I have a question for both Jason, as moderator, and for the other members of this Skool. I see that the 'focus statement' on the right says 'Freelancing, ghostwriting, and second-act careers that work.' Please excuse me, I guess I wasn't paying close enough attention. I posted 2-3 articles trying to help people who are struggling - the way I have struggled - to get a traditional job. But I guess that doesn't really fit with the focus statement, does it? However, was that a bad mistake? I guess what I am leading up to asking is: Should we focus on only freelancing, ghostwriting, and second act careers . . . or should we also try to help each other to apply for more, for lack of a better word, 'traditional' jobs? I can see pros and cons with both approaches. Please advise what you prefer. Thank you very much, John

Hi everyone, I turned 40 last October and was laid off last week. I have never been without a job or school since I was 16 and this is a brand new experience for me. So I signed up on this community to listen to and learn from people in similar situations. I am still recovering from the initial trauma and have an existential fear of running out of money to support my family. How did you all handle the first few days?

At least not advertised publicly. It's dismal. Every time I apply, the only things that happen are getting an automated "thanks for your application" email (sometimes) - or, more often, I get barraged with obvious scams for a couple of days. The system is broken. I'm done. I don't even WANT a goddamned job anyway. I want income, and the chance to do something challenging and meaningful, and you know what? There are lots of ways to get that in life. Fuck jobs. Also the whole application process is basically HAZING. A protracted humiliation ritual. "What's your BIGGEST WEAKNESS?" --> "That I don't have the patience for these kind of bullshit, bad faith questions. Good luck finding somebody to fit in your hole."

GREAT to see all the new people here! If you see something you like, please comment. Let's get the comments flowing! ........... I just published something I've been sitting on for months. It's about watching freelance work disappear. About being 57 and reinventing myself again. About being scared. I used to sell "I write content." That work is dying. AI does it for $20/month. So I shifted to "I help founders figure out what the hell they're trying to say." Same skill. Different positioning. Different survival. The truth: AI is great at tasks. Terrible at problems. If your freelance service can be explained in one sentence, it can probably be automated. Entry-level jobs dropped 29 percentage points since January 2024. This isn't coming. It's here. Read it: Here Question for the group: If you're freelancing, what shifted? What's still working? What died? Drop a comment. Let's figure this out together.

Dear Group: I had struggled with finding permanent employment for years, and so I identify with anyone who is still in that position. However, I would like to share some of my story and what (sort of) worked for me. After law school, I felt like I hit a wall trying to find permanent employment as an attorney. If this surprises you, I would say that job hunting as a new law graduate felt worse, not better, than applying as a non-graduate. To make a long story short, I tried starting my own law practice. Such practice was not successful from a business standpoint, but it was a learning experience and gave me something to put on my resume. Around about that time, I tried applying for jobs as a paralegal instead of an attorney. I got an interview, but I was not sure how it went. 2 things happened: My wife and an elder at our church said some special prayers for me, and, I dropped off a hand-written thank you note for the interview. And - I was extended and accepted an offer as a paralegal! Years later, that the firm had been thinking of not hiring me because I was an attorney - but when it received the hand-written thank you note, the firm changed its decision. And with that, I finally managed to get an 'in' to the employment market and have largely been working as a paralegal for different companies since. So, that was what partially worked for me. I have more to tell, but I think that that is enough for now. Best of luck to everyone in their searches!