The Lobsterman I Love and The Brilliant Career Hack He Taught Me

In Today’s edition of Hey Suzy, I endeavor to answer a painful and all-too-common question from Don – thank you for writing, Don – who has had a successful career with solid leadership roles over the years, but now yearns to pivot into a job that “relates more to helping people.” Unfortunately, Don has applied to a slew of such jobs, only to get no callbacks. He wonders if this ghosting, so to speak, has something to do with his lack of a college degree. His question concludes:

Q: The jobs I’m applying for actually pay a lot less than I currently make. Some require a degree; some don’t. But I feel as if my experience is, in many ways, transferable. Any words of wisdom?

A: My first words of wisdom may not even qualify as wisdom because they are so well-known: In the vast, inscrutable world of online hiring, everyone gets ghosted. One of the most talented creative directors I know recently was laid off – no fault of her own – and applied for 60 roles. Not one reply. My MBA students with their spiffy LinkedIn profiles get ghosted. My own kids, with their fancy-pants degrees and great work histories, have been ghosted for entry level jobs. 

The only explanation I have is sad, but, I believe, true. At most companies, the hiring system is unkind at worst and dysfunctional at best. Such is life in the chaotic business environment of post-pandemic, pre-recession 2023. So please know, you are not alone, and perhaps not at fault at all.

That said, maybe the problem is you. I’m sorry! But indeed, you suggest as much yourself with your query about lacking a college degree. So let’s go there. 

Now, I have no doubt you are a terrific person, and your long career would lead me to believe you are also very talented. But some companies still care about that piece of paper. Personally, I don’t. At one company where I chair the board, one of the best hires I ever made was a woman who’d only made it through one semester of college. She quickly proved she was so smart, so savvy, so creative, and so good with people, that I lovingly asked the Ivy League CEO to move on, and promoted her to replace him.

But honestly, and again lovingly, I would like to propose that people aren’t calling you back because they are worried about something besides your college education. They are worried you are confused. That you aren’t job hunting as much as you are prospecting, poking around for a new shiny thing. They are wondering, “Why is this experienced guy suddenly changing careers and willing to take a pay cut? He feels kind of lost.”

May I be bold enough to suggest that they may be right? That you are, indeed, kind of wandering in the wilderness, looking for your next act, and that you yourself may not even be sure what it is?

If that is the case, hello, such searching totally normal. I promise you that many people – and most fully employed – spend their entire careers asking themselves what they should be when they grow up. I teach “Becoming You: Crafting the Authentic Life You Want and Need” to 20-something MBA students, but when I describe the curriculum to my 50- and 60-something friends, the common refrain is, “I wish I could take your class.” Some days I think no one is 100% at peace with their career path.

What’s the antidote? Alas, it is soul-searching, and let me help with that by giving you an exercise to try at home. Its genesis involves the handsome Maine lobsterman in the photo above, who happens to be my son, posing with me one fun Halloween long after the events I am about to describe. To wit: Roscoe had just graduated from a famous college with very good grades and zero idea what he wanted to do for work. Of course, this meant he ended up at  a consulting firm in New York City. Jack and I warned him this was a disaster waiting to happen, and it was. Three months in, his vague disinterest in the work and clients got him fired. This event did nothing to give him direction, all of which culminated in two aggravated parents, and eventually me, in a fit of very unpretty frustration, screaming at him, “Whose life do you want anyway?”

Well, what a surprise. My question was rhetorical, but Roscoe could, in fact, answer it with rich specificity, and that became the first step on his journey to a great job and life he loves, marketing  games for kids while working remote, living in rural Maine with his wife and baby.

I invite you to take a look at the chart below, which I ask my students to fill out. In the first column, put the name of a person whose life you really admire. Second column: the reasons why. Third column: the parts of that person’s life you could happily live without. 

I assure you that once you have filled in this chart, you will see themes. The second column will mention “has no boss” over and over again, for example, or “touches a lot of lives,” or “has time to be with family.” And the third column will likewise bubble up important lessons: “Never married,” or “In a lot of debt,” or “Divorced three times.” 

Obviously, this chart is not a silver bullet. But it is a hack that works. It will give direction to your wandering.  It will help you refine and robust-up the case you make for yourself. 

And once that happens, I suggest you revamp your resume and cover letter with more clarity and purpose, and get out there again. I cannot promise you that you won’t be ghosted more times that you want. But I’m going to wager that an increased vibe of “Here’s what I want in my next act and why,” will come through, and someone – someone smart – will reach out and ask you to say more.