From Inside the Room Where Decisions About Your Career are Made.
From Inside the Room Where Decisions About Your Career are Made.
Practical thinking about how careers actually move.
Performance reviews, visibility, timing, and the unspoken rules that affect advancement.
Get ahead of the organizational changes
Confidence and options before a layoff happens
Even if no layoffs occur, people who do these things tend to have more confidence and options over the course of their careers.
Layoffs can happen overnight and feel like a complete surprise.
But most layoffs don’t arrive as a surprise.
They arrive as part of a pattern.
Most people don’t get blindsided.
Trust your gut on layoff signals
Reading the tea leaves on a future layoff
There is significant global economic uncertainty right now. In the U.S., even industries that once felt insulated are now feeling pressure.
After years of record financial growth, 2025 closed with the highest unemployment levels in two decades. That perspective matters because layoffs rarely arrive without context. They arrive after conditions shift.
If you’re picking up on signals that your company may be preparing for a layoff,
Managers aren’t failing because they’re stubborn. They’re failing because no one ever taught them how to manage. This post explains why management training vanished, why even seasoned leaders repeat the same mistakes, and how employees—managers and senior ICs alike—can use these principles to level up and stand out.
HR Business Partner is a misunderstood relationship
A few weeks ago, I had the chance to sit down with Savan Kong on his podcast, Life Between Titles.
We covered a lot of ground — layoffs, career moves, and the first 48 hours after getting the news. You can check out that pod here.
But the topic that triggered the most comments, DMs, and emails was this:
“Why do you say you work for the company first?
Just because our personal expenses increase doesn’t mean we deserve a raise
Employee Entitlement: The #1 Sin Employees Commit Without Knowing It
Last week, we kicked off the topic of employee entitlement in this post and covered a few common behaviors that quietly put employees on the short list. Today we’re going after the big one—the silent sin that kills careers faster than almost anything else.
The epitome of entitled. Would you want this guy working for you?
Most Employees Don’t Realize They’re Making a Career-Ending Mistake
That sounds ridiculous, but it’s true — and it’s the foundation of employee entitlement at work.
Some of this mindset is generational,
What you do in the first 24 hours after being laid off matters.
1. First — Breathe. Unemployement Doesn’t Mean You’re Not Damaged Goods.
In this economy, a layoff isn’t a black mark. The most innovative companies on the planet — the ones that hire the best — are doing reductions. Recruiters and interviewers are accustomed to seeing gaps in employment on resumes. Recruiters are also used to seeing candidates taking time off.
Everyone thinks they are a top performer. The top 1% have figured out what is essential to their
Most Managers Aren’t Trained. Here’s How That Affects Your Career
Let’s get one thing out of the way early:
Many managers are underprepared for the job they’re doing.
That’s not an insult. It’s an observation.
Most managers don’t know how to advocate effectively for their people, not because they don’t care,