It's (Miscalled) "Layoff Proofing Your Life" - It's Really Just Old-Fashioned Hustle + Boomer Parents' Frugality

"Multiple job? Large savings? Cutting down on spending? All of the above- what are you doing future proof job from layoffs?" - Blind, January 30, 2024 

Those Knowledge Workers who assumed they had employment-financial security in the bag are now accepting the paradigm shift: Their education and following the fundamentals of success (or what they used to be) entitle them to nothing. The current downsizing of their functions will probably accelerate with AI. For techies there might not be another Golden Age. The same for management consultants. 

So much for what used to guarantee a good living. Hustle is back and for brute survival, not just getting ahead. What I tell coaching clients who had lost their jobs is this: Grab sources of income, just about any kind. Then go on from there. Yes, I tell them, there is a "there," only it's different now.

In addition, as a society we should be circling back to boomer parents' extreme hesitation to spend money. Of course, that's not good for the US economy, which is primarily consumer-driven. But it is good for not winding up homeless or depleting one's parents' retirement nest egg. The billionaires and the millionaires will continue to spend. That will take care of things. 

Actually, that once-offensive word "cheap" is popping up in polite conversations. In Northeast Ohio residents proud of the decision to make a life here talk about how "cheap" everything is. Forget the fancy word "affordable." 



The term "free" is also a meme, as in going to Ohio's Lake Erie is "free," with no entrance fee for the beach, no parking expense. 

Meanwhile the line among collars - white, blue, pink - is blurring. Work is work. Just like the shame has gone out of being laid off so has much of the awkwardness in transitioning from corporate middle management to long distance truck driving. 

Some of this isn't new. Back in 2008 I coached axed young lawyers who had to take on non-law-related survival jobs to pay student loans. Most didn't balk. They were relieved to have income, any kind. At that time the average loan nut was $700 monthly. 

Some of those jobs, such as in journalism, residential leasing, grocery management-training and loss prevention, turned into career paths. They not only didn't return to practicing law. They didn't look back. 

Meanwhile law firm Paul, Weiss, which didn't resort to layoffs during that brutal 2008 - 2009 but had optimism that the market would pick up for it, developed unique branding for institutional self-confidence. Incidentally, currently it still hasn't laid off in what is a down time for law firms. You bet, it's hiring. I mention this because: You never know. There are pockets of well-paying Knowledge Work which you could be chasing. But meanwhile, put together income-producing sidelines. 

2024. You can transform the craziness of this time into unique opportunity. Jane Genova provides you with intuitive career coaching, Tarot readings and related communications. Complimentary confidential consultation.  (For appointments text/phone 203-468-8570 or email janegenova374@gmail.com)

 

Meanwhile, please get to know me:

 

https://tarotreadingsforcareers.blogspot.com/

https://janegenovaintuitivecareercoaching.blogspot.com/

https://makingyourpoint.blogspot.com)

 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kirkland & Ellis Reported to Be Building Moat Around Firm to Deter Poaching of Stars

  "Kirkland gives partners more than half their pay after the end of the year in which they earn it. For partners who depart to other firms, the new policy gives the firm discretion to withhold that pay, according to a person familiar with the change."   Bloomberg Law , July 18, 2024 Scrapper Kirkland & Ellis is no slouch when it comes to protecting its business - known as the most successful law firm in the world.  Paul Weiss  certainly got in the way by launching not one but two high-profile raids on its London office stars. Gone were brandnames ranging from Neel Sachdev to Roger Johnson. In addition, Latham poached Matthew Cohn. If there is such a policy, as reported, then Kirkland & Ellis has created what could be an effective deterrent for both partners' leaving and potential poachers' approaching the star lawyers. And it all comes downs to money - big money: That is, both what partners would leave behind which they have already earned and how much ...
Read more

Akin Gump Julia Ghahramani's March 2021 Cocaine+ Death - So?

   It had been way back more than a year ago that first-year associate at law firm Akin Gump Julia Ghahramani died from cocaine laced with fentanyl. Yet that story keeps resurfacing.  This week  RollonFriday  revisits it. And  Reddit Big Law  considers the issue if the energy from cocaine is what's making possible those 2,500 hours billed in law firms.  Is what's keeping this on the radar the hunch that use of the illegal substance cocaine is common among those practicing law? After all, in addition to being an energy-booster, it provides a nice reward for such hard-working lawyers. Also, they have the earnings to afford it. Most of the rest of gunners have to stick with boozing. So, why not?  The reality might be setting in that the death could simply have been an aberration. Think about it this way: Ghahramani had bad luck in her alleged choice of dealers. Others might be able to exert more scrutiny in overseeing the content of the il...
Read more

Up-or-Out: McKinsey Raises the Pressure, In Contrast Some Law Firms Ease It through Nonequity Partner Tier

" McKinsey & Co.  warned some US consultants last week they are running out of time to win promotion, raising the 'up or out' pressure on staff as the global consulting industry struggles." - Abovethefold Article in Bloomberg , March 27, 2024 This is yet another sign that once-iconic McKinsey is a professional services firm in trouble. One challenge is overcapacity of manpower. It has also warned about 3,000 consultants about "concerns" regarding their performance.  In addition to the overall slowdown in management consulting, McKinsey faces scrutiny from myriad sources about its client list including assignments with China and Saudi Arabia. There also has been that hatchet-job book "When McKinsey Comes to Town." The most damning aspect of the expose is that former employees dump on it. Posts on the professional anonymous network Fishbowl Consulting aren't optimistic about a turnaround at McKinsey or at other players in that sector. In cont...
Read more