vanessa Williams, Patrick McCall, Joel Leege, Nicola Soares, Keilon (Key-lyn) Ratliff, Amy Justice Bouque and many more Kelly leaders and partners at our TLIA event in Detroit on October 6th. There will be discussions on the future of work including a keynote, roundtables, expert panel, and a reception to celebrate 80 years of Kelly.

74% of younger employees would consider leaving their job within a year if their employer didn't offer development opportunities. Brad Sibbald, SVP of Kelly Science & Clinical, has a framework for making upskilling stick: 1. Start with self-reflection before curriculum. When Brad's team introduced a conversation intelligence tool for sales reps, new hires could watch real calls, self-evaluate, and improve on their own terms. That one change cut ramp time nearly in half. 2. Tie learning to the business. Development built in a vacuum stays in a vacuum. Connect it to the team's real goals, and measure what matters: time to proficiency, internal mobility, performance after training. 3. Build accountability into the structure. Tie development to performance reviews. Give people visible leadership moments. When growth is recognized and rewarded, people invest in it. Losing talent over a development gap is expensive. Fixing it doesn't have to be. Read more about how to build an upskilling strategy that actually delivers results at the link in comments 🔗

More than 4,200 data centers are running in the U.S. today. By the end of this year, they're projected to employ 650,000 people permanently, a 30% jump from 2023. Here's what that work pays on average: Data Center Technician II - $92,000 Power Commissioning Engineer - $120,000 MEP Specialist - $132,000 Automation Engineer - $148,000 And in trades, electricians, HVAC technicians, pipefitters, and welders working in data centers often earn 25% to 30% more than they would in other industries. Meanwhile, 53% of operators report difficulty finding qualified candidates, up from 38% in 2018. The 2026 Kelly Data Center Salary Guide benchmarks more than 60 roles across nine U.S. markets, with metro-level variance for each. Download your copy here: https://hubs.li/Q04x43Xv0

If your hiring strategy still centers on four-year degree graduates, you're overlooking a growing segment of the talent market. Enrollment at public two-year trade and vocational schools grew nearly 20% between 2020 and 2025. A policy change allowing students in short-term vocational programs to use Pell grants has also made trade school a more affordable option than many four-year degrees, where costs at private colleges can approach $200,000. The trend also reflects changing career priorities. More Gen Z workers are choosing hands-on, skilled careers, in part because they believe trade occupations are less vulnerable to AI than many office-based roles. At the same time, demand continues to outpace supply. The nonprofit Bring Back the Trades projects 1.4 million trade jobs will go unfilled by 2030 as retirements accelerate and infrastructure investment continues. That means employers who are expanding apprenticeships, building relationships with trade schools, and hiring based on skills rather than degrees will be better positioned. They'll have access to a larger share of available talent as the pipeline continues to move. The talent pipeline is changing. Hiring strategies should change with it. Read more at the link in comments 🔗

On October 6, we're bringing Talent Leadership in Action to Detroit for the first time. One afternoon, one question: when the lines between permanent employees, external talent, automation, and AI keep moving, how do you build a workforce that holds up? Join us for a keynote, roundtables, expert panel, and a reception to keep the conversation going. Register: https://hubs.li/Q04wLNx70 TLIA is open to senior business leaders. All registrations are subject to approval. #TLIA #TLIADetroit #FutureOfWork #Procurement

42% of workers say their current role doesn't require a college degree. 65% of executives say their organization is moving toward skills-based hiring. But most are changing the job description without changing the process behind it. According to Marvin Figaro, Director of DEI Strategic Partnerships at Kelly, the mistake most organizations make is treating the job description as the initiative. They remove the degree requirement, adjust some copy, and consider it launched. But the job description only affects who applies. It doesn't change how recruiters source, how hiring managers evaluate, or how interview panels make decisions.  Marvin's advice: updating the job description should be the last step, not the first. Make sure you: 1. Map the competencies your top performers share 2. Build a shared evaluation rubric 3. Retrain your sourcing channels before you touch the posting. Through Equity@Work at Kelly, Marvin's team helps employers identify and remove barriers that restrict access without improving quality of hire. Learn more in the comments.