TransformingYourCareerTransformingYourself

  Increased sales 400%, with 34% reduction in resources.  Created model for AI Overview Citation, with 22% success rate. Edited four books in 2025 - 2027 on New York Times bestseller list. Those are outcomes. And that's what the humans doing the six to seven second look at a resume need to see. Otherwise they won't continue with the review. That focus on outcomes should not only be detailed in the Professional Experience section. It also needs to be frontloaded in the Summary. No one cares that you are passionate and hardworking. When you make it to the interview, hold much of the personality. The charm offensive is five years ago. Sure, present yourself as poised, confident and energetic. But the points to be made are what results you can achieve for that particular employer and how. Do enough research to customize the "sales" pitch. And that's what a job interview is: your best shot at selling.  Should you offer to work a few days for free to confirm your abil...

  It's already a fundamental in current job search to "dumb down" your resumes and cover letters. With some exceptions, it's become downright common sense to leave off advanced degrees (limit it to the BA/BS), senior titles and experience dating back more than a decade. The risk to avoid is appearing over-qualified, anticipating premium compensation and/or "older." But less well-known is the growing need in actual interviews (and later on-the-job) to prevent coming across as among the smartest kids in the room. Yes, with some exceptions it's smart to dumb down.  Essentially employers are time-pressed to identify who can generate the best and most results most affordably doing a very specific task. That's what you should be focusing in on. Not showcasing your overall high cognitive intelligence or splendid education.  That's not entirely new. Way back in 1995 psychologist Dan Goldman popularized the importance of Emotional Intelligence - that is...

  We thought "it" - the reduction-in-force - was going to get started that Monday. That would be a relief. After all the rumors of who was "on the list" and who was "saving" whom the reality of where the ax fell would end one type of suffering. During the process I developed TMJ and had to be fitted with a super mouth guard. The jobs targeted were good ones.  Yes, passing through our minds was: Just quit. You show them. But, come on, severance and some continuation of healthcare insurance most of us couldn't afford to pass up. Monday came and Monday went. There had been some kind of glitch. Somehow, even though the giant food corporation had on-site almost 30 lawyers, a WARN   document hadn't been processed. That is the written whatever filed 60 days before the event by businesses intending to lay off 50 or more employees or 33% of them.  So, what Meta  employees are enduring before the massive RIF on May 20th isn't atypical.  My position in ...

 In the top-tiers it used to be: Whew, you made it. No need to worry. Even maybe now you could let yourself coast a bit. Recently the rug has been pulled from under some partners at KPMG and EV. Often with no warning. They might have even received a positive performance review. Financial Times reports: " KPMG  and  EY  have removed members of their equity partnership – the senior practitioners who own the firm and share its profits – and instead offered them 'salaried partner' roles, several people with knowledge of the matter told the FT." The dynamic is: Those assessed as "underperformers" aren't building revenue in the partner pool of compensation. Therefore, they have become a liability. This can no longer be tolerated because: To recruit, retain and motivate top talent the money has to be better than what competitors are offering. With some branches of professional services such as consulting/auditing slowing down in demand, less overall revenue co...

 Remember when Lake Erie went on fire and Ohio was a national joke? And how once prominent cities such as Youngstown were compared negatively to nearbytPittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The latter had reset from the steel era to health, education and tech. In contrast, Youngstown seemed caught in an economic time warp. There too were those brutal midwest winters.  Now, given its extreme affordability, excellent healthcare facilities like the Cleveland Clinic and free outdoor recreation provided by the state parks (Michigan charges), it's taken on an aura as the retirement paradise. Also it's family-friendly and purchasing a house is doable. Simultaneously, other traditional retirement meccas, ranging from Arizona to Florida, are being rated as no longer a fit for budgets and the implications of climate change. Given the extreme heat, that air-conditioning bill has become a stunner.  Large one-bedrooms (680 square feet) in Toledo, OH such as at Cambridge Woods can lease for unde...

  Paul, Weiss, once a litigation powerhouse, has experienced a flight of high-profile partners in that practice.  After the firm's deal with the Trump administration to lift the Executive Order but before Scott Barshay became chair, star litigator Karen Dunn left. A number of partners and associates went with her to form a litigation boutique. It's thriving. Now this and it's on Barshay's watch. As The New York Times reports today: "The partners — Kannon Shanmugam and Masha Hansford — are departing to start a practice focusing on Supreme Court and other appellate litigation at the rival firm Davis Polk." Shanmugam has been a heavy hitter for wins for clients in front of the US Supreme Court. It had been rumored that when the EO was presented he argued to file a lawsuit, not negotiate with the administration. It was said that he had even drafted the complaint.  Hansford, who started out as an associate at Paul, Weiss, then went to the DOJ for SCOTUS work, retu...