Time to Get Out

From Main Street to social/professional networks the meme has shifted radically. In job search and promotion possibilities it used to be: Be persistent. Currently, as this Reddit posting hammers, it's: Get out. 

In my intuitive coaching/tarot reading, essentially I am sizing up clients' employment situations the same way. That is, assessing:

If they should ditch searching for a job in a certain field or even holding on amid so much job insecurity where they are employed. 

And, when.

Overall, what I have observed is that most knowledge workers wait too long to throw in the towel. What is operating is magical thinking that somehow their talent, proven skills and hustle will "save" them. One policy analyst clung to that illusion for two years of joblessness before they came to me for guidance. 

As the deluded hang on their financial reserve collapses, along with their self-confidence and relationships with loved ones. The latter simply tire of what could be labeled "craziness."

What I recommend is a transition to where the demand seems to be while having income coming in. That could be through the sector which is in decline or grabbing an unrelated job or gig. Income is the critical platform for a confident exploration of options for continuing to earn a good living. Put bluntly: That allows experimentation from a position of strength. Not desperation.

Not that any of this is easy. The whole continuum - from getting it that the end is near to adjusting to a career change - involves a shattering of identity. The best and brightest are reduced to naked vulnerability. In addition, with so many others in this pickle, help probably isn't on the way. That includes none from enlightened government policies. Currently, I have to be straight off the shoulder in alerting clients that their new journey could be a solo one. They have to look out for number-one. 

None of this represents anything really new. Actually, it's been happening all the time.  

Back in the early 1970s, for instance, the bottom fell out of the academic market for PhDs in the humanities. We were the Lost Generation of Scholars. Instead of help, there was isolation and shame. Non-academic employers treated that advanced degree as a liability.

But those of us who got on the other side of that disaster were the ones who didn't cling to hope that the market would turn around. It didn't, at least not in our peak earning years. The optimistic hung in as contract instructors, with no job mobility or security. Meanwhile they were falling behind peers in earning power. Most never caught up.

Also, what about the master blacksmiths in town when the Ford Model-T took over the road? Secretaries when we in communications were trained to use PCs? Middle managers in the late 1980s when Jack Welch was flattening layers? 

So, the takeaway? Protect yourself from the all-too-human tendency to consider yourself special. If the end seems near it probably is. Keep income coming in. Accept that the process of career shift is soul-wrenching. Try on what might fit. Don't expect help.

Earning a Good Living in 2026 Involves Mental Combat. The enemy is usually your own thinking.

Complimentary consultation. No Pressure. Solid Guidance. Contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.