TransformingYourCareerTransformingYourself

  There's a wrong question on Reddit Big Law : How to be more charming?  It's wrong because it is so out-of-date in this visual era when the "tells" of a self are totally out there. Instead, as we experience in the new kinds of sales approaches and the ethos of influencers, decoding the tells is about the search for authenticity. That opens relationships. That's what we seek out. In contrast, charm sucks up all the oxygen.  Kamala Harris is faulted for charm w/o authenticity. Some contend it has been a persona shaped by her handlers. The chatter is that the all-important voter category - Black men - "see through it." A boomer white woman I can't connect with Harris.  In addition, the rise and the fall of the Murdaugh Southern legal dynasty provide real-life evidence of the toxic nature of charm. The new book about that - "The Devil At His Elbow" by Valerie Bauerlein - chronicles how Alex Murdaugh glad-handed his way to everything from co

  "Publish." In the print era that was the mandate to either make the leap into the big time or to accelerate an upward trajectory. But, now, we are bearing witness to the risk which comes with publishing, be it a book or academic papers. On the  hot seat for alleged plagiarism  is Kamala Harris, along with the co-author Joan O'C Hamilton for the  2009 book "Smart on Crime."  Publishd by Chronicle Books, it appeared just before Harris' 2010 campaign for the job of California Attorney General. In timing so close to the election (which makes us suspicious of motivation) conservative activist/journalist Christopher Rufo released information about alleged instances of plagiarism. They include almost verbatim material published in the book without attribution from sources such as the Urban Institute, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Wiki and AP.  Meanwhile, according to an  accidentally released memo  at Chronicle Books, Rufo sizes up the publisher's res

Some of us recall back in the global financial downturn how start dates were pushed into the future.  Sometimes, down the road during the wait, the job offer was rescinded. Also, the number of summer interns had been slashed.  Well, is that trend kicking off again in this era of uncertainty, fear of recession and implementation of generative AI to operations? Yahoo Finance reports: "EY has postponed the start dates for approximately 200 graduates scheduled to join its prestigious strategy advisor Parthenon in the US …  EY-Parthenon has reduced the number of internship opportunities for the upcoming summer ..." Driving this decision is that M&A/PE activity hasn't picked up as expected, at least for the dealmaking EY has been anticipating. This kind of disappointment could also apply to certain financial and law firms.  The graduates had been scheduled to come aboard in November. The date has been pushed out to mid 2025. Meanwhile stipends are provided ranging from $12

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  Being voted in as an equity partner at a law firm is no longer a guarantee of 1) Increasing compensation or 2) Employment security. Depending on the consultant calculating the odds, reports Law.com , you have a 10% to 40% chance of having your compensation cut. That may or may not be a signal that you are being forced out. Getting a "haircut" is a shameful experience. However, the reduction in compensation could just indicate you are on the way to retirement.  Unlike more genteel times when practicing law was a public-service profession, the current law firm, like public companies, operates in the short-term. Profits this year determine a lot.  If profits go down, so can the compensation of some of the partners whose financial performance declined that year. The expose on large law firms "Servants of the Damned" by David Enrich provides flashbacks to a more mission-driven period. Now, the focus in on the amount of the money. Even if profit increases and signific

America was never an nation with an intellectual bent. Even Harvard, which the Puritans established in 1636, had a utilitarian purpose: to train ministers. Now in this era of cost-efficiency, technological upheaval, stepped-up competition and uncertainity as standard anything less than a total focus on results - not theory and pondering - could push you into the loser box. That's despite the pile-on elite academic degrees and even stints at prestigious management consulting firms. On Reddit Consulting there is the observation: "Lots of people ... just enjoy the learning part, and end up with a resume full of degrees but just can't actually get into the work. Don't be that person. They have a lot of debt and are annoying to work with ..."  That is, love of learning in itself can be a downright turnoff in the real world of work. Neither superiors nor colleagues want you to gush how you love learning about generative AI. Instead they want to bear witness to how you

  So much of the media attention has been on the difficulty for white-collars to land work, even contract assignments. To use the cliche, it's been a perfect storm of business cost-efficiency initiatives, people not leaving jobs, technology automating tasks and uncertainty which delays hiring. But this  Financial Times video  is focusing on different aspects of the labor market. They include: Overwhelmed hiring manager who receive so many applications How Generative AI is producing a "sea of sameness" in cover letters, which are tossed The emerging role of AI screeners to determine aptitudes versus developed skills And,  most important to the aging population in developed economies:  With the shrinking number of younger people in the workforce, the push by business is to recruit and upskill those who have retired.  I would add to that group of the unretired those who decide not to leave the labor market even if they have closed down a career.  The latter is my specializat

  Simplification. Convenience. Comprehensive. The Democrats cheat sheet here in snail mail for Cochise County Arizona provides all of that. The "who/what to vote for" even zeroes in on judges and propositions, in additon of course to the office of US President.  Instead of all the noisy attacks among the parties in establishment media and social this initiative could be the most effective in 1) Getting people to vote and 2) Making it easy for them to filter through all the issues. Life is hard. Business is even more difficult these days. Get answers – and relief. Jane Genova is a results-driven intuitive coach, tarot reader and content-creator related to careers. Complimentary consultation (please text/phone 203-468-8579 or email janegenova374@gmail.com)

"Fired for poor PowerPoint skills as an entry-level analyst just started" -   Reddit Consulting , October 2024 Many of the 199 responses to this post indicate that doing PowerPoint right - that is according to the organization's format and content messaging - has become a fundamental skill that must be learned. Those commenting tend to concede that, just like being a great sales representative or public speaker, this skill is rarely one you are born with. And you have to make it your business to master having to put together a slide deck. When PowerPoint first became available as part of Microsoft Office presentations using it tended to be clunky and way too much. There was even a joke: Death by PowerPoint. But it evolved into a must-visual platform for messaging. Currently it is expected for everything from pitching for new business to explaining a strategy to clients to pleading for funding.  Given how embedded it is in current communications, I was surprised that when

  Not yet. No bigwig has contacted me about how the election will go. But they still could. After all, the stakes are high. For example, so much money has been invested in the messaging. Law firm Paul Weiss chair Brad Karp predicted this would be the most expensive political fight ever. What I tell Everyman and Everywoman who contact me for a prediction of outcomes is this: I explain a projection isn't possible to deliver. There is no "destiny" in the sense of what's set in the universe. There never is. That's the purpose of a tarot reading. You find out there is a possibility you could be fired. So you change your behavior and seek out advocates who could save your job. The only thing I pick up is the energy surrounding a situation at a specific point in time. Then I interpret it. As time passes, what's in the cards could also change - radically. Most recently what I am reading about the election is "no sure thing." The media and the polls are usual

The hashtag "Desperateforwork" has been available long enough enough on LinkedIn to receive an analysis from influential The Wall Street Journal.   Essentially the dynamic seems to be that the unemployed and underemployed using that banner receive 1) Attention 2) Emotional support 3) Some referrals for interviews/freelance work but no full-time job offers. Many assess resorting to this device as negative. Who wants to hire those "desperate" for work? Shouldn't we then conclude that this initiative is ineffective for the objective of landing a full-time job? Interestingly, many of those the WSJ interviews are in the "creative" professions such as graphic arts and screenwriting. Those niches are being hit hard by generative AI, overall employers' aggressive cost-efficiency initiatives and the collapse of demand for white-collar workers in a growing number of sectors. As an intuitive career coach, what I size up as the real issue here is: How long sho

 Snarky was the early-blogging influencer tone. And maybe I defaulted back into that, although that's so out-of-date and I am no longer an influencer (except an anonymous one on professional social networks).  In a post on this blog I had sized up Apollo's 4:30 AM meetings and its parachuting in speakers who scare the bejesus out of employees as perhaps "gimmicky." Perhaps they were not. There could be real business reason for those unusual measures at this powerfhouse financial firm. The Financial Times reports: "Private equity groups including Platinum Equity, Clearlake Capital and Apollo Global are struggling with the hefty debt loads of their holdings, Moody’s said on Thursday ... Nearly a quarter of the Apollo-owned companies that Moody’s rates have defaulted since 2022." In response, Apollo disputed the Moody's definition of "default" and indicated it was over-broad. Also, in after hours today Apollo's stock price went up a bit - to

  Many of the white-collar sectors are downsizing. They may never return to the earlier demand patterns. Especially hit hard are the erudite niches such as management consulting. Daily on professional anonymous networks - and in my tarot-reading practice - there are soul-wrencing laments about layoffs. In this one on  Fishbowl Consulting  there is this wisdom: " ...limit yourself to 24 hours of 'grieving.'” Despite all that our economy has gone through since the dot.com bust, post-9/11 downturn, world financial implosion, COVID and the current souring prospects for knowledge workers, those negatively impacted tend to continue to withdraw into feeling. That's a carryover from the 1960s era of romanticism: Let the emotions rip. That's where your truth is. Sure, take of pause to process the shock and the new burden to put together a solution for how to earn a good living. In the tarot that is symbolized by the Four of Swords. But that should be a temporary state of be

  It's the soul-wrenching confession I hear from my coaching/tarot-reading clients who are 60 years of age or older: " I just want to be able to 'hang in there.'"  Never was that easy. Several years ago ProPublica documented that 1) The majority of professionals over-50 years of age will be forced out of their line of work and 2) If they are fortunate enough to land new jobs only 10% will receive comparable compensation. The recent intersection of several developments in the work world has worsened the situation for aging white-collars. To use that cliche, yes, it's been a perfect storm. The colliding factors include: Employers are demanding more time, effort and accomplishments from all employees. Hovering over that is the assumption that older workers aren't up to those demands.  Stepped-up embrace of automation, especially generative AI. Proficiency in those technologies is increasingly mandated. Again, there is the assumption that older workers haven

  The Wall Street Journal discussion of the up-to-$2,500 hour and more has set off plenty of buzz.  Following the article there are, so far, more than 400 comments.  In addition, the posting about it on Reddit Big Law has, so far, generated: 88,000 page views 107 comments 68 shares. Meanwhile, what everyone in the legal-sector loop might be wondering is this: How much will generative AI upset these billing days of paradise for the top large law firms able to charge that magical $2,500 and more number? Those law firms include Watchell, Kirkland & Ellis, Davis Polk, Simpson and Paul Weiss. Well, there has been fresh data on the projected role of Gen AI. Bloomberg Law reports: "Fifty-eight percent of legal departments expect to rely less on outside service providers because of Gen AI, according to a new report by the Association of Corporate Counsel and Everlaw." That is 25% more than predicted that last year. Over 25% already document savings, though only 23% actually ar

  Business Insider has developed a special niche featuring those struggling to find a job. Recently the profile was of Sean Tetpon . During the last 12 months he has applied for 1,000 jobs in corporate communications, without landing a job offer. What the article per se and comments following the article point out are the three strikes against Tetpon: Applying for a white-collar job and in a glutted field.  Overall knowledge workers have been hit hard with unemployment in this era of cost-efficiency. Among the sectors hit hardest has been the whole continuum of communications, everything from hands-on content-creation to public relations. For one position Tetpon applied to on LinkedIn there had been 4,000 applications.  It's useful to keep current with the field on professional anonymous network Reddit Public Relations. What's hiring include healthcare, government and generative AI. Being over-50.  Tetpon should have been prepared for reduced opportunities. He is now 55. For a

  There was a posting on professional anonymous network Reddit Big Law about the October 4th  The Wall Street Journal coverage of top large law firms billing up-to and above $2,500 an hour. Here it that Reddit post: "The Wall Street Journal Looks Into the Up-to-$2,500 Hour "Clients contend this is not sustainable and are searching for solutions. But many corporate legal departments will not take the risk of going with a lower-priced firm which does not have the track record for outcomes as do the top large firms which are escalating fees.   https://www.wsj.com/business/rock-star-law-firms-are-billing-up-to-2-500-per-hour-clients-are-indignant-61b248c2?mod=hp_lead_pos8 " What has followed on that Reddit Big Law discussion and this is just so-far are: 76,000 page views 96 comments 60 shares 95% upvote, and 133 likes for the original posting. All of us who looped in on this - the poster and the responders - are influencers. There was no cute background or someone in front

 At mighty financial firm Apollo, CEO Marc Rowan has decided the goal is to double assets in five years. That aggressiveness is typical of Wall Street.  But what is standing out, well, as weird are the motivational tactics Rowan has introduced.  One, reports efinancialcareers , is to conduct 4:30 AM meetings. The message - get this - is that the organization needs a wakeup call. Is the implication that this business in which 20-hour days can be routine has become complacent. The symbolism is way too cute. Another tactic is parachuting in guest speakers who "scare the bejesus" of those employed at Apollo. This is peculiar leadership behavior. We who have observed so many management trends might classify Apollo's as "gimmicks." Most gimmicks are not only ineffective in achieving their motivational objectives. They can reduce the credibility of the organization and all its human moving parts.  Forbes points out the foolishness of gimmicks such as: WorkLifeBalance

There is the old adage: What goes up must come down. The top large law firms which keep raising their fees-per-hour to up to $2,500 or more might find themselves on short time - in revenue, brand, influence and power. Or their very existence. Those firms, reports  The Wall Street Journal , include Watchell, Kirkand & Ellis, Davis Polk, Simpson and Paul Weiss.  In the WSJ article the chair of Paul Weiss Brad Karp refers to the dynamic as a "game." That game, as in the old Hollywood studio system, operates on star power. As is well known,  that  Hollywood doesn't exist any more. Could the top layer of large law firms also collapse under the weight of its billing? Right now, though, the game is heady, drawing lots of media coverage. Star-poaching is sexy. What could redirect the up into a down is a combination of the client search for a solution to the escalating fee-per-hour and Gen AI.  Already, notes the WSJ, a client such as Shell has fused both. It has put on notice

There is the old adage: What goes up, must come down. The top large law firms which keep raising their fees-per-hour to up to $2,500 or more might find themselves on short time - in revenue, brand, influence and power. Or their very existence. Those firms, reports The Wall Street Journal , include Watchell, Kirkand & Ellis, Davis Polk, Simpson and Paul Weiss.  In the WSJ article the chair of Paul Weiss Brad Karp refers to the dynamic as a "game." That game, as in the old Hollywood studio system, operates on star power. As is well known, that Hollywood doesn't exist any more. Could the top layer of large law firms also collapse under the weight of its billing? Right now, though, the game is heady, drawing lots of media coverage. Star-poaching is sexy. What could redirect the up into a down is a combination of the client search for a solution to the escalating fee-per-hour and Gen AI.  Already, notes the WSJ, a client such as Shell has fused both. It has put on notice t

  After a four-month decline in jobs creation, the legal sector added 1,600 jobs in September . Overall, with the return of M&A those in transactional have turned optimistic. However the threat of automation hovers over the sector. The niche already hit is document review.  Life is hard. Business is even more difficult these days. Get answers – and relief. Jane Genova is a results-driven intuitive coach, tarot reader and content-creator related to careers. Complimentary consultation (please text/phone 203-468-8579 or email janegenova374@gmail.com)  

  So many cards in the tarot symbolize transition. Just one of them is the death card. It signals: A big change is coming. And come it usually does. More and more in these volatile times it's coming in the form of a career change.  Right now,  52% are considering a career change and 44% have already set that in play. In professional life, where identities are so rooted in capitalist America, that shift from a long-term career to whatever can be almost too much to process. So we - yes, I am among them - tend to hang on to parts of what had been. We default into conversations about that kind of work. We continue to showcase our expertise. We track what our former competitors are doing. We keep in touch with the old crowd. The New York Times  joins myriad other media outlets in confirming how difficult it is to let go. Three years ago, after four decades in communications and doing tarot readings on the side (in the closet), I decided to let the former go and focus full time on the la

With good reason the longshoremen are fearful of automation and much more. You bet, I support their strike. My grandfather and two uncles from Poland had put together an okay living hauling crates from ships on the Jersey City, NJ docks.  But also I anticipate during the work stoppage, just as with COVID, not having access to, never mind, lux items like exotic fruit, but also necessities.  Consumers are being warned to "stock up." And what's being stocked up is what becomes gold in times of scarcity. At the top of the list are papers products. Yes, go to your dollar store and clean it out.  Soon enough there will be no more of them on the shelves.  Immediately there should be an Ah-Ha moment among business leaders and managers. As a motivational gesture they can dispense those paper products to employees. Here is a classic opportunity. Too long ago, it seems, Milbank law firm awarded an off-season bonus to associates. At other law firms initially there was euphoria, expec

  Wounding is wounding. It hurts deeply. When it takes the form of a very difficult childhood that could become a wild card throughout an entire life.  On Netflix there are two chronicles of those with such a background.  One is the film "Judy" about Judy Garland. A symbol of the early pain of being a child star there are many flashbacks of the tyranny of the studio days. Her family of origin didn't protect her. She got caught in a self-defeating loop of comebacks/resorting to substance and died in her 40s.  In contrast, the Netflix documentary of WWE former head Vince McMahon plays out the mindset of a man who had been able to pack those family of origin issues away. Or at least not allow them to derail him. There are few childhood flashbacks in the documentary. His stepfather abused him and his father had been absent for years. McMahon's meme is: I got out and am out. Driven to succeed, especially through innovative special events for WWE, McMahon applied that same

McKinsey & Company1 comments "I feel I am getting dumber and dumber, no critical thinking at all for months at length (as opposed to what we are told to believe) has got my brain rusted." -  Fishbowl Consulting, October 2024 That's just one of the many responses to the post asking if working in the prestigious field of consulting makes you stupid. Most agree that it does. Some report that same brain rust in other sectors too. In junior positions in law firms you can get iced out for posing too many provocative questions.  This is ironic. We got to those good jobs primarily because we invested years in higher education being trained and rewarded for the deep probing of ideas. The Master's thesis, even in the humanities, was to break open a fresh approach to a problem. The Ph.D. dissertation probably got published. Then those provocative thinkers join the labor market and from the get-go it's all about looping into the "how they do things there." That

During last evening's vice-presidential debate Tim Walz performed badly. His stumbles were too many. One was that bug-eyed sustained look. Where were the presence, the confidence? Another was a failure to provide a persuasive cover story for earlier misstatements, attempting to blow it all off by referring to himself as a  knucklehead . Do we want this guy in the White House and potentially becoming US President if Kamala Harris cannot conduct her duties or dies? He isn't sophisticated enough for that major role.  Seemingly a player with an enormous capacity for self-growth JD Vance demonstrated during the debate that he could step up to a new situation. In some circles he came across as acceptable to take over as US President if Donald Trump is unable to continue with that role or dies. It's becoming increasingly puzzling why Harris chose Walz for the ticket. She had the guidance of many, including Eric Holder from law firm Covington. Seasoned in politics dating back to as

"For us lawyers, we're a dime a dozen because our only real skill is reading. Hence the shit hours and working conditions. But also the lack of self respect. The number of people who boasts about working like a dog as if it's some badge of honor." -   Fishbowl Big Law , October 2024 Like content-creators, pre-AI techies, graphic arts designers, film producers, management consultants and marketing experts, lawyers are a "dime a dozen." That's exactly why, as that posting on professional anonymous network Fishbowl outs, they can be exploited and ignored when it comes to discretionary bonuses.  This doesn't only apply to prestigious large law firms paying mega bucks. Lawyers in all kinds and sizes of law firms tend to have it rough. That ranges from the nature of the tasks to the pushback from opposing counsel. Lawyers I have coached who have left that line of work tend to attribute the exit to "how other lawyers treat you." The exception is t

Emotional affairs usually are embarked on because they rule out the messy dynamics of an actual sexual relationship. Therefore, they seem "safe." But as is playing out as a result of the emotional affair between journalist Olivia Nuzzi and politico Robert F. Kennedy Jr. they can be downright explosive. And have catastrophic consequences. Usually anything on the continuum of romance can be all-consuming. Who doesn't think of their supposed soulmate a lot. But with the lack of sexual consumation, there can be a shift to obsession and that tends to intensify. The amount of fantasy about what the sex would be like can keep growing. I know this from my intuitive coaching/tarot practice. Clients, for example, call me from the office in a crisis if the person they're involved with in an emotional affair pass by their desk without the customary warmth and flirting. They "have to" talk with me because they can't focus on the work. Overall, I warn clients not to l

  The father couldn't stay on point.  At our organizational meeting he broke through and announced that, no, he didn't want to jinx it, but he needed to share that his son started his first day at a job and on the very same day was signing a lease for his own place. The only hitch was no-car but dad would drive the offspring to and from until they figure it out. The son is from the generation - Z - which is actually attaching the banner Desperateforwork on their LinkedIn profile and has made Openforwork standard.  Of course, some career experts, including myself, assess those designations as self-defeating. Employers want to hire those who other employers want to hire or who already are doing well at their jobs. But every generation has to learn the brutal realities of seeking out paid labor after years of the protected status of being a student. Soon enough many Gen Zers might pull down those banners. They will connect the dots on what we boomers recognized: It's who yo

  "Facing a blank schedule, and finding things to fill in those blanks, can be the toughest part of retirement" -  The Wall Street Journal , October 1, 2024 With the oldest of the 76 million baby boomers now 78, that generation has gotten lots of experience at what has played out as a bored state of being: retiring. Although they are the wealthiest gen in America they are turning out to one that essentially has become lost. The media story essentially is about those over-65 who have not retired, at least not 100%. So far about 19% continue in the work force, up from 11% in 1987.  When in his early 60s Paul Weiss chair Brad Karp discussed possibly retiring from that law firm in a BusinessInsider interview, we rolled our eyes. It would be crazy to give up such a stimulating position at "such a young age." Of course, he didn't, voted back in for another term by the partners.  At the Jones Day law firm Stephen Brogan managed to hang onto formal power until age