How to advise an older gen x/boomer lawyer friend on modern job hunting etc

[Anonymous]

I want to be delicate but I’m worried for her. She is on her own, and needs the money, but also very stubborn on how things should be done. She’ll often reference an approach cited by some big law partner she worked with decades ago. But times have changed. A lot. Examples:

No social media or linkedin
She wants to call potential recruiters and leads on the phone instead of emailing them or god forbid, using their intake portals (recruiters)
She advises her clients in ways that are not market standard

How to help?

[Anonymous]

^ and she won’t use AI of course.

[Anonymous]

I have the utmost respect for anyone who doesn’t have a LinkedIn account these days. It’s utterly worthless.

The rest of it, she’ll learn the hard way eventually.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^ and she won’t use AI of course.

Not necessarily a bad thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ and she won’t use AI of course.

Not necessarily a bad thing.

A good thing, in fact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ and she won’t use AI of course.

Not necessarily a bad thing.

A good thing, in fact.

It really isn’t. People who don’t use it are going to fall behind. Yes, you have to work on good prompts and revise and obviously not use for case law, but it provides surprisingly helpful background info for things and can be used by her to guide her work, especially bc she doesn’t have a firm to check in with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have the utmost respect for anyone who doesn’t have a LinkedIn account these days. It’s utterly worthless.

The rest of it, she’ll learn the hard way eventually.

It is not worthless if you’re a job seeker. If you’re looking for work and don’t have any online presence and instead just try to email your resume around, you will look like an idiot.

[Anonymous]

My 54-year-old cousin is the same way. She's very dated in her approach to and acceptance of technology, and she leans on her younger colleagues for technical help, then follows up by saying, "I'm just not techie."

She goes on numerous interviews but frequently doesn't hear back, yet won't accept advice on changing her approach. It's been this way for years; it's maddening, but ultimately something she will have to learn for herself.

[Anonymous]

As a Boomer lawyer who has changed jobs twice in my 60s, I hate to say it but your friend is a lost cause. You can't make excuses for not using technology and not using the preferred methods of communicating. I don't much care about not having Linked In, but the other things you mention make her unlikely to secure employment. If I were you, I'd stay out of it because nothing good can come of you trying to convince her to update her skills and attitude.

[Anonymous]

You do know that boomers are the parents of Gen X?

Boomers were born in the late 1930s through the very early 1960s.

They are in their late 60s to 80s now.

People in their 40s and 50s are not "boomers"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have the utmost respect for anyone who doesn’t have a LinkedIn account these days. It’s utterly worthless.

The rest of it, she’ll learn the hard way eventually.

It is not worthless if you’re a job seeker. If you’re looking for work and don’t have any online presence and instead just try to email your resume around, you will look like an idiot.

I’m a job seeker. I’ve been looking for seven months and I’ve watched LinkedIn get worse and worse over this time period. So many fake jobs. So much AI-generated content. So many gag-worrhy posts and profiles. It’s crap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a Boomer lawyer who has changed jobs twice in my 60s, I hate to say it but your friend is a lost cause. You can't make excuses for not using technology and not using the preferred methods of communicating. I don't much care about not having Linked In, but the other things you mention make her unlikely to secure employment. If I were you, I'd stay out of it because nothing good can come of you trying to convince her to update her skills and attitude.

Could you give some details on what worked for you? Did you have any gaps? If so, how did you deal with them? Does your resume reveal your age even indirectly? If not, how did you handle that?

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Let this be a cautionary tale that one can't be guaranteed work after age 50, so you need to plan ahead and save your money up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have the utmost respect for anyone who doesn’t have a LinkedIn account these days. It’s utterly worthless.

The rest of it, she’ll learn the hard way eventually.

It is not worthless if you’re a job seeker. If you’re looking for work and don’t have any online presence and instead just try to email your resume around, you will look like an idiot.

I’m a job seeker. I’ve been looking for seven months and I’ve watched LinkedIn get worse and worse over this time period. So many fake jobs. So much AI-generated content. So many gag-worrhy posts and profiles. It’s crap.

The reason to be on LinkedIn isn't to find jobs on LinkedIn, it's so employers know you're real.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ and she won’t use AI of course.

Not necessarily a bad thing.

A good thing, in fact.

It really isn’t. People who don’t use it are going to fall behind. Yes, you have to work on good prompts and revise and obviously not use for case law, but it provides surprisingly helpful background info for things and can be used by her to guide her work, especially bc she doesn’t have a firm to check in with.

Said background may contain hallucinations. She will need to check sources that are reliable, especially since she’s been away from the law for awhile.

Very, very easy to be lead astray by AI.