YourCommunicationsEdge

  "Harvard Honor Council student accuses school of double standard, says President  Claudine Gay must resign over plagiarism scandal"  New York Post, December 31, 2023 As a former adjunct professor at the Universities of Michigan, Pittsburgh and Connecticut and as a current professional editor I know  what constitutes plagiarism. Like Claudine Gay, I also went through Ph.D. training so I wonder what was she thinking when she presented her material without the required citations.  It's no longer fashionable to put folks on the couch with psychobabble. We investigate lines of thought. Maybe we will never know Gay's thought processes. But it's fun to speculate: the default of being the smartest kid in the class, the assumption of specialness or simply being too clever by far?   What we do know, though, is that her entire situation seems to be darkening. Alleged plagiarism is only a piece.  All that might not have developed into the "this" had it not been f

In my coaching practice, even those already in the workforce often don't realize how much resumes have changed. And continue to change. Those developments range from the need for keywords to the hammering of skills (and in a quantitative manner) versus the raw job experience per se. Also, have you noted on the resume your advanced knowledge (yes, advanced) of generative AI. So, it's no surprise that newbies to the labor market are unaware that this isn't their father's or even their older sibling's resume.  The very good news is that there is plenty of guidance as well as concrete recommendations - available 24/7 and free - on  Reddit Resumes.  New items are always being listed so check the subreddit several times a day.  On the internet there are templates for resumes in specialized fields such as public relations. That too is free.  Here is an example  of Indeed's guide for the PR field.  Professional anonymous networks such as Fishbowl and Reddit usually have

  SHORT SHORT FICTION BY JANE GENOVA My grand niece is taking this down.  My hands are like tree roots.  I can't remember if it was Cravath, Kirkland and Ellis, Ropes & Gray, Paul, Weiss or maybe one of those so many law firms back then.  That was before there were only 9 corporate ones. Where I think I was, the Executive Committee didn't know shit about technology. Probably they're not among the 9.  But you never know. To stop drinking  back in high school (those days with all the talking-tos I remember), I picked up Zen and there was a mantra: Clear Thinking, Don't Know.  I do recall a little about closing a door. No, it wasn't my office. Sure there had been talk of unions, especially after the bloodbath in Q2 2024. Most ran the hell away from that talk. There was more fear than what my father told me about how it was at GE when Jack Welch pranced around.  So we had to sign up for space to work. "Hoteling" they told us it was in town hall meetings. B

  The Great Growth Race in law firms has reached across the ocean to London.  Both Kirkland and Ellis and Paul, Weiss, for example, have been busy bees beefing up their star power there, especially in corporate. Most recently the latter added Christopher Sullivan and Taner Hassan. Netflix series "The Crown" isn't scheduled for more episodes but that could change. After all, there is the sustained obsession with The Royals. That means money to be made in the  entertainment piece. If "The Crown" resumes production and fast-forwards to current times (ignoring the 20-year-distance rule) what could be likely are cameo parts for the leaders from Kirkland and Ellis, Paul, Weiss and what other law firms represent the financial sector.  The Royals better get really chummy with those financial tycoons.  Meanwhile, tabloid RollonFriday (UK version of US Abovethelaw) should be paying more attention to those US firms increasing their presence in London. In addition, professi

  The new joke could be The Royals will go kaput because we are plum tired of them. Also, as with the Roman Catholic Church, the mystique is gone.  How we got there has been through the endless featuring of them as both entertainment and as material for analysis by book authors and the media. Netflix gave us six seasons of "The Crown." The buzz is that there won't be a seventh season but, of course, there could be. More pomp and circumstance. Omid Scobie is the latest to deliver a book digging into all the emotional and political fissures.  Every few hours tabloids like Daily Mail provide an update. All this is bound to keep up and eventually there will be no demand for anything Royal, including those aristocrats themselves. Like the rest of us, they will have to live off their investments and income from real jobs and gigs. William might ask Harry how to make a go of that. In most cases you have only one shot in communications. Jane Genova is a communications coach and

  "Anyone here feel French Revolution vibes ..." - Posted on Fishbowl Consulting ,  December 2023. The popular film "Napoleon" reminds us how the euphoric, then ugly mood of the French Revolution unfolded in that nation and toppled the monarchy, that is, traditional authority.  What drove that unraveling included this: The majority of residents were not getting what they felt they needed, including food. Yeah, let them eat cake. The responses to the Fishbowl Consulting post note the disappearance of the middle class in America. What keeps people under control is usually their hope for a better life. In America the dream has died.  And, obviously, things are not under the usual control. Power, for example, is shifting to financial players who have a lot to say about elite institutions of higher education.  Already axed - pun intended - has been the President of the University of Pennsylvania Liz Magill. Soon enough on the chopping block could be the President of Harv

Smart, successful lawyers always think like lawyers. And part of that thinking-like-a-lawyer mindset is to size up carefully if they should "talk like a lawyer." After all, dating back to the time of William Shakespeare there has been extreme antipathy toward those who act like lawyers. The talk is a major piece of the lawyerly persona.  Somehow former President of the University of Pennsylvania Liz Magill, who had graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law , hadn't absorbed that fundamental of how to present herself effectively. That especially pertains to highly controversial highly emotional contexts like Congressional hearings about alleged anti-semitism on university campuses. As The Wall Street Journal reports even her supporters such as former board chair Scott Bok admits she blew it in how she handled her testimony and had her step down. Explicitly, Bok observed about that:  “Over prepared and over lawyered given the hostile forum and high stakes, sh

Males used to have the safety of  the uniform.  That was the suit and tie. The ambitious among them knew to invest in the recognizable brands. Those established the immediate signal of belonging in the system. Upon graduating elite institutions of higher learning youth’s families would cart them along to a tailor for customized versions of the that uniform.    SO, WHAT TO WEAR IN PUBLIC, THESE DAYS …   Now that has shifted to a wide range of ambiguity. Actually, now imposed on males is the demand that they put together their personal branding through their unique approach to dressing for public life. That is considered a form of individualized self-expression. And, you bet, it will be scrutinized for what branding messages it could be signaling. Or should be.   TIES AND SUITS   The first round of inspection by gawkers of public figures is based on the still-in-flux issues of the role of ties and suits.    LinkedIn  declares the end of ties in most contexts. Of cours

 Now the buzz is that Milbank, which kicked off raises, is matching the Cravath rate. In addition, of course, there are updates on what law firms are matching Cravath.  But that has never been the real story. What was the shock, and therefore the story, was that any law firm would raise salary - a fixed cost - in what has been a down year for a number of firms. In turn that triggered the focus to 1) Could law firms, even those doing well like Kirkland and Ellis and Paul, Weiss, sustain that financial burden, especially since 2024 doesn't seem so rosy and 2) What would be the negative impacts on associate employment.  Given the higher salaries and the darkening prospects for next year what emerges is the macro issue of what is capturing overall business attention, not just within the law firm sector. That is what it takes to thrive, no matter what. For that the investment expert who brought the Black Swan concept mainstream - Nassim Nicholas Taleb - coined the term "antifragile

Amid stock market euphoria and recent high US Q3 GPD growth (4.9%) the  17% RIF at Spotify  sends a scary message. That’s of a global economic slowdown. That's essentially because of interest rates. Prospects for 2024 aren't looking so hot. FEWER SAFE HARBORS Employees at other businesses should be appropriately alarmed that layoffs could also come their way.  Already the prestigious niche of management consulting, based on outlooks posted on professional anonymous networks, has lost optimism about an early recovery from the punch-in-the-gut from the falloff in worldwide demand. There is speculation that the sector will downsize long term. No more golden ages. Although MBB (McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group, Bain) could be left standing they could be hollowed out. The value they supposedly deliver has become  material for satire.   Once you become a joke, you're in serious trouble. Similar darkness could overtake global legal services. In the UK, EY just conducted a

  The pay listed for this contract project is $17. I have to assume that's per hour. And the assignment is based in the pricey DC Metro area. Social Media  (Washington, DC) Rizeup Technology Training LLC © craigslist - Map data ©  OpenStreetMap compensation:  $17.00 employment type:  part-time job title:  Social Media Developing and curating engaging content for social media platforms. Execute a results-driven media social media strategy. Assist in creating and editing written, video, and photo content. Attending events and producing live social media content. Maintain unified brand voice across different social media channels. This help-wanted posting is on Craigslist - Sites. This is a very sad development in terms of compensation for complex skills + creativity. If you are considering a career shift from communications, here I am as a results-getting coach (text or phone 203-468-8579 or janegenova374@gmail.com). Complimentary consultation.

" Buckingham Palace  officials will meet with aides to  Prince William  this week for critical talks in how to deal with the fallout from accusations of racism after the publication of  Omid Scobie 's book Endgame." -   Daily Mail , December 3, 2023 In great detail, including with all the key facial expressions, the Netflix series "The Crown" delivers insight how the top tier of The Royals deals with crisis. Amazingly, those in the loop seem to have great confidence that they will be able to resolve the situations. In addition, even way back at a time when public relations didn't dominate as now the parties were aware about the correlation between the branding of the monarchy and its ability to continue being supported.  Currently, the threats to its survival are ramped up. It is not considered Doom but reality that Charles might be the last King for the UK. Hey, William, you might search for another professional identity. A growing focus, both as oppo

"Chris Christie was always a longshot. Now he might not even make the next debate.  The former New Jersey governor has not met the Republican National Committee’s polling thresholds for qualifying for next week’s debate ..."    Politico , December 2023. But I already got drift of his swift decline in a comeback attempt mid last month.  That was in the coffee shop Ruff Life in resort town Geneva on the Lake in the midwest - far from national politics. Although the season was over, because of its unique branding - cafe allowing pets + boutique for dogs/cats - business remained brisk. Those at a table near me pontificated: Christie was over. They chatted up a brief summary of his mistakes.  Only now the media and polls seem to be confirming that. For me a coach who reinforces how fragile employment is in Knowledge Work be it journalism or polling. How the world turns, including predictions on that, has slid into the jaw-jawing by non-experts. And that resonates.  As a public aff