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Unemployed for Too Long: Hope Can Be a Very Dangerous Thing

This isn't scientific. My caution about hope is based on observations from my intuitive coaching practice.  Let's cut to the chase during this era of intensifying financial distress. There shouldn't be a situation in which someone who needs income is without it for an extended period. Those who lost their job or never landed one should have done course correction in their search. The most common and the most effective is to grab work, any kind. That not only brings in income. It restores confidence, provides fresh perspective about what attitudes and skills are marketable and attracts new contacts.  What often prevents that survival move is, you got it, hope. After being unemployed for too long, for example, those now drifting into despair come to me for a complimentary consultation. What tumbles out is that they had embraced the hope that they could replicate the past. Yes, land the kind of job, responsibilities and compensation they had.  Or what was their dream job dur...
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That Free Ride for the MA/MS or PhD - But What You Could Actually Wind Up Paying

Euphoria. The tough job market for recent BA/BS graduates, along with collapsing sectors, has made piling on an advanced degree - MA/MS or PhD - seem like the solution. Then there's the study by Georgetown University projecting that by 2031 (right around the corner) the number of jobs requiring advanced degrees will be 14% higher than what it had been in 2021. So, you're over the moon when offered a free ride, including tuition and living expenses, to enter a graduate or professional school program. Yet, because of harsh warnings about the ROI of advanced degrees by influential sources such as The Wall Street Journal  you're probably also wary.  Postings on Reddit scream out that anxiety: Sure, it's free, no student loan debt but ... In my coaching I'm getting the same sort of questioning.  At the top of the list of what's-to-consider is the opportunity cost. No, you're not accumulating school loan debt. Through teaching or research contracts you might even...
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Keep Reading: That's Your Big Edge in Post-Literate Times

Capitalism, unlike (supposed) communism, is about individualism, not the collective good. Individual strivers scramble to grab the competitive advantage. Okay, you've heard all about those elite cohesive networks. But, come on, they're nothing but Wild West horse-trading. To get in, to stay in you need what's of value to trade.  So, you should approach The Atlantic  long lament by Rose Horowitch about the end of reading from this point of view: What's in it for you to hold on to your voracious reading habit - or to acquire one? That's despite this being a post-literate era.  The answer is: plenty. That is in terms of having the edge. Horowitch's focus is on the damage to the collective good from the ongoing and accelerating decline in reading. Society suffers. Yes, it does. But as it does, individuals like you who are readers hold more and more good cards.    Let's get granular.  See, as the article explains, reading isn't a natural function. Parts of th...
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Small, Liberal Arts, Bucolic - Seton Hill University Could Use an Epstein and More

Jeffrey Epstein was a generous contributor to higher education. No question though, a lot of self-interest was involved. Hefty donations gave him access to the world of thought leaders, state-of-the-art researchers and policy influencers.  Now Epstein is gone. Actually, that's been since 2019. And the challenged small, liberal arts sector, unlike the fortunate Bard back then which he financially supported, currently has to go it alone in fundraising.  So, here in 2026 is Seton Hill University , based in bucolic  Greensburg, Pennsylvania (population 14,462). Recently it launched its "Framing the Future" campaign. The goal is raising $110 million by 2028.  Involved in that are influencers such as the daughter and son of Joanne Boyle , the late longest serving president and the change-agent who transitioned the institution from a women's college to the coed university it is. But the list of those on the fundraising front lines lacks the powerhouse players such as ...
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Not Futuristic: Big Law Clones Star Partners, Then Sells Subscriptions for Access to Their Services

  The perfect storm of cost-efficiency, changing client demand, ramped-up competition and AI is dooming the billable hour in professional services , ranging from management consulting to law.  Emerging models to replace that are struggling to be born. One could be the introduction of fixed-fee subscriptions for services. And one possible version of that, already gone live, is cloning the partners.  At New Jersey mid-sized law firm Vorys , 19 partners have been replicated using AI. Mostly for right now those twins are for internal use. Instead of the time-consuming back-and-forth by associates on assignment with partners, the assistants can simply activate the twin. That would cover everything from typical strategy with examples to nuances of style.  It isn't much of a leap in a sector driven by Profits Per Equity Partner to push cloning to the next level. That would be developing the specs to construct the model so that it can be positioned and packaged for fixed-fee...
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AI: PANIC!

The Wall Street Journal features how AI leaders and CEOs have flipped the messaging about this supposed game-changing technology. The shift has been from Debbie-Downer on how AI will significantly reduce jobs to optimism about job creation + productivity gains. Meanwhile, economists can't agree on the labor-market impacts and more. A comment to that article captures the mood and the motivation for a new story: "Big AI is panicking. The big players are worried that the negatives are creeping up on them and their fantasies of being the Holy Grail of tech and huge profits. Right now AI depends on constant investment... data centers... water... energy... Now investors and public alike are starting to wonder which one of these items will run out first and kill off AI. A challenge that AI can't answer.... because they have no answer." Obviously, the perfect storm of negative public opinion, caution of investors and disappointments about current ROI on AI investments has d...
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You Shoulda Gotten the Memo: No One Cares about Your Passion

  I give complimentary consultations. Among what I quickly review is your LinkedIn profile. That's because it's among the first things employers, recruiters and those on your networks will check.  Well, one of the those what-everyone-knows is that passion or caring deeply about how you earn a living or intend to has become totally irrelevant. Yet, too many Linkedin profiles still showcase that. Even in the header or first line. It's also featured in resumes, cover letters and interviews.  On Reddit there remains the raw outburst of enthusiasm of being passionate about collapsing fields such as writing. The issue is often not should you pursue that line of work despite decline in demand/compensation. Not, it's now-nutty questions like where is the best setting to major in that subject.  What counts is this: Results you can provide employers, clients and customers. Frequently that's measured quantitatively in revenue. In law firms, even equity partners get pushed out ...
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