Law And More

Doing Your Failure Resume - Most Productive Way to Spend New Year's Eve

Those lawyers and law students who intend to do 2020 differently than 2019, a must-do is what is known as a Failure Resume. Yeah, screwing up has been hot since the time Steve Jobs had been kicked out of Apple. 

January 31st is the last day to put that chronicle of failures together.

Why it's a must-do is that it identifies patterns that have been obstacles in the past. That awareness can help prevent them in the future.

In addition, there can be a lifting of resentment against people, places, and things humans tend to blame for their setbacks. The Failure Resume gives the opportunity to take ownership of what part you yourself played in the disappointment. 

In her career-guide best-seller "What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20" Tina Seelig presents excerpts from her own failures in resume form. She focuses on three categories of failure: professional, academic, and personal.

You could add to or delete from that list. 

There is no one template. A simple version for professional failures could cover:

• What seemed like a sure thing but didn't pan out
• My direct role in the setback
• Lessons learned.

Sometimes it's useful to seek out input from others in creating the sections of the resume. Too often we simply can't see ourselves and how our mindsets and behaviors were destructive.

In 12-step programs that's how the Fifth Step goes. The human beings determined to free themselves of the wreckage of the past discuss their "character defects" with a person they trust. Essentially the attitude is: Here is what I think I figured out, but, is that the way it really went down?

The good news in all this comes from Seeig. She observes:

" ... if you aren't failing sometimes, then you aren't taking enough risks." 

The parents of baby boomers and even the older members of Generation X took few or no risks. Their model had been the job-for-life. It was irrelevant back then if they thrived on that path or not. No surprise, they eagerly embraced retirement.

In contrast, the new status symbol is becoming who is able to hold on working the longest.

So, lawyers over-65 should have plenty of motivation to reflect this New Year's Eve on what had gone very wrong. 

Coaching, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on human resources and careers.  

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The special area of expertise is the displaced over-50 professional. Please contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

Not So Unthinkable: Failure Night at Law Firms

Instead of a gala holiday eat-in and dance for lawyers and staff, plus one, law firms might schedule a very different kind of special event.

At it, everyone attending must step up to the mic. There they will share a failure.

Those law firms which want to go all out on this could require the attendees also to submit a comprehensive failure resume. The three best - that is, resumes with the biggest mistakes - will be awarded a significant 2019 bonus (that is, in addition to the usual kinds).

Come to think about it: Law firms could contact a journalist at Law.com to announce that hiring in 2020 will require applicants to gush about failures and lessons learned.

That will apply to both recruiting on campus and screening laterals. Regarding the latter, the law firm slogan could be a version of: We don't only want your book of business. We need you to bare your soul about your misses and near-misses. That will provide insight on how much new business you can develop for our firm.

Celebrating failure started as a meme in Silicon Valley: Failure is not only good. It is a needed platform for later roaring success.

Job recruiters demanded applicants talk about at least one screwup. If there were none, then the applicant was knocked out of the box. They were instructed to go out there and fail.

Now, the recognition of the positive impacts of opening up about failure has been institutionalized. That's through the organization F**kupNight. There is a version of it in 200 cities, including London. Folks gather to crow about what didn't work.  Here are more details from FN. 

Among other beneficial outcomes, sharing stories about failure relieves stress.

It also liberates the less than perfect from shame. Could this ritual, in itself, prevent mental illness, substance abuse, and suicide in the legal sector?

 And, of course, all that data gathered during the experience which didn't pan out as expected can be leveraged for eventual triumphs.

Did its failure in the infamous Rhode Island lead paint public nuisance class action litigation help law firm Motley Rice score big in the Santa Clara, California one - "People of California v. Atlantic Richfield?"

Law firm Jones Day, which successfully had represented defendant Sherwin-Williams in RI, had been humbled. Worse, more such lawsuits broke out against Sherwin-Williams in other municipalities. 

The reality is that most initiatives, both in a professional and a personal life, fail. That's exactly why growing up is so painful.

Yet, capitalism mandates those be kept under wraps. Only wins are allowed into narratives. And, you bet, human beings are their stories. Focusing only on wins, ironically, sets up players for failure.

There is that old story about Babe Ruth. He was asked what was behind his success. That triggered his sliding into a slump. 

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Displaced Older Lawyers, Legal Staff - 4 Ways to Stop Shooting Yourself in the Foot

"I look younger than I am."

"On my resume I lopped all work but the last seven years. Same thing on the cover letters."

"My LinkedIn Profile receives lots of visitors."

That's what those over-45 whom I coach tell me. But they are seeking career counseling sessions from me because they can't get comparable jobs after being laid off, can only land low-paid jobs, or have had no offers for even gig hustles.

They have plenty of company in their unawareness how age bias happens in 2019. And, yes, it can kick in as young as 40-something. 

That blind spot usually is associated with the internet. They have no idea how the internet has put the kibosh on their ability to remain employed in a way that they can make ends meet. The reality, of course, is that more than half those over-50 will be forced out and only one of 10 of them will be hired at jobs which are in the same compensation ballpark.

Here are the four ways the internet has become an obstacle in the search for work for older professionals:

•  Plastered all over the internet is one's age. All employers have to do is key in the name of the applicant. Up will pop various items, some of which contain the exact age. Those age items are up-to-date. 
•  Lack of participation in social networks can make the applicant seem not only part of the has-been gens. It can create the perception of being out of touch. More applications require a listing of social networks.
•  Wrong tone and content on social networks. The applicant can come across as ancient. 
•  Small number of followers, likes, shares, and comments on social networks and social media. If the position involves the ability to engage, then that kind of data can send a red flag the applicant is clueless about getting, holding, and scaling attention. 

The good news is that there are also four ways to transcend these obstacles:

• Be open. Employers are searching for not the perfect fit to the posted job description. Instead they need a hire who can get done what has to get done. Pick up what that is. Then show how you can accomplish that better than other applicants. Here, free to download, is my book on exiting comfort zones. 
•  Embrace the career truism that nothing gets you a job like a job. Here, free to click open, is my guide on how to start over in the search for work Download Outwitting ageism. One unemployed former in-house lawyer restarted his career with a loss-prevention gig in retail. Eventually he wound up in the corporate office overseeing that function. 
•  Develop tenacity. The most successful sales professionals truly believe that every "no" brings them closer to a "yes." That's because they analyze every aspect of what they did or didn't do on that sales call. Based on their findings, they do course correction on their MO.
•  Don't tell your "sad story." We are our stories. One former administrative assistant I coached kept ranting how she was terminated, probably because of age. I told her to stop that. Her new narrative was that she was excited about pursuing a career shift. Within three weeks she accepted an offer as the dispatcher for a large trucking company. 

Coaching, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on aging.

 

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The displaced over-50 get back to work. Please contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Grammar Nazi Takes on Law.com Article "Hear Ye, Hear Ye!"

Posted on Law.com is the article whose headline begins "Hear Ye, Hear Ye!" 

Fine.

But, as you will see here (if a correction has not already taken place) is a grammatical error in the subhead.

The subject is plural, so the verb should also be plural. Instead the verb is single, that is, "is."

The correct verb would be the plural "are."

At 11:07 P.M., New York Time, the subhead appears this way:

"An influx of outside funding and a growing focus on hands-on learning is fueling the increase."

With the grammatical error corrected, it would read:

"An influx of outside funding and a growing focus on hand-on learning are fueling the increase."

Petty? Maybe. 

Am I being a Grammar Nazi? Yes. It's a thankless mission but someone has to do it.

Think about it: An error such as that on a resume and/or a cover letter could get the job application tossed. With the current glut of talent, employers look for simple ways to rule out applicants.

Unique global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Facebook Lawyers - Obviously, They Didn't Adequately Educate Employees about Email Perils

"Facebook Inc. FB -1.81% uncovered emails that appear to show Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg's connection to potentially problematic privacy practices at the company, according to people familiar with the matter." - John D. McKinnon, et al., The Wall Street Journal, June 12, 2019. Here is the article

Those emails are popping up as the Federal Trade Commission investigates that social network.

An example of a possible smoking gun among the email dates back to April 2012. Regulators are analyzing it and its implications. In it, Zuckerberg questioned employees about an app that could stockpile user information in a database and have all that displayed on the Facebook site.

Eventually the decision was made not to continue development of that app.

However, the social network allegedly didn't adopt an aggressive stance for looking into the larger issue of user privacy. Instead the focus allegedly was on adding advertisers. User information, as many know, can be useful for advertisers to target exactly the right individuals.

This investigation could result in more than a multi-billion dollar fine. Irate constituencies, ranging from members of Congress to Facebook users, want punitive action. That could be generated by a lawsuit.

The elephant in the room on this one is this: Where were the Facebook lawyers? Didn't they hammer employees about the extreme peril of emails? They have been discoverable from almost the get-go of the digital age. To them have been added text messages.

For example, in his October 7, 2013 The New Yorker analysis of criminal mess and bankruptcy law firm Dewey LeBoeuf, James B. Stewart has a section on "Problematic Email." Readers of that article probably smirk: Lawyers should have known better.

Clearly, a hyper-successful corporation like Facebook should have anticipated that it would be a target - including of regulators. Employees should have been trained how to avoid including in their communications through all mediums what could be used against their employer. That training should have been updated on a regular basis.

Full Disclosure: As a result of covering a major public nuisance trial, I was caught in the crossfire between two law firms. When dragged in to be deposed, I spotted on the conference table print-outs of many of my emails related to the litigation. For hours I was drilled about their content - and tone.

Exactly the right tone and content for all your communications. Complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Whistle-Blowers - Doing the Supposed Right Thing at Great Peril

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange might not be likable. 

Many are jittery enough about national security to be wary of the Edward Snowden types.

And lawsuits such as "Andowah Newton v. LVHM" may us wonder about the downside of movements such as #MeToo.

But, we know from history, such as WaterGate, that whistleblowers are necessary for democracy and the sustainability of the legal system. 

So, it's scary that Edward Wasserman is flagging us in The New York Times about the precarious situation whistleblowers faces. He is the dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California. The title of his opinion-editorial is: "Julian Assange and the Woeful State of Whistle-Blowers." Here you can read it. 

Both New York Magazine and Vanity Fair document this: A large number of the women who sued for alleged sexual misconduct or have been on the front lines of the #MeToo movement have suffered retaliation. Here is my coverage of that development.

Sure, doing the supposed right thing can be noble.

It can also be a heady experience.

But it is a form of whistle-blowing. The power structure is bound to push back. Speaking up, standing up - all that is risky business, literally. Careers can be temporarily or permanently derailed.

Yes, in the U.S. there are rewards for whistle-blowers. Those include, as The Wall Street Journal notes,  a nice payout from the IRS for disclosing information about tax cheats. On "Good Girls," FBI Jim promises Ruby much if she goes the distance in blowing the whistle on crime head Beth. 

Yes, society is also supposed to out bullies. Glassdoor is a mechanism for that in the workplace. The employee evaluations are anonymous. Here is how the help at The Dilenschneider Group perceives management.

Also yes, I outed on my syndicated blogs what I perceived to be an excessive vetting process by Your Edge for Success (YES).

It was for a contract assignment that wasn't even guaranteed to be for 15 hours a week. And the compensation was a project rate of $55 for editing each set of resume/cover letter. Suppose that had been job materials for a federal employee. The $55 compensation might not turn out to be much. 

Here is my push-back on Medium. 

But, hell, I have a successful communications boutique that deals in diverse lines of business. The resume/cover letter part has been and will be, well, small potatoes.

The risk? Practically zero. And taking on  YES and its head Katherine Metres served me well in terms of mental health.

Otherwise, I am cautious about outing wrongs associated with how I make my living. I am a single head of household. (Members are four-leggers.)

As Wasserman hammers, whistle-blowing is in a "woeful state."

Actually, I didn't need much of reminder of that. I grew up in the notorious Frank Hague political machine in Jersey City, New Jersey.

That was pre-gentrification.

There was no way to bypass the power of that machine except to leave the area.

From the get-go that was my goal. The exit ramp was, I strategically planned, a scholarship to an out-of-state college. That would provide the platform for putting together a more free life. 

Okay, I did get out. However, the residue of fear of the power structure has a long half life. Anyone from the Hague days probably can't entirely escape that force field.

Meanwhile, before those who need to make a living and want to do the supposed right thing have to consider the real possibility of never working in their field again. What on a macro level might be assessed as "right," could on the level of the individual trigger careeer interrupted.  

Exactly the right tone and content for all your communications. Complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Through the Glassdoor - My Interview with Your Edge for Success (YES), the 1st Amendment & "Dying for a Paycheck"

Glassdoor has become the default for assessing how employers manage the workforce, ranging from hiring interviews to culture.

But itself may require some reviewing.

Not too long ago I had what I experienced as an odd interview with resume/cover letter preparation firm in the D.C. area - Your Edge for Success (YES). Had I continued with that hiring process I would have had to:

•  Submit to what I perceived to be a time-consuming test (that would be for 15 hours a week, the hours not guaranteed. The work was paid per project. The fee for service was $55 for editing a set of a resume/cover letter - not easy work).
•  Submit to a personality test (I had been admitted to Harvard Law School w/o a personality test). 
•  Submit references (Since references aren't trusted anymore it seemed peculiar that such a request had been made. Don't those in the know know they can't dish about job applicants without being nailed for defamation?) 

Here is my analysis of that recruitment policy.

Determined to protect other work applicants, I went to Glassdoor, for the second time in my career.

I posted in the Interview section.

I also erroneously posted in the employee section. Obviously I wasn't paying attention, which I should have. With good reason, Glassdoor yanked that. 

But, recently I discovered that it also had yanked the feedback on the Interview. By email I was informed that it had been notified that I was a competitor. It did offer me the opportunity to clarify that. Would it then, I wondered, reinstate the post after my clarification? Time will tell.

Clarify I did.

But, given my knowledge as a syndicated legal blogger of the 1st amendment, I was puzzled why the interview was removed before I could defend myself. Was I presumed guilty? Or is this Glassdoor's MO (which requires a review)?

Also, what documentation was provided as evidence that I am a competitor? I haven't prepared a resume for compensation in over five years.

The strategic career coaching I do is mostly that: macro.

I applied for a resume editing gig to find out if there was any high-end business left in that niche. After all, Your Edge for Success operates in the upscale D.C. market. Jumping back in via a gig assignment would have given me real-time data.

In addition, I posted on my three syndicated sites today how resume creators are going the way of the blacksmith in the era of Henry Ford. Here is one of those posts. If resumes were my business, I wouldn't be navigating the internet with a machete aimed at my own livelihood. 

The business, incidentally, is in LinkedIn Profiles. I haven't done one of those, aside from my own, in four years. The revenues for my communications boutique primarily are from researching and ghostwriting on global workplace issues.

From that I am aware of the struggle of those who are working for a living. That has been grimly documented by Stanford Graduate Business School professor Jeffrey Pfeffer. His book is "Dying for a Paycheck." Here it can ordered from Amazon.

Although "Dying for a Paycheck" has been out there for over a year, it still ranks very high on Amazon: 39,612. No question, the conditions it describes resonate as on the money worldwide.

As someone who works, I strongly objected to the recruitment policies of Your Edge for Success. That is my opinion. As of now, Glassdoor has prevented my sharing it. Sad.

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com. 

 

Resume Firms, Like Your Edge For Success (YES), Could Become Blacksmiths at Time of Henry Ford

Creating resumes, as they do at Washington Metro area Your Edge for Success (YES), is both an art and science.

The art part entails the arrangement of elements, just as in a skilled operation of Photoshop.

The science is the selection of the right keywords.

In the high stakes game of landing a job in the prestigious D.C. law market both are important - for now.

But, soon enough, even in the slow-changing field of legal services, those employed putting together resumes could become analogous to the master blacksmiths in the era of Henry Ford. 

Increasingly, just as with the technology of the automobile, the technology of digital is making resumes an anachronism. 

Resume creation could be the next industry hard hit by digitization.

On a very simple level, already help-wanted ads specify: In no more than four sentences tell us about you. Do not attach resume. 

That's the primitive play-out of the new order of job search. 

On the level of BigBusiness, corporations such as Goldman Sachs, Unilever, and WalMart's Jet are experimenting with digital alternatives to the old-fashioned resume.

Essentially the meme is: Resumes are out, algorithms are in.

As Fox reports, for example, Unilever has piloted a fresh way to recruit, test, and interview talent.

Essentially it goes like this.

Talent finds the help wanted notices with their smartphones. Those alert that a job or internship is available. They may be posted on Facebook or other social network.

When human beings respond, they are directed to a career database. There is a digital sorting for a fit. Much of the data will be retrieved from the LinkedIn profile. Incidentally, more and more of the contract ads I respond to request the URL for my LinkedIn profile, not a resume. 

The applicants who seem a fit then play a number of games online. Yes, gamification is proving to be a useful way to uncover skills. So, critics of video games should back off with the condemnation and point out how that mastery serves in trying to land a good job.

Those proving themselves through gaming then move on to an automated video interview. There is a digital assessment of everything from ability to handle pressure to problem-solving. 

Next for those who make the cut is the first human encounter: interaction with a human being.

The post-resume era can create a level playing field. It could eliminate the old-line kind of bias about age, race, sexual orientation, and gender.

In addition, there is low-cost access to a diverse talent pool.

Also, corporations can prevent litigation about discrimination during recruiting. Seasons 52 recently settled a $2.85 million lawsuit alleging that older wait staff were being screened out in the hiring process. 

Law firms in all global locations and of all sizes can embrace digital tools for recruiting, including for summer internships. This could be more cost efficient and effective than campus interviews and contracting with search firms. 

The mutually best work relationship in the history of my communications/coaching boutique has been with a human resources professional services firm. It picked me up digitally. There was no trotting out the clunky resume.

Full Disclosure: Not long ago I had a negative experience interviewing the old-fashioned way with a resume-creation firm. Somehow I got it: This wasn't where I needed to be in order to become more marketable. 

UPDATE: - Your Edge for Success through The Glassdoor

Glassdoor removed my posting on its site regarding my interview with Edge for Success.

It had been contended that I was classified as a competitor. I informed Glassdoor that I was not a competitor. I requested that it return the feedback to the site. 

I had not done a paid assignment for resumes for years and years. Moreover I have gone on record that the resume is an anachronism in job search. Here is one of those kinds of posts. 

In short, I am not in the resume business and hadn't been so for a long time. 

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com. 

 

Lawyers Considering Side Hustles in Creating Resumes/Cover Letters

Resumes and cover letters?

Some employers are still using those in the hiring process.

But, they could soon enough be history - ancient history.

Grandma, what was a "resume?" 

Large corporations such as Unilever are experimenting with blowing up job search.

Out are resumes and cover letters.

In are Artificial Intelligence, gamification, and video interviews for solving hypothetical problems.

Playing the Job Search Game - Literally

Here is the Fox coverage on that disruption, already underway. So, yes, parents, encourage not discourage your offspring about mastering video games. 

And, yes, activists, this revolution can create a level playing field. It prevents bias at the front end. At least if the AI isn't coded to discriminate on the basis of sex, race, gender, or age. 

Gamification can uncover unique skills.

And what you can do for employers will factor in more in a hiring decision than a paper credential. Apple, Oracle, Airbnb et al. are hiring for well-paying jobs without imposing the college degree requirement. Here is the coverage on that from MarketWatch.

Resume/Cover Letter Creation Oppprtunity at Your Edge for Success (YES)

Meanwhile Your Edge for Success, based in Alexandria, Virginia, has posted on Mediabistro.com a help-wanted. This morning I received an alert about that on my gmail. Some content-providers  may have felt euphoric about the development of such an opportunity. 

Lawyers might be considering this as side hustle. Full-time lawyer Kevin Ha has 13 side hustles. Of course, his student loans are all paid off. Here are the details.

That Resume/Cover Letter creation enterprise - YES - needs three part-time remote writers or editors. The owner is Katherine Metres Akbar. Here is the post. Yes, this could be your future.

For developing a resume/cover letter the compensation ranges from $75 to $150.

For editing each set $55.

The ad requests at least 15 hours a week. 

My Interview with YES and The Hiring Process

Last week I interviewed with Akbar for this very part-time editing opportunity. Yet, the ad is being posted again so quickly.

Why did I apply? As long as the resume/cover letter earning category still exists, I figured: Why not take a peek?

Experience in the broader field of career transition is highly marketable. Learn more and earn more, I decided. 

The owner Akbar conducted the phone interview which lasted about half an hour.

From the get-go, she indicated that neither 15 hours a week or any hours a week were guaranteed. The full-time staff gets first shot at work since they are on salary. No, assignments aren't always available.

The reality: I may or may not get work. And I would be paid for a resume/cover letter editing assignment 55 bucks. Not a king's ransom.

But to move on to the next step in the hiring process I would have to:

•  Take what I perceived as a complex, time-consuming test. Unpaid.
•  Submit to a personality test. Why? I would not be selling or dealing directly with clients. Come to think of it, I didn't need to take a personality test to be admitted to Harvard Law School.
•  Provide references. Haha. One reason the hiring process is going digital is that references, by their nature, are not objective. If they were, those doing the dishing could be sued for defamation. And, come on, why would I give a list of references which would entail any risk to my ability to be hired?

If allowed to move along in the process, I would be watching training videos. Unpaid.

Sure, the knowledge could be priceless. But, as Ben Franklin observed: Time is money. 

Reflections of a Current Side Hustler

After consulting with my network of professional advisors, I decided to withdraw from the screening process.

Too much seemed to be invested at the front end. At least that was our take. Your assessment of this opportunity may be quite different.

One wonders what the American brand of capitalism, at least in some circles, has come to.

When I was hired for my first good part-time job in high school by New Jersey Bell, the process was conducted on an intuitive basis. Training was paid. I stayed with that job, which funded my college education, until I left for a doctoral program at the University of Michigan. 

When I was hired for my first professional job in a corporation ghostwriting/speechwriting for executives at Chevron, no, I didn't have to do a sample article - unpaid.

When I was hired as a contract marcom provider at a global career transition firm last year, there were no hoops to jump through. From the get-go, all work was paid. All work is still paid - well-paid and steady.

Takeaway

How much should side hustlers be willing to invest in the front end of a search for gigs, at least for now?

Soon enough the process could all be a fun game that we don't experience as "work" per se.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I shared this experience on the Interview section of GlassDoor. In error I also shared it in the section for actual employees, mistakeningly clicking on the box that I had actually worked for YES. Mea culpa. 

UPDATE: - Your Edge for Success through The Glassdoor

Glassdoor removed my posting on its site regarding my interview with Edge for Success.

It had been contended that I was classified as a competitor. I informed Glassdoor that I was not a competitor. I requested that it return the feedback to the site. 

I had not done a paid assignment for resumes for years and years. Moreover I have gone on record that the resume is an anachronism in job search. Here is one of those kinds of posts. 

In short, I am not in the resume business and hadn't been so for a long time. 

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com. 

Those Annual Fundraising Campaigns - What If We All Had Oh-Shit Moments?

Even before we receive our BAs/BSs, MAs, JDs, and/or MBAs we get one message.

It is: Contribute to our alma mater, forever.

That directive is usually detailed.

We learn, for example, how we can include the old alma mater in our estate planning.

We usually do that, for years. Some psychologists say that we are socialized to comply. 

Then comes the Oh-Shit Moment. 

And, we ask ourselves: Why the hell are we ponying up even more money than we paid initially to receive the degree?

What did we really learn in those degree programs?

I got the hang of critical thinking when I was hired to be a ghostwriter/speechwriter at Chevron. The executives, shareholders, regulators, media, and Main Street had to buy into the reasoning I presented.

Sure, there is the standard selling pitch from our alma maters: We didn't pay the full cost of our education. A chunk was subsidized.

Then we recall, vividly, all those administrative types always running to meetings and off campus attending conferences in Hong Kong. 

Had 90% of them been cut off the loop, the tuition and fees would likedly pay for the whole nut.

Meanwhile, those adjunct professors are making peanuts and have no job security. I had been an adjunct in Connecticut, until I had another of those Oh-Shit Moments. You bet, I bailed.

There is also that other argument put forward: The awesome investment faculty and all those highly paid administrators made in mentoring us. That Mr. Chips narrative is supposed to awaken waves of nostalgia: the happy-clappy kind.

Maybe, for some. But not for me. From the get-go, that was not my experience. Here is that Nightmare on College Drive story.

Actually, I received more insightful guidance and emotional support in a 12-step program. I joined it in 1981. All I had to pitch in was a buck in the basket at each meeting for donations. Its bylaws had restricted the amount of money any member can leave it in wills. 

A third sales pitch is to help others have the opportunity to attend college or more. That's becoming the least persuasive.

After all, brandname employers ranging from Apple to Airbnb are hiring based on skills. A college degree isn't required for more and more of the well-paying jobs at leading corporations.

Also, what about the trade-school route.

During The Great Recession, the blue collars on the Gold Coast of CT were working. We highly educated white collars weren't. My neighbor, a retired Teamsters big-rig driver, had been laid off once in his career.

Parents are connecting the dots on that all that making a living stuff.

Boston Magazine reports on all those colleges closing up in New England. Education Dive monitors national body count of shuttered colleges and universities since 2016. Is any contribution to alma maters prolonging the life of institutions which have outlived relevance and utility?

Here's what I think: If Sally Conroy Fullman contacts you, flee that force field. She's the type who's in the front lines of how alma maters reach into the pocketbooks of all generations of graduates - as well as their parents. My mother, a cleaning lady in my high school, used to get those snail-mail pleas for donations. 

Currently Conroy Fullman is heading up fundraising for the Seton Hill University, Greensburg, Pennsylvania Class of 1964. It's my alma mater. At her age, it must make her feel useful to be enabling the iGens to attend her alma mater. After all, although not Harvard or Yale, SHU isn't cheap.

Tuition, for some reason a businessperson like myself can't understand, is $18.153 per semester.

Room and board ranges from $5,970 to $7,580 per semester.

Student fees are $275 per semester. 

Meanwhile, the tuition cost for becoming a long-distance truck driver ranges from $3,375 to $18,000.

Full Disclosure: In addition to SHU, the University of Michigan (MA, Ph.D. Candidacy) is also an alma mater. I left Harvard Law School as a 1L. 

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com.