Your uncle forwards you sketchy tech articles. Your coworker won't stop talking about AI taking everyone's jobs. And you're stuck Googling the same five questions every week.
The Current is a daily tech newsletter written by Kim Komando that helps you stay up to date on AI, tech, and trends in about 5 minutes a day.
Each morning she breaks down what’s happening in tech so you can quickly understand what matters without digging through a bunch of different questionable sources.
In each issue you’ll find things like:
Important AI updates
Useful tech tips
How to avoid the latest scams
It’s a simple read designed to help you eliminate the hours you probably spend Googling the same 5 tech questions
💡SKILLS SPOTLIGHT
Performance Review Season: How to Walk in Ready
Most STEM professionals dread performance review season.
Not because they haven't done good work.
Because they haven't documented it.
And by the time the meeting is on the calendar, they're scrambling to remember what they accomplished — and why it mattered.
The professionals who walk in with confidence aren't necessarily the highest performers.
They're the most prepared.
🔍Why Most Reviews Fall Flat
Performance reviews often underdeliver — for the employee — because:
- Wins from earlier in the year are forgotten or minimized
- Accomplishments are described in task language instead of impact language
- Development asks are reactive instead of strategic
- The employee shows up to receive feedback instead of driving a conversation
Your manager is not tracking your wins.
That's your job.
🧠A Practical 3-Step Framework for Walking into Reviews Ready
1. Document as You Go - Not the Night Before
Stop saving this for review season.
- Keep a running "wins folder" — a simple doc, note, or email thread
- Log accomplishments, positive feedback, and results in real time
- Note the business impact, not just the action ("reduced error rate by 30%," not "fixed bugs")
Even 5 minutes a week builds a powerful record over time.
2. Align Your Story to What Leadership Cares About
Before the review, ask yourself: what did my team or organization need most this year?
- Connect your wins to team goals, department priorities, or company strategy
- Translate technical outputs into business language
- Show you understand the bigger picture — not just your piece of it
This is what separates a good review from a career-defining one.
3. Arrive With Asks, Not Just Answers
A review is a two-way conversation.
- Know what development opportunities or resources you want
- Have a clear picture of what "growth" looks like for you in the next 6–12 months
- Ask your manager what you'd need to demonstrate to reach the next level
The professionals who advance fastest treat reviews as a negotiation — not a report card.
💡 - Pro Tip
Review season feels high-stakes because we treat it as the moment our work gets evaluated.
But the real work happens all year long.
When you show up having already built the case — with data, context, and clarity — the review becomes a confirmation, not a judgment.
🎯Weekly Challenge
Before your next review conversation — or before review season hits — write down your top 3 accomplishments from Q1.
For each one, answer:
- What did I do?
- What changed because of it?
- Why did that matter to the team or business?
That list is your foundation. Start there.
RESOURCE SPOTLIGHT
6 Things Candidates Do That Make It Harder for Recruiters to Get Them Jobs
Recruiters can play a significant role in biopharma professionals getting hired, especially in an employer-driven job market. However, when working with them, candidates need to avoid making six key mistakes, from waiting too long to ask for help to prematurely contacting hiring companies.
Recruiters can play a key role in helping biopharma professionals land jobs, as they offer insider insight into openings and advocate for candidates with hiring managers, to name just two benefits of working with them. However, to make the most of this partnership, job seekers must steer clear of several pitfalls.
Below, three recruiting experts—two who work at firms and one employed at a pharma—discuss six common mistakes biotech and pharma professionals make and how to best work together to ensure success.
1. Waiting Too Long to Contact Recruiters
Biopharma professionals who don’t start job searches until they’re unemployed might take positions that aren’t ideal just to get a paycheck, noted Steve Raz, founder and owner of Cornerstone Search Group, an executive search firm. He told BioSpace the better approach is for them to stay in touch with recruiters and reach out if they’re uncertain about their jobs, as placement professionals may share employment opportunities that are of interest.
2. Undervaluing Recruiter Interactions
Biopharma professionals sometimes treat recruiters—especially during initial calls—as formalities, according to Theo Rowley, associate director and talent sourcing business partner at Novartis. He told BioSpace he’ll send candidates information about a company to review, as he wants to set them up for success. However, they often don’t take the time to read it. So, when Rowley asks them specific questions, they provide limited answers.
