YourCommunicationsEdge

" Not ONE of my past employers cared [that I had the MA in Communications]. Nor has it helped me get a job. I think college degrees are becoming a thing of the past. I wouldn't really recommend a masters unless you're going in to get a PhD" - Response posted on Reddit Public Relations/Communications about adding on the credential of an MA in Communications, April 2024 This seems obvious. Just look at the growing number making a good living being influencers pitching products or enriching brands with no specialized public relations academic credential.  Also, much of work in public relations is hands-on, like sales. Either you are good at it or you're not. If the former you could become hot. Agencies want you. Or you could launch your own shop. There is also the category - freelancer - which has become a way to earn a living. I doubt many of those freelancers around the globe on UpWork have MAs in Communications. But this isn't new. Degree deflation, unless yo

    “'I've just come to learn that our opinions at the workplace can come back and hurt us, despite the mantras that we hear like, ‘Bring your whole self to work,’ and ‘Company X or Company Y values debate and diversity,’ he [Terminated at Google for protesting the corporation's business with Israel and chooses to be anonymous] said." - Quoted by  Yahoo Finance , in article about ongoing firings of protestors at Google, April 23, 2024 The concept of bringing our whole self to work only has any correlation to professional realities  if  we were or are fortunate enough to be in an organizational culture that is more or less a fit for our holistic selves. Otherwise, the wise among us took on and continue to take on protective coloring in order to, as the saying might go, "pass for one of them."  That is exactly why there is so much guidance and actual coaching about creating the right personal brand. The personas I adopted for full-time jobs at a southern-based

  " Husch Blackwell is encouraging associates to consider in-house roles with clients rather than only assume an uncertain path to partner. [It] ... is starting a four-month training program called HB In-House ... [which] give attorneys an inside view of clients and tools they need to transition to jobs in companies." -  Bloomberg Law , April 22, 2024 Succeeding in a prominent law firm doesn't only mean being voted in as equity partner. There is, of course, as with Kirkland & Ellis, the goal of becoming a nonequity partner. Recently Cravath and Paul, Weiss has also implemented that tier.  Husch Blackwell has opened up another path for the overall career mobility of associates.That is, the firm, beginning in June, will help associates navigate to an in-house position. Simultaneously this initiative can build a useful network of former lawyers who can funnel assignments to Husch Blackwell. There is that old joke: When an associate announces taking a position in-house, a

Professional services such as finance, management consulting and law are known as "sweat shops." Very recently on  Fishbowl Big Law  there are some comments that law firm Paul, Weiss' Private Equity practice is among the most sweaty. Others note that the firm doesn't really have an PE group, with that kind of work done under the M&A umbrella and the culture varies with who oversees the individual teams. There are partners who are respectful of associates' time and mentor. As with much of what goes on inside organizations and on career paths, the concept of "sweat shop" is misunderstood. When almost-bankrupt Chrysler poached me from financially solid GM, colleagues got very busy with the gossip. They smirked that I was opting for a sweat shop. According to the traditional understanding of sweat shop I was. At GM my hours were 9 to 5 (it was a different time). At Chrysler, as we struggled to save 50,000 American jobs, we rolled in about 7 AM and out ab

  BREAKING on X:  " @uberliner has resigned from NPR after being suspended without pay by disgraced CEO @krmaher . NPR must fire Maher and begin an internal effort to diversify its workforce. In the meantime, Congress must defund NPR now." So much for working in a glam field such as Media. Also, so much about breaking news on establishment media. Social media is taking over that function in society. In most cases you have only one shot in communications. Jane Genova is a communications coach and content-creator. Complimentary consultation (please text 203-468-8579 or email janegenova374@gmail.com)

  All generations of those searching for work are bumping into the mandate: Participate in the one-way AI video interview or you won't be able to proceed in your application. And, all generations are finding that a stressful experience.  There is no one format for those interviews. But becoming commonplace are the versions developed by HireVue. That company serves about 60 Fortune 100 corporations, although their identity is frequently treated as confidential. At just one time period - November 2022 - HireVue conducted 33 million one-way job interviews.  The interviewing by HireVue has many critics such as Hilke Schellmann. Her book is a must-read both to get perspective on this requirement and guidance on how to conform so that you are not knocked out of the box. That expose is "The Algorithm: How AI Decides Who Gets Hired, Monitored, Promoted & Fired & Why We Need To Fight Back Now." If the version assigned to you has been designed by HireVue, that "perform

 I started out in journalism and still contribute content to a retail publication. So, I have a soft spot for anyone in that box searching for work or a better version of it. Today Mediaite announced an opening for a full-time writer/editor to cover everything from politics to sports and anything in-between, Yes, weekends you will probably be on-duty.  If interested, here you can take a peek at the job description. In most cases you have only one shot in communications. Jane Genova is a communications coach and content-creator. Complimentary consultation (please text 203-468-8579 or email janegenova374@gmail.com)

  The abortion issue could have been the GOP's most vulnerable stance in election 2024. Now, Donald Trump has fixed that. He went on record that the matter should be left to the legal decision-making of states. Also he has exceptions for rape and so on. Softening the rigid positioning on abortion could give Trump the election.  Meanwhile Joe Biden is out there with another message about liberating many from student loan debt. That again can win over voters. Trump could further his edge by making it clear he has seniors' backs when it comes to entitlements such as Social Security and Medicare. In most cases you have only one shot in communications. Jane Genova is a communications coach and content-creator. Complimentary consultation (please text 203-468-8579 or email janegenova374@gmail.com)

  "Being uncertain means that I lack confidence." "There is really no such thing as a problem that can't be solved." "I should be able to organize everything in advance," Those are statements, quoted by Maggie Jackson in her November 2023 book  "Uncertain."  They mirror how the ambitious assume they have to present themselves. The book argues the extreme effectiveness of not being so sure.  The book starts out with Martin Luther King's admission to his aides in preparing what turned out to be the iconic "I Have a Dream" that he was uncertain what to say.  I would add that the team Lee Iacocca recruited to try to turn around Chrysler wasn't certain of success. They knew that they were risking their reputations exiting secure jobs at Ford to pitch in with the Chrysler adventure. Not operating in the usual box allowed them to roll with the myriad crises (including a fire where the paper work was housed, pre-digital).  Two years

In the slowed-down management consulting sector the generalist is the most unlikely to land an assignment, documents  The Financial Times . Industry has gained the tools and confidence to sort of much of the that internally. The demand is for consulting specialist skills such as generative AI. Those with the latter are busy at McKinsey.  The decline of the generalist is spreading across myriad professions. Hiring for jobs and gigs has become very specific.  The "they" want the public relations expert with a recent track record for multi-media placement in these 15 tech media outlets and 12 tech networks.  Large law firm Paul, Weiss paid the big bucks to poach partners from other firms with 1) A book of business in Private Equity and 2) In the London market.  New graduates in IT don't have a shot at employment unless they have hands-on experience in the handful of specializations which have openings. Read the sad stories on Reddit Career Guidance.  Even in my field of care

  The last time that the ghost of Jeffrey Epstein haunted the world was at the doc drop containing names of people in high places. Just before that, perhaps a coincidence, Friend of Jeffrey Leon Black and his wife left town with their physical security team.  Now, the ghost is stirring again. Today Netflix streams the film "Scoop" about how the BBC's "Newsnight" landed the interview with Prince Andrew. In that interview to the surprise of many the Prince, known in his youth as a gregarious fellow, failed to engage. He was stiff. There was no remorse about having had Epstein as a bro. In reference to what Epstein was about the Prince used the puzzling term "unbecoming." The fallout had been global. Simultaneously, given the medical problems sidelining the front lines of the monarchy, the Prince recently has been struggling to worm his way back in. That has been in a very visible manner and it could accelerate the toppling of The Firm. Those operating wh

  " Paul Weiss has resurged as a private equity powerhouse in London in the eight months since snagging rainmaker Neel Sachdev, part of an intensifying recruiting war among elite US firms in the UK." -  Bloomberg Law , April 4, 2024. Rare is a gush article in Bloomberg Law. However, this interview with the partner Paul, Weiss poached from Kirkland & Ellis in August 2023 seems to merit gush. Not just it's about the leadership of giant in private equity at Paul, Weiss London - an analogue of Jamie Sprayregen in restructuring, who also left Kirkland & Ellis. But also it explains how the firm has physically built itself a presence in that location. There are more than 140 lawyers, including 21 partners. Leased are 87,000 square feet on 20 Air Street on London's West End.  Already Sachdev has brought in as clients London Bain Capital and Apollo Global Management. His mission is for the private equity practice to "be a rocket ship of success." He co-leads

  In  The Wall Street Journal , retired professionals Karen and Stephen Yoder lament that they have become "invisible."  Not all over-60 have mutated into a fade-out, though. I coach them and they are being acknowledged in all aspects of life as very there - and as relevant.  Here are some of the things that they are doing that the Yoders might not be: Kept in touch with the world of work.  They may operate micro businesses. They may do gig or part-time assignments. They could even be employed for income from their labor in full-time positions. As the future of work keeps mutating they are in the thick of it, with lots to say about how things are and how to cope. Coping has replaced ranting. It's tough to get, hold and more on to better work. Maintained presence.  No, you don't want to come across as too relaxed. Although New Yorkers had relocated to the Midwest to reduce expenses they kept up the aura of nervous energy. Poise is different from coming across as being

  The legal news has become a daily chronicle about partners and counsel exiting their law firms for what has been presented to them as a better deal. Increasingly, opportunity is wrapped in lateral moves. Or, so it seems at the time. If that specific move proves a lousy fit, again there can a lateraling or joining with others to launch a new firm. However, that's on the partner/counsel level. For junior lawyers, the lateral market remains, well, dead.  Among those moves for the top-tier players have been a dozen lawyers during the past 10 months who lateraled from Paul, Weiss to Sidley Austin. The most recent poaching by Sidley has been private equity heavyweight with experience on the Apollo account John Godfrey. In turn, a partner in Sidley's UK private equity practice has departed for McDermott in London.  Back in the US, King & Spalding lured three litigation partners from Kasowitz.  The moves, of course, send powerful messages about the organizations involved, both in

  Yet another version of the good-bye.  The Times  was the first to report that once-iconic management consulting firm McKinsey has taken yet another step in reducing manpower. This one is to offer some staff in the UK and the US a certain period of full-salary, career coaching and access to firm's resources to prepare to exit employment. In the UK the terms are nine months. If after nine months there is no job offer elsewhere the professional still has to exit. In the US the terms are unknown as of yet. The how of terminations has become a branding issue. Those given the boot, such as Brittany Pietsch, have hopped on social to tell their story. Interestingly, they have landed on their feet, being hired for other good jobs.  Earlier, McKinsey had given negative performance evaluations to about 3,000. If they don't improve in three months they will be terminated. Like so many in professional services McKinsey had bulked up hiring during the pandemic. Now it is saddled with bloat