Dear Group: Moderator Jason was kind enough to take my question regarding the focus of this group seriously, so, so encouraged, I am going to pose another question: what would you say is your purpose as a human being? I know this may be a stretch, but I honestly think that this question does impact our careers and job searches, etc. I sometimes wonder whether I would have achieved more financial success if making a lot of money had been my first priority in the first place. But, at the risk of humble bragging, it hasn't been. Please do not get me wrong; I do not dislike money. I depend on it. I feel that I depend on money the way a diabetic depends on the injection needle. But, I do not feel that my passion has been for making a lot of money. My passion has been for helping people. And, I think that that passion has influenced my career moves. I want to be the first to say that that is probably an irrational way to feel. I suspect that the rational approach is that, in this world, if you want to help people - you can do a lot more to help them if you have money. But I am not sure whether my heart, my emotional center, has ever really processed that rationale. But, what do you think? What do you say that your purpose is - and how does that influence what you want out of a career? Thank you very much for your time and attention. Respectfully, John

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.