A President's First 100 Days: Trump's Gets Kicked Off at Midnight

 A fundamental for a new US President is to create a signature for the Administration in the First 100 Days. That means taking actions which will be interpreted as wins and will signal to the nation that leadership is on the right course. 

The producer in him, Donald Trump added theater to this. At midnight, instead of resting after a long day of hoopla, he indicated through social media that he was purging the federal government of 1,000 Biden appointees. The guy has the showmanship gene.

This purging is not unusual. Everyone knows that appointees as well as many other classifications of employment in federal government typically have to scramble for new jobs if a political party different from theirs comes to Washington DC. If they have marketable credentials or are well-connected they don't have to scramble too much. 

A recent example is former Manhattan US Attorney Damian Williams who landed a partnership at law firm Paul Weiss. Since he had worked there early in his career as an associate he was not going about his search for the Next cold. Also any defense law firms would welcome his insider knowledge about how prosecutors operate. Williams had some big wins. Access to that experience would give law firms advantages in configuring defense strategy. Among Paul Weiss' specializations is white-collar defense. Imprinted in its branding had been its representation of Michael Milken. 

Others who find themselves on the chopping block, as noted, will really have to scramble. Some may take a while to move on to another position of substance. If I remember correctly, US Attorney General Loretta Lynch spent about 17 months unemployed before being hired as a partner at Paul Weiss. There she has represented big names ranging from McDonalds USA to the NFL.

That reality that a good job can be so temporary is exactly why career coaches like myself warn that everyone, not just appointees, have to always be preparing for their next job. That includes being careful about the enemies they make, protecting their brand,  being determined to make friends in high places, acquiring new skills/certifications, networking in-person and maintaining a presence in professional networks such as LinkedIn and social ones such as Blue Sky and Substack. 

See, power structures also change in business and in non-profits. The shift could be as low-level as middle management. 

If your boss had been terminated you might get it that you better start looking for another job. Inside the organization it could be the night of the long knives for those associated with that manager. 

Man is a political animal. As an employee, it's politics over performance. To exit that turbulent force field workers come to opt for opening their own business. In April I will speak on an O'Dwyer webinar about how to get started. Here is my article on Substack about entrepreneurship.

Affordable Career Coach Jane Genova provides end-to-end career services, ranging from diagnosis of the challenges and fix-it strategies to preparation of resume/cover letters/LinkedIn profiles and how to gain control of an interview. I specialize in over-50 work issues. My edge is a background in marketing communications. For a confidential complimentary consultation please text/phone 203-468-8579 or email janegenova374@gmail.com. Remote and in-person.