TransformingYourCareerTransformingYourself

 It's one thing to be let go in a massive layoff. It's very different to be axed when your former employer announces publicly the termination was performance-based. That horror seems to be compounded at Meta. As BusinessInsider reports, a number of employees who lost their jobs in this round of cuts contend they were not low performers. Their December performance reviews had them, they contend, at meet or exceeds expectations. In addition, they claim their direct managers said they were "safe." Yet, they received that fateful email. Now, as BI notes: " Some employees worried  that being branded as a 'low performer' publicly could harm future employment prospects. There is speculation that there hadn't been enough low performers to fire in order to meet the budget reduction goal. Meta plans to plow plenty into generative AI. So, those whose work had been satisfactory or more than satisfactory were included in the cuts. For other poignant accounts abou...

  "The percentage of our commissions was cut." A sign of these cost-efficiency times when employers have the upper hand, the client who told me about the haircut was accepting of that reality. They didn't feel shamed that they were going to get less of a piece of the action. Interestingly, they didn't blame themselves that they were in a sector or a job where this was happening. On Reddit Consulting there is this same acceptance that this is the new tradeoff for whatever in earning a living. It could be as fundamental as being able to continue working. It could be an effort to have more WLB. It also could be the only way to have access to the dwindling number of remote jobs or assignments. Overall, this shifting downward in compensation might have a positive effect: It makes the TC (total compensation) less important a metric in how we measure ourselves.  There's still a game out there about which billionaire is the richest of them all.  But that matters less in ...

  According to US Labor Dept, the US legal sector lost 4,400 jobs in January 2025. Here are details from the  ABA Journal. Overall, the hiring has been for experienced lawyers. Very junior lawyers could encounter escalating employment insecurity. If M&A practices don't pick up more young associates could be managed out. Could another 2008 - 2009 be developing in terms of manpower demand for new lawyers?   As an intuitive career coach/tarot reader I uncover the opportunities/obstacles in your earning power that others miss. Free confidential consultation. If we work together, fees are custom-made for your budget. For an appointment: contact Jane Genova (text/phone 203-468-8579, janegenova374@gmail.com). In-person and remote.

  When the company town lost its major industry fictional Fern got into a non-retrofitted van and searched for her next on the road. Before that her husband had died.  Such is the storyline in the poignant but uplifting film "Nomadland." Along the way Fern encounters the real-life Bob Wells . After his own dark nights of the soul he adopted the mission of teaching those economically stranded survival skills and community. In the movie Wells is featured as himself.  Fern's solution could be an option for all those displaced federal employees and others impacted by the purge of predictable jobs. Politico details the panic. With such a glut of them out there hunting for work they may never again land solid employment. Meanwhile their investment in their house can become peanuts. Buy a cheap used van. Fix it up with the bare necessities. Be ready to embrace a minimalist lifestyle. And go on from there.  Some I coach who are methodical map out where they can find work alo...

 M&A is a lucrative practice for law firms. Bloomberg Law documents the five major players in that category in 2024: "Kirkland topped rivals Latham & Watkins ($367 billion), Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom ($361 billion), Freshfields ($264 billion), and Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison ($262 billion)." The expectation was that there would be a boom in 2025. That assumption is now in play. What's driving the falloff in optimism are the actual numbers. Based on the Financial Times report, Skynews notes a slow start to dealmaking so far in 2025: "The overall number of US mergers and acquisitions collapsed nearly 30 per cent in January to 873 deals compared with a year ago, the lowest level since 2015, according to LSEG data. In dollar terms, deal activity fell 18 per cent compared with a year ago."  The sources of the disappointment include: Overall volatility which scares business, delaying decision-making Anxiety about the new administrat...

  Long before the formal performance review, the shock of being terminated, the annoucement of a special bonus and other events in your employment, your destiny is being shaped by what others, ranging from the top layers of the organization to co-workers, are saying about you. What goes on in the office grapevines, as I hammer in this article published in O'Dwyer Public Relations, is a major influencer in your professional success or failure. Its reach can extend even after you leave. Yet, there are those who are unaware that everyone talks. That comes out in this Reddit thread.  The surprise is that equity partners in elite law firms talk about even entry-level lawyers. In addition, others without a lot of authority could also be talking about you. What they're saying can and does have direct impacts on what assignments and how many of them the junior lawyers will receive. In that game, your survival and mobility depend on shaking loose work. Not enough work means not enough...

 It's 2025 and layoffs continue as the new normal. Employers doing the cutting range from Kohl's to Stripe. How can you lower the odds that you'll be on the chopping block? Those measures should be taken before the employment situation comes to the point that manpower reductions have to be made. On Reddit Consulting those who've overseen the Reductions-in-Force admit that the process tends to subjective. Rarely is it totally numerical, as in, we need 45% eliminated from the budget or 18 people have to go. There's plenty of wiggle room.  I also know that from coaching conversations with those who had been axed. In retrospect they are sure that they could have prevented being targeted to go.  You can and should be pro-active in protecting your job. Here are 7 commonsense strategies: Be irreplaceable. You're the one they can't get along without. So, you structure your daily duties so that no other team member can take over your job. You screen in hiring not t...