Interviewers' skills are lackluster.

This isn’t a one-off situation — multiple people across the organization have had similar issues with her (there have been complaints filed). She’s frequently emotionally volatile in meetings(she cries), and I’ve seen her send abrupt, unprofessional emails and then switch to an overly polite act in person. Her work is also sub-par. I’ve personally caught her denying or contradicting things she previously said, and she often provides unclear direction or changes expectations in a way that feels like she’s setting people up to fail. A colleague was targeted by her for over a year with no accountability. Meanwhile, she continues to push people to their limits and leadership hasn’t effectively intervened. I enjoy the company and most of the team, but dealing with this colleague has pushed me to the point where I’m considering leaving — and I actually have two offers on the table because of how bad it’s become. I’m torn between staying because I like the work and walking away from someone who makes it unbearable. Has anyone else dealt with a colleague or manager like this? How did you navigate it? Is it worth staying and continuing to escalate, or is leaving the healthier choice?

I was laid off on the 7th of October and I still haven’t been able to find a job. I can’t sit idle because I need to start earning again. Please help.

I feel like I’m losing it. Earlier this year, our company hired a new head of marketing who came in hard — aggressively overselling the company and its tech capabilities. At first, I assumed this was part of preparing the company for sale. But then, three months ago, the opposite happened: instead of being sold, we bought another company. Everyone was caught off guard. Since then, it’s become clear that marketing’s overselling was based on a complete misunderstanding of what either company can actually deliver. The reality is, neither side has the technology to back up the promises that were made. Now marketing is frustrated that their campaigns aren’t working and has started blaming engineering and other tech teams for “making them look bad.” The CEO has taken marketing’s side and ramped up pressure on us — right as we’re absorbing a whole new team from the merger that has a totally different understanding of our products. I’ve been running on fumes for months. The constant stress, blame, and confusion have left me so mentally exhausted that even looking for another job feels impossible. I feel trapped — like I don’t have the energy to leave, but I also can’t keep doing this. How do you even begin to climb out of this kind of burnout? Is there a way to regain enough energy and clarity to take action instead of just enduring it? The thing is that I can't just quit. The job market is tough and I can't afford a 6 month plus layoff. Update: I want to thank everyone who responded. I keep reading the messages over and over again for courage and strength. And I feel so much better to know I am not alone. THANK YOU!

It’s both exciting and a little intimidating to start fresh in a field that’s evolving so rapidly. I’d love to hear from others who’ve made midlife career pivots into data, analytics, or business intelligence — what has your experience been like? What are the realistic prospects for someone entering this field later in life, with decades of professional experience but new technical training? I’m open to insight, encouragement, or advice on navigating this next chapter.

I've been at my current company for 5 years. I'm a high performer. I have good relationships not just within my team but cross-functional teams, some of industry partners and some of the vendors that we rely heavily upon. I'm in the legal field but also heavily involved in training new hires, vendors and other teams as needed. Over the last 1.5 years, it's clear that the company is in a downward spiral and struggling; to be clear, if we can't get a product to market in the next 6 months, the company will not remain viable. We've had 2 rounds of very poorly handled layoffs with really the bare minimum provided to those laid off and in the case of the recent layoff, some were given no notice and showed up to the satellite office only to find a note on the door stating that it's closed and to return home; they received their same-day layoff notice that same morning. Corporate goals for the year were already a challenge; with the loss of 20% of staff and some business critical teams dissolved, it's going to be nearly impossible to be successful at the corporate goals which we've been told won't change. Another round of layoffs is forthcoming; the focus has largely been remote employees (which I am) so I'm already looking. The issue: with the chaos and the low morale, there has been a total loss of respectful discourse, professional courtesy, transparency, accountability...you get the picture. Now none of this is a surprise to me because of how people respond to stress and loss. Because no one is trying to steady the ship (if you will), if I am trying to get my job done and I have to do other people's job to get it done (and it impacts my efficiency and getting to other work), I am going to first ask and try to understand what the problem is if someone (specifically, this is a service provider that we PAY to do a job they aren't doing) has decided not to do his or her job and send them the training we went over (also a portfolio level policy of roles and responsibilities). After that, the next time it happens, I'm going to ask if there is something about the role and responsibilities they don't understand that we need to discuss. After that, my tone is going to change and I'm to escalate to my boss. Yesterday, I was reprimanded for the tone of my email to a vendor that hasn't done their job in literally everything they've sent me for the last 2 months. My boss knows this. I have to do their job to do mine. They won't follow direction. It isn't just me: it's affecting the whole team - my boss knows this too because one other atty has come forward stating the same. It isn't unusual for me to be that person on the team that speaks up on behalf of others - like I have about my concerns about how people are treating each other and that we should do a team building to get back on track. So I asked my boss what tone should I use when the vendor isn't doing their job *at all* and I've asked nicely, asked if I can provide support, offered one on one retraining...at some point, when I am getting excuses or no response at all or have to literally say that I am directing them as to what to do and not asking, and it's been going on for months, if no one else is going to say something to address how it's affecting work product and efficiency, then I will because it's simply unacceptable. The email from my boss said that I don't consider how my tone affects everyone (I'm acting on behalf of everyone, we're all sick of it - suggesting that I'm short sighted is just wrong especially since my boss has called me the most empathetic person he knows), that the vendor is doing much better (I asked him that I didn't want to sound flippant, but compared to what? I've worked with them for 5 years and that's longer than he's been there), and that I respond with too much detail and it's probably hard for them to process. Right. I told him that I haven't changed - how I am doing things is how I've always done them and also, how I was trained (not by him but his boss). How is it that I am being the one corrected for trying to trouble shoot and/or take the reigns of a problem that is impeding us from trying to get (what's pretty much already impossible) done? I was upset because I have no support, for the last year I have been taking on supervisor responsibilities at the director level but have been told 1) any promotion won't come until end of next year (that would be 2 years of performing the role without the title - noting here that the favorite on the team and the boss's bf is being promoted in Jan outside of the promotion period); and 2) any kind of compensation for my work is off the table because I've reached the max compensation for my current role). I am neurodivergent (I'll spare you how it shows up for me), I have complex PTSD as a result of the environment of house I grew up in, I have recurrent clinical depression - each diagnosis has been made by an MD and I've lived with myself for years. Having a boss tell me to essentially to be good employee and be quiet, that I am over reacting, that I am being over sensitive, and gaslight me about what he has and hasn't said not to just me but others makes me furious. I've come far enough with a lot of work to not be set off by the personal attacks (over sensitive, over reacting), I was still upset because it touches upon when physically abused by one brother (13 years older than me) and sexually abused by the other (8 years older than me) and my parents choice to tell me to just be quiet and don't upset them and go to my room and keep to myself. Do I mention to my boss that his response to me when I am trying to keep us on track is toxic and dysfunctional and, as such, affects me on a personal level because I have what classifies as unseen disabilities? I wouldn't go so far as to call it discrimination as much as it is his ignorance. Thank you in advance for any feedback.

I’d just been laid off. I spent $69 to buy a month of LinkedIn Premium, leaving $20 in my account. Someone donated money so I could buy my daughter a Christmas gift. All she asked for was a simple planner and pens so she could have it for the 1st of the year! Even our Christmas tree that year was given to us. That was my rock bottom. But it was also the start of everything. Because that month, with nothing but a laptop and LinkedIn Premium, I decided I was done waiting for permission to start over. I was going to rebuild from exactly where I was — not when I felt “ready,” not when things looked better, not when I had it all figured out. I didn’t realize it then, but that was my first real mindset shift: worthiness. Believing I was still enough, even when life didn’t look like it. That belief carried me through every tough season after that, every doubt, every slow month, every “is this even working?” moment. And it’s why I coach the way I do now. Because worthiness isn’t something you earn. It’s something you remember. ? Tell me — what was your “I’m starting anyway” moment?