I have been reading some very depressing things about the job market these days. It sounds like a lot of people are stuck — we just keep sending out resumes and job applications to no avail. It makes me feel like asking: Does one need to forge a relationship with an employer in advance to get a job? I do not know for sure, but it feels like the situation is desperate for so many of us - so please be patient with me as I try to suggest a creative solution. Now, notice I did not say “network” to get a job. By ‘forging a relationship,’ I am thinking of something different than what I usually think of as networking. When I think of networking, I usually think of a whole lot of people, often most of them jobseekers, meeting at a mixer of some kind and exchanging business cards. And, I suspect that most of them forget who they met minutes later. By 'forging a relationship', I think we would have to look to what my kid did to get their first job. I know, it may sound weird for grown adults to be learning job strategies from a child— but please hear me out. What my kid did is: First, they took sailing lessons for several summers at the sailing club at our local pond. They became skilled at sailing, forged a relationship with the sailing club, and proved that they had skills. They leveraged their relationship and reputation with the club to obtain a job as a sailing instructor there. I understand that they initially faced rejection. However, they did not take ‘no’ for an answer and just kept asking until they were accepted for a job. I wonder: could we extrapolate a job-seeking strategy from my kid’s experience? Don’t just send out resumes. #1. Find an employer you like and become active with them. Maybe take classes or some kind of other activities with them. #2. Learn skills relevant to that employer. #3. Prove your skills and worth to that employer. #4. Forge a relationship with the people at that employer who can actually give you a job. #5. Apply for a job and keep making your case until you (hopefully) get from ‘no’ to ‘yes’.

I got my start in IT the 1990s. I learned and grew into bigger roles. I ran endpoint security for a fortune 500 company. And then I moved up to a Fortune one company consulting to their endpoint security architectural update for 320,000 nodes. But then two years working for the world’s largest dedicated security company broke me. I sustained a serious back injury from working 100 hours a week to meet a deadline. Then that company got bought out by private equity and started laying off in droves. Luckily a friend of mine dusted me off and put me back to work and I got debt free. However that consulting work would end badly when I was terminated illegally. I had no idea how bad the white collar recession was until I had to try to find a job in it. 1000 applications and counting. The whole time I was working in IT I was also accumulating real estate. After my injury (that insurance would not cover) and workers comp had expired (in just one year in Texas), I was scared because I couldn’t take care of the buildings myself and with 25 units and having a property manager in each of three states was unwieldy. Especially when they steal from you. So I sold all of the real estate and luckily I have a small income. Still it’s not enough to properly provide for my wife and I which is embarrassing. So I’m probably leaving IT security for more passive income source. I found a property near me that is actually a six unit RV park. The price is right and since it is USDA rural I can get it with no money down. My banker was out on Friday because his wife is having a baby and it will be their third child. I think this approach is going to work better for me because sitting at a computer(standing, yoga ball) for so long has taken its toll. Thankfully I have the real estate investment experience and luckily somehow my credit is still quite good. So here’s to hoping. I think after expenses this property should bring in about $2000 per month. And that plus my small residual income should be enough for my wife and I to live comfortably in Bali if we want to. Absolutely fell in love with that place… And then with her :)

Hi group! I want to start by saying that I will always keep the main group free. I didn't start this to make money off people looking for work with subscriptions. I just want this to be a place where we can all come and talk about freelancing, the job market, and job hunting. But, I have a group of 500 eager professionals, and I can't help but think that at least a few of you would like a more focused and inclusive group. I also see that many of you are interested in Medium, and I can't help but think I could have another stream of income if I monetized my Medium knowledge. Don't get me wrong, there will be a course coming for free for ALL OF YOU about Medium, but what I am thinking, is a more focused brain-trust, where we have weekly training and advice calls, more in-depth information about Medium, and a more focused environment. I would charge a monthly subscription, something anyone can afford, but the main group would always be here to ask basic questions, and talk about everything not related to Medium. Its tough to make a living and if I could even make another few hundred bucks a month, it would be worth it to me to teach all I know about Medium. So what do you think? If you are interested, please let me know> Also, if you ARE interested, help me decide what would be a good monthly subscription? Remember, this is going to be a very activity-heavy group, with a lot of information and focused on Medium. $4.99, $9.99, $12.99, $19.99?????? What would be worth it to potentially make a few extra thousand a month on Medium. I did, November and December I make between $2500 and $4500. It CAN happen. See the screenshot! What do you guys think? Something you would like?

If you're here, you're probably over 40 and fighting the same fight I am. Sending out resumes that disappear into the void. Getting ghosted by recruiters. Watching younger people get hired for jobs you're overqualified for. Wondering if you're unemployable or if the entire system just broke while you weren't looking. You're not imagining it. The job market is brutal right now. Especially for us. I'm 57. I've been freelancing for over 20 years. I have a degree. I use AI tools every day. I'm faster and better at my work than I've ever been. And I still can't get hired. Not because I'm not good enough. Because companies don't want to invest in people like us anymore. We're too expensive. Too experienced. Too likely to know our worth and not accept garbage wages. This group exists because we're all dealing with the same thing. And most of us are doing it alone. Scrolling LinkedIn at 2am wondering what we're doing wrong. Applying to jobs we're overqualified for and still not getting callbacks. Trying to figure out how to rebuild a career in a market that decided we're disposable. You're not alone. That's why we're here. Drop a comment and introduce yourself. Where are you? What kind of work are you looking for? What's your biggest struggle right now? Let's actually talk about this. Let's help each other. Let's stop pretending this is normal and start figuring out how to survive it together. Welcome. I'm glad you're here.