By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
EP 3130 Stop waiting for a company to manage your career for you—they won’t. This episode breaks down the hard-won lessons from the Baby Boomer generation to show you how to pivot from a “loyal employee” to the CEO of your own professional life.
Episode Timestamps
00:00 – Introduction: Hard-won career wisdom from the Boomer generation.
00:18 – Meet Jeff Altman: The “Big Game Hunter” and source of these career lessons.
00:46 – Lesson 1: The Myth of Security – Comparing the “Boomer Promise” of loyalty to the modern reality of self-reliance.
01:57 – Lesson 2: Career Red Flags – Real-world stories of “lazy loyalty” and ignoring the signs of stagnation.
03:29 – Lesson 3: Are You the CEO of Your Career? – Taking back control and managing your professional growth like a business.
04:32 – Stretch Yourself: The importance of seeking excellence over perfection.
04:52 – Lesson 4: Becoming Invisible – The “Danger Zone” of becoming an interchangeable cog in the corporate machine.
05:32 – The Power of Networking: Why 70–85% of jobs are found through connections.
06:13 – Lesson 5: Adapt or Be Left Behind – Staying relevant in a rapidly evolving workplace.
07:04 – Conclusion: The ultimate self-assessment—would you promote yourself?
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This is No BS Job Search Advice Radio. Today, we’re diving into some really powerful, hard-won wisdom from the baby boomer generation. And look, these aren’t just stories, they’re cautionary tales about career missteps that had some pretty serious consequences.
The goal here? So you don’t have to learn these lessons the hard way. So where’s all this coming from? Well, our source is Jeff Altman. You might know him as the big game hunter.
And he saw these career-decimating mistakes happen firsthand, not just to his friends, but to himself, too. And this really gets to the heart of it, doesn’t it? This isn’t just about getting older, it’s about getting wiser. The hard knocks he’s talking about, they came from a fundamental misunderstanding of how the workplace actually works, a misunderstanding that all started with the promise of job security.
So let’s kick things off with that foundational belief, the one that shaped how an entire generation thought about their careers and, well, how that belief totally crumbled. You know, what’s so wild about this slide is just how different these two worlds are. Boomers were basically sold a promise, be loyal to your company, and your company will be loyal right back.
You climb the ladder, step by step, all the way to a secure retirement. But today’s reality? It is a completely different game. It’s all about relying on yourself, building a portfolio of skills you can take anywhere, and just constantly transforming.
The career ladder? Yeah, that’s been replaced by a jungle gym. The tough part is events like the Great Recession proved, in a really painful way, that job security was an illusion. At the end of the day, companies are going to protect their own interests first.
And the real irony? Playing it safe, you know, keeping your head down, doing the same thing over and over, that became the riskiest move you could make. And why? Because of corporate efficiency stuff like Lean and Six Sigma. They were designed to make processes repeatable, which in turn made the employees running those processes, well, repeatable and disposable.
So believing in this myth of job security caused a lot of people to just miss the warning signs. Let’s look at a few stories of red flags that were ignored until it was way too late. So meet Jerry, a really capable guy who suddenly found himself reporting to someone from Gen X. Now, management gave him all the classic reassurances, right? Oh, you’re too capable for what’s available, or we’ve got something big planned for you in the next budget.
But the real message was crystal clear. His path up the ladder in that company was gone. And then you’ve got Juanita.
Strategic Interview Questions to Ask
She was the perfect example of what’s called lazy loyalty. For years, she ignored calls from recruiters, thinking her dedication would pay off. But instead, she just became old reliable while her co-workers got all the cool, high-profile projects.
And when the layoffs hit, that loyalty meant absolutely nothing. She was cut in the second round. Now, this one’s a little more subtle.
Sunil’s boss was always telling him what a great job he was doing. But those compliments, they were just placebos. They were designed to make him feel good while his career was basically going nowhere.
It cost his manager nothing to say those nice things. But Sunil paid the price by not realizing his opportunities were not matching the praise. The key takeaway here is to watch what they do, not just what they say.
So, do any of these stories hit a little too close to home? These aren’t just random examples. They’re patterns. And recognizing them is the first step.
The next one? It’s taking back control. And this brings us to what is probably the most important mindset shift of all. You just can’t wait around for a company to manage your career for you.
You have got to step up and own it yourself. I mean, what a powerful way to think about it, right? As the CEO, you’re the one responsible for the strategy, the finances, the long-term health of you incorporated. And your family? They’re your board of directors, the people you’re ultimately accountable to.
It just completely changes your relationship with your job. Okay, so how do you act like a CEO? First, you stop handing over the keys. Don’t just go along with whatever the company gives you.
Second, you have to do a really honest assessment of your own weaknesses. What skills are you missing? What experiences do you need? Then, you got to actively push for projects to close those gaps. And finally, you have to be your own biggest advocate.
Because just being the quiet team player can easily be seen as giving them permission to pass you over. Right, and being a CEO means you have to push the envelope. The source material uses this great analogy to yoga.
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You know, small stretches over time can dramatically increase your flexibility. It’s the same thing here. You’re never going to be perfect, but you can always aim for excellence.
And hey, if you’re not making any mistakes, it probably just means you’re not trying anything new. You’re not stretching. All right, another huge mistake was just letting yourself fade into the background.
People worked really hard, but in the process, they became invisible. Let’s dig into how that passive approach can be a total career killer. This one says it all, doesn’t it? It’s just so easy to become that reliable, essential part of the machine.
But the problem with being an essential part is that you quickly get taken for granted. You become a cog. And this just nails the danger perfectly.
Cogs work, sure, but they’re interchangeable. They don’t have a voice. They don’t have a brand.
And eventually, they just get worn out and swapped for a new one. Your goal has to be to be more than just a cog in the machine. Becoming invisible has another massive side effect.
Your network goes dormant. And get this number. Somewhere between 70 and 85% of people find their next gig through networking.
So if you’ve let all those connections get rusty, you are cutting yourself off from the single most effective way to find your next opportunity. But here’s the good news. It really doesn’t take much to keep your network alive and well.
You just have to develop what the author calls the staying in touch gene. It’s not about big asks or huge favors. It’s a quick text, sharing an article you thought they’d like.
The real key, though, is to connect when you don’t need something. That way, the relationship is already warm when you eventually do. And that brings us to our final and maybe the most urgent lesson of them all.
The world just does not stand still, and neither can your career. I mean, just think about it. 10 years ago, how we work was completely different.
The pace of change is just getting faster and faster. A really common mistake was to get skeptical about new things, to prefer the old standard way of doing things. You just cannot afford to have that mindset today.
So the big question here is, are you preparing now for a future you can’t even fully picture yet? You know, the easiest way to fall behind is to get stuck in a rut. The source calls it the commute, work, eat trap. Every day is the same.
You’re not meeting new people. You’re not learning new things. That’s not a career.
That’s just a holding pattern. And breaking out of that cycle is absolutely critical for your long-term growth. So we’re going to end with this question.
It really ties everything we’ve talked about together. If you take a really honest look at your skills, your network, your ability to adapt, how proactive you’ve been, have you earned it? And if the answer is no, well, now you know what you need to work on. Answering that question for yourself is step one.
But if you’re looking to take the next one, there’s a lot more to help you over at jobsearch.community. We’re talking video courses, books, guides, coaching, and even resume and LinkedIn profile critiques, plus interview prep services. Thanks for listening to No BS Job Search Advice Radio.
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ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER
People hire Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter to provide No BS Career Advice globally because he makes many things in peoples’ careers
easier. Those things can involve job search, hiring more effectively, managing and leading better, career transition, as well as advice about resolving workplace issues.
He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with over 3100 episodes.
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