About Who Stole My Career
Life is good; you have a home you love (but you could do without the mortgage payments), kids are growing up (but college ain’t cheap), and you’ve been doing the same thing at work for so long it seems like second nature. What could go wrong?
Bam!
The economy hit’s the skids, sales slide, people start getting laid off all around you, and no one in Washington DC cares about YOUR problems.
You thought you’d work as long as you wanted, but suddenly it hits you, the people are getting let go because they earn too much money, hey — they earn that because they have the most experience, or they’re getting laid off because they’re too old to learn new tricks, or maybe they’re getting laid off because management has their eyes on some youngster who’s cheaper, faster and willing to work hard to get ahead!
Now what?
Look for a new job and compete with those young whippersnappers, not only that, but the guy who’s hiring is probably younger than you!
Sell the house and sweat out an early retirement? That won’t work, the home market is in the tank, the 401K is even worse, and what about heath care? Medicare doesn’t kick in until your 65.
Perhaps you can start your own business; but that takes money, we’re in a recession, and what the heck do you know about starting your own business?
Welcome to Who Stole My Career?
Our web is devoted to the blight of the experienced worker in America; Baby Boomers and those 40 somethings who suddenly noticed that everyone they work with is getting younger.
First, we’ll give you valuable strategies for safeguarding the “second half” of your career. Our advice runs the gambit from managing your apparent age to strategies for creating your own “Plan B” that you can successfully launch the day you get your pink slip.
Second, we’ll bring you valuable resources to assist you with your strategy. We’ll review books on career makeover, starting your own business, and discovering your inner calling. We’ll also look at franchises, particularly “white collar” businesses that do not involve fried food!
Finally, we’re keep you posted daily on what’s new in the world of economics and politics that effecting your career. We’ll look at what’s going on in Washington DC, Wall Street and Main Street America, particularly tax policy and the implications on jobs.
About Dave Horne
Dave Horne
In 1971, I entered college to become an architect. My family could only afford four years of school, so I studied Environmental Design with a plan to go to work after school and pursue my architectural degree at some point down the road. Shortly after graduation from the University of Massachusetts, I discovered that not only was that a bad plan, but that being an architect was the wrong career choice for my skills and personality.
I got my first job as an inventory control clerk in a hot young company named Data Terminal Systems and quickly moved from Manufacturing, through Sales and ultimately Marketing. I also achieved multiple promotions ascending from clerk, to planner, to supervisor, to manager, and at the age of 29, director – the youngest in the company. While working full time days, I went to night school at Northeastern University (on DTS’s nickel) and completed my MBA one month before my first lay-off. Although DTS was experiencing a business downturn at the time, my lay-off was the direct result of being on the losing end of a political battle between a peer and my boss.
In 1982, I joined Prime Computer as a Strategic Planner and moved back and forth between sales and marketing. In 1998, the company came under attack in a hostile takeover bid and in the ensuing battle all of my career sponsors were forced into early retirement once again leaving me politically exposed. Faced with an imminent second politically driven lay-off, I learned to network “under fire” and landed a lower ranking job that kept me employed. Parlaying my newly discovered network (and my emerging awareness of the ingredients of Career Secret Sauce), I not only survived, but thrived. By the time I resigned in 1994, I was the head of worldwide marketing operations.
After a brief stint at a company called Concentra – where I worked on my first IPO, I joined another small hot company named Aspect Development as Chief Marketing Officer. By 2000, Aspect had moved from a minor enterprise software vendor to a major player in the B2B Internet boom. After a few years of political warfare at i2, I left to become the President and CEO of a small company called XPORTA.
My Second Calling
Click to buy on Amazon
In 2005, decided it was time to pursue my passion and I began a new life dedicating myself to helping others with their career. I left the hectic life of Silicon Valley and moved to the desert of southern California.
The initial target of my work was to help young people (Generation Y) get the most out of college and get their careers off on a winning start. In 2007, my blog – careersecretsauce.com went live.
My first book, Career Secret Sauce: 9 Winning Strategies For Building a Great Career, which was published in July of 2008. This book breaks the down the journey of building a career in manageable steps and then provides strategies and case studies for success.
Email me for a free copy!
In 2008 I changed my focus to the high school students and their parents who were struggling to afford college. I published my first eBook - Is This The Last Generation of Middle Class Americans? and laid out 7 strategies for going to college without going broke.
In February of 2009, my radio talk show – The Career Mechanic began broadcasting on The Web Talk Radio Network. It was a great year and I met dozens of experts, as well as real people, who opened my eyes to a new crisis: the assault on middle class workers in America.
In December of 2009, I left the radio show and began working on a new project: “Who Stole My Career.”
In early 2010, the website went live and I began working on a book of the same title.
You may email Dave at davehorne@careersecretsauce.com.
I really enjoyed what I just read, I like you also studied Architecture, which led me into the Architectural Woodworking field in which I had my own business until our economy was hijacked by our domestic terrorist which is the name I call the “too big to fail” bailouts. It’s a good thing in life to have opportunities to make mistakes and fail. Through our failures we learn and it makes us stronger and more resilient for what ever life throws our way. That is what our country stood for, before all the nonsense that we have seen as of late.