Where He Is Now: Fourteen Years Later

Going for a spare.

Today is Commencement Day for the Yale School of Management's Class of 2025, making it 14 years since I graduated from their MBA program, and one year since last I posted an annual update. 

A kind post from my law firm.

My last post, one year ago, discussed how I had been laid off from Deloitte seven months prior and was having a frustrating time trying to get back on my feet. Technically, I was not unemployed because a friend had hooked me up with a contracting opportunity at her personal injury law firm, which provided me with some income and purpose while I looked for a "real" job in my field (management consulting). My primary responsibility there was to write demand letters, which are communications to insurance adjusters to kick off the settlement negotiation process. I also created PowerPoint presentations for mediations and arbitrations and did a few small operational-improvement projects. I loved it. The work itself was new and fascinating, I could clearly see the impact I was making, it felt fulfilling to help people who'd suffered misfortunes, and I enjoyed working in a small, tight-knit office. Staying there was fun to consider, but doing so would have been an imprudent career pivot. Finally, in October 2024, I landed a contractor role doing organizational change management (OCM) consulting for City National Bank. I got this gig through a friend and former coworker who herself had been laid off from a Big Four consulting firm and, like me, spent over a year looking for work.

Taking a dip.

My yearlong job search was a nightmare, and frankly it was embarrassing. Back in the 2010s, I was contacted often by recruiters and headhunters. But in 2023-25, when I actually wanted and needed to hear from such people, silence. I almost never got an interview unless I knew someone in the organization. On eight occasions, I made it all the way to the end of an interview process, which often included a presentation or a case study along the way, only to be told that they'd love to hire me but couldn't right now for whatever reason (e.g., "market conditions," "internal changes"). One thing that helped me was the book Never Search Alone by Phyl Terry and a related free program wherein a volunteer will put you in a "Job Search Council," which is a small support group of fellow job seekers who work together through the multi-step program laid out in the book. The goal is to give you more thoughtful direction in your search. (By coincidence, one woman on my four-member Job Search Council happened to be a fellow Yale SOM alum, one year behind me, although oddly we hadn't crossed paths.) Anyway, I'd recommend both the book and the program for anyone exploring new job opportunities.

My brother and I with our niece,
who graduated with a degree
in aerospace engineering.

So, to say the least, getting the offer from the bank was a relief, even though it wasn't a "permanent" position. (Is any position permanent these days?) OCM consulting, which I've done plenty of in my post-MBA career, is basically trying to understand a project and figure out what'll be changing and who'll be impacted, then deciding how to communicate with and train those impacted people so that when the change happens, it's not a disaster. In some sense, it's a second cousin to being a journalist. In both cases, you have to ask a lot of questions to understand what's going on, even if you're not familiar with the topic, then figure out how to communicate about what you've discovered in a way that's clear and gets people's attention. One thing I learned about myself through the Never Search Alone program is that I get job satisfaction from creating things, so this role, as an individual contributor, hit the mark in that sense. And because my contract was a direct arrangement, my paychecks were bigger than they were at Deloitte even though my bill rate was lower.

At the beach, sunset.

I didn't apply for any jobs while I was working at the bank, but a month ago, a company I'd interviewed with last summer, Genpact, resurfaced and offered me a full-time job. Although I've enjoyed my time at the bank, they have a company policy that limits contractors' tenure, and they don't allow full-time employees to work remotely, so this arrangement isn't a viable long-term situation. So I accepted Genpact's offer and will be joining them next month as Director of Talent & Organizational Effectiveness in their People Advisory Services practice, selling and leading the delivery of management consulting projects, similar to what I was doing at Deloitte. I got a referral for the role through a current employee to whom I was introduced by someone in my Job Search Council. (I promise, I am not being paid to endorse this book or this program; it was genuinely fruitful!) Seems like a good fit for this stage of my career.

With choir friends on my birthday.

Beyond all the work stuff, life is good. Great, in fact! I'm not jet-setting like I used to or doing anything especially adventurous (I've developed an allergy to nonessential spending, as anyone who's been laid off can understand), but I've got friends, a boyfriend, family nearby, and three regular hobbies (tennis, bowling, choir) that I enjoy. Of those hobbies, bowling has turned out to be my favorite. Not to mention the most lucrative! In January, I won $1,025 when my name was pulled from a bucket and I bowled a strike. They call it a "strike pot." A very unexpected outcome for someone with a 120 average. I also still play tennis regularly, usually both weekend mornings. Choir also continues to be fun. We practice every Tuesday night in preparation for two concerts per year, one for Pride (coming up in two weeks), the other for Christmas. And I continue to spend every Sunday evening with my mom, who recently turned 82 and is still going strong. I make us dinner, we FaceTime my brother, and for the past few months we've been making our way through the box set of "Night Court," which has been fun because my Mom hadn't seen any episodes since they first aired roughly 40 years ago. We laugh our heads off. 

With law-firm friends at a charity auction.

I was recently thinking about how, when you start your career, you don't necessarily think about how much the world is going to change over the next 40-45 years you'll be working. My first job after college was as a newspaper copy editor and page designer, in 2001. Consider the fact that, 45 years before that, it was 1956. Think about how much newsrooms must have transformed from 1956 to 2001, including the attire, the technology, the office design, the roles, the social norms, etc. Someone transported from an office in 1956 to 2001 would be lost. By extension, a job in 2046 will in many ways be unrecognizable to someone in 2001. In fact, that's already so. I work from home, usually on the couch, in elastic sweat shorts and a T-shirt. Some of the tools I use all day didn't even exist in 2001.

Point being, navigating a career is like paddling a canoe on the ocean. You have some control over your direction and speed, but no matter what you do, you're going to be pulled in various directions by the tide, and you can't control the weather. But you just have to keep paddling.

See you next year!