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50ish, Jobless: Yes, Ditch the MBA in Job Search

This former product manager in his 50s had been unemployed long enough to be open to the usual recommendations for a reset. You know, find a way to fill the period-without-work gap, be specific about accomplishments (those owned/team) and quantify them, become adept with advanced AI tools and roll with wage deflation. But they balked when I also suggested leaving out of the search process the MBA from an Ivy.  Of course, I could understand their inability to absorb the shock that a once-prized degree could  currently be a liability. In the mid 1970s I had taken college algebra to take calculus in order to apply for the MBA. That was worth it. Even being admitted into the program and taking a few courses did its magic. I made the transition from non-profit to the private sector.  The collapse in applicants for the MBA tells the new story: Dartmouth, down 31% MIT, down 25% Duke, down 23% UCLA, down 21% With some exceptions, most MBAs are too general to be marketable, at l...
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The Blade, Shutting Down December 31, 2026

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Yet another local news platform shuts down. It's The Blade, the paper of record for the Toledo, Ohio Metro area. The ending is December 31, 2026. Laid off will be 116. Almost everything is timing and timing is finally right for much of Ohio. Attention is on because it's a swing state. Jobs are here. A number of cities such as Toledo have been celebrated for their affordability. Location is ideal, with proximity to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Chicago, Illinois. State Parks are free. Lake Erie is a treasure. And, of course, there's the Cleveland Clinic. The Blade will no longer be telling those stories. But there won't be a total news vacuum. The free NextDoor has become a reliable source of breaking news. I immediately posted, for example, when an e-biker tumbled onto Byrne and Airport Highway. Also, there are many locals on Facebook. Specialized tabloids such as for the arts are distributed free. Meanwhile, I offer a complimentary intuitive career coaching and/or taro...
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BoomerVille: Yeah, Have a Nice Weekend

  Dow Jones Industrial Average INDEXDJX: .DJI 51,769.26 1.10% −573.30 today
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None of Your Business - That's What Paul, Weiss Tells American Lawyer about Its Financial Performance

Over now are the days when a Paul, Weiss partner such as Brad Karp would crow about surging Profit Per Equity Partner.   A perfect storm of client resentment about high fees/lawyers' making more than they and instability in the sector (think Weil collapse) has driven Paul, Weiss to halt reporting its financial performance to American Lawyer. FT broke that story. Kirkland & Ellis had been the first law firm to discontinue the release of financial data. That, of course, means the end of most of the rankings game.  For years now Paul, Weiss has been grafting on parts of the Kirkland & Ellis' hustler model and veering away from lockstep practices of white shoe firms.  Internally and in a growing number of venues that tended not to sit well. For example, here's how BusinessInsider  lamented the shift way back in 2021 in the new order of things. The new era of Scott Barshay has accelerated that transition. It remains controversial. Watchers wonder if Barshay can ...
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Weil: The Day After

Humans are a self-oriented species. That's probably why caveman survived, passing on genes. So, post-Weil collapse the major buzz is: Who's next. That's the individualistic angst. Should I start looking now? The essential answer is: Any and all law firms could be next. That's because, as prominent law firms currently are structured, a small number of rainmakers with portable books of business can pull out at any time, driving the business into ruin. All the other variables might be positive. Still, the firm could go out of business. That's the new order of things in Big Law, as David Enrich documents in the 2022 "Servants of The Damned." The law firm as noble public-interest institution has mutated into an ATM for building wealth.  And that's exactly the partner flight Paul, Weiss' Brad Karp feared when the Trump administration issued its infamous Executive Order.  So, Karp made the decision to cut a deal with the administration to prevent Paul, We...
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GLUT! Weil's 594 Soon-to-Be-Unemployed Associates

  As a coach back then I still vividly recall the glut of unemployed junior lawyers during and after the Great Recession. They included both laid-off associates and those whose job offers had been rescinded. The situation was glut.  With Weil's unwinding there will soon be 594 associates scrambling to land comparable jobs. Also in upheaval will be the plans of those who were to be members of the Class of 2027. According to a chat bot Weil hadn't released that number. Of course, people, not a resume, get you jobs. So, the reach-out, beginning today with the announcement that Weil is winding down, in the legal sector is and will be intense.  But, even amid this soul-wrenching development there is gallows humor. On Reddit , there's the conjecture that Michael Aiello started it all (lateraled to Cravath) and speculation if he feels bad now. I offer all Weil associates a complimentary intuitive coaching consultation (Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com, text 203-468-8579).
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BoomerVille: Universal Relief That We're No Longer Chasing a Career, But ...

Reddit captures the now-usual in job search:  " ... 4 months. I’m in fashion ... Interviewed with 23 companies and did 49 interviews just to land this 1 offer." And that has a happy ending. The poster 1) Landed a job and 2) The position was in their field. Most of those scrambling for career whatever or even for work, of any kind, aren't so fortunate. So, no surprise, among us Boomers the talk is: "No way, I couldn't go through eight interviews per application to get a career started or keep it going." Those of us still earning income from the sweat of our brow are primarily doing it on our own terms. For five years I have been operating a highly specialized boutique. I have enough business and that's enough. So far I haven't had to withdraw from savings/investments to pay the bills. Overall, other Boomers on my networks also are doing it their way. If that means doing retail at a big box, that's okay. No grousing about the loss of title, status...
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