TransformingYourCareerTransformingYourself

Forget camp to improve tennis or violin skills. The kid isn't going to backpack through Europe. And no do-gooding in volunteer whatever. Ambitious parents, most of them upper-income, have their offspring get paid jobs during college and even high school. They have gotten the memo that paid work on resumes, no matter how menial such as cleaning pools or scooping ice cream, significantly increases the odds of being hired post-graduation. That's what employers want to see on a resume. Sure, good grades still count. But not as much as once assumed. And that assumption was always faulty any way. Unless the family was directing the kid to an elite law, medical or business school. On those kinds of career paths grades, along with performance on standardized tests, are the great deciders.  None of this about the power of paid work is new. That is, that real world work experience in high school and college predicts sustained success later on.  When I was a first-generation college c...

  We legal watchers always wondered why Williams & Connolly didn't use some version of the insanity defense on behalf of tech founder Elizabeth Holmes. After all, the tactics she leveraged to conceal a failing startup were, well, nutty. Had some type of mental aberration been explained to the jurors Holmes might have gotten off with less than the 135 month/$135 million payback sentence . Less promising seems the "extreme mental disturbance" strategy for Luigi Mangione, created by the law firm Agnifilo Intrater. Essentially the argument is that at the time of the alleged shooting of United Healthcare executive Brian Thompson the defendant was experiencing a mental breakdown. However, what seems obvious - premeditation and careful logistics including for a getaway - make proving that seem quite difficult. The guy appeared to be very much in control. Another reason that legal move might not be effective is the high level of stress in current society. Who among us doesn...

It's nothing new. Law firms chase star talent and pay premium compensation for those twinklers. Way back in 2021, Paul, Weiss' Brad Karp hammered in Bloomberg Law  the critical importance of that star power. Law firms which don't have the financial resources to recruit, hold and motivate them could stop growing, going out of business.  What is new are these current realities: the current frenzy of the chase and annual compensation reaching $40 million.  Well, equity partners who aren't stars will help pay for that payout. Law.com  predicts haircuts for some of them this year. There always had been a caste system in Big Law, a niche in which prestige is an embedded value. Never were all equity partners equal. It had been standard to de-equitize those not cutting it or even force them out. A strategy of shaming usually was effective to get them to exit.  Now, it's more brutal. Already the number of equity partners is being reduced. That's to ensure top dollar fo...

  Boomers remember that era before air-conditioning became standard . There were times when even in our capitalist max-productivity system it was too hot to work. At a Pennsylvania college - Seton Hill in rural Pennsylvania - the president gave all employees the day off.  By midcentury, projects the Union of Concerned Scientists , that could happen on a regular basis. About 32 million outdoor workers could lose out on $55 billion each year in wages. (College staff didn't lose pay.) Those out-of-work could range from landscapers to construction crews to farm laborers to those Manhattan dog walkers.  So, labor markets are not only being reconfigured by AI, extreme cost-efficiency and the end of management as we've known it. There are the implications of what some believe to be climate change. Yet, in coaching more and more clients tell me that "I want to work outside." A nation tires of The Box, that is, the office. Let's get outside, move around. In addition to wo...

  Unless Congress takes action, the Social Security Trust Fund has been projected to be depleted.  On June 6th of this year, the Social Security Administration estimated that would occur during Q4 of 2032. The monthly payment would be reduced to 83% of the usual. By 2021, that would drop to 65%. Well, there may be a bit of a stay of execution on that. CNBC reports that the Penn Wharton Budget Model came up with a different estimate. Here is that model. According to PWBM, the depletion won't occur until February 2034, with 86% payable. By 2021, that would plummet to 60%. However, lots could happen before February 2034. For the better or for the worse. A significant variable is how effectively those concerned about Social Security lobby Congress.  In coaching, I guide clients on how to live below their income in order to sock away more for retirement. Given increasing longevity that could go on for 30 years. Careers? So Over. It’s about Earning a Good Living. No matt...

  The last time China released numbers about  youth joblessness they were over 20%. That was 2023. No numbers have been made public since. I guess we should assume things have not improved.  Perhaps it's in response to concern over jobless youths (a revolution could be brewing) that China is pulling back on the liberal arts in higher education.  For example: "The Communication University of China in Beijing ... cut five undergraduate degrees last year, including photography, comics, visual communication design, new media art and fashion design ... Fudan University is also slashing liberal arts enrollment from 30-40% of total enrollment to 20%."  The push is toward AI training.  But, as we know from the US, AI skills might not necessarily be the ticket for gaining access to entry-level jobs Employers are going for experience, not untested skills and enthusiasm. Those AI natives in the Class of 2026 might not, it is turning out, have an edge. Time will tell i...