Claim your power, regain your freedom, and become invincible in your work and life! I share professional advice, challenges, and tips to help you create your Invincible Career®.
Let me take you on a little tour of Juneau, Alaska, while I share some career advice with you. I tried to stick to the quieter residential streets instead of heading into the chaos of the cruise ships and tourists downtown.
*Summary generated from the video transcript by Lumo AI.
* The Market Reality: AI isn’t just taking jobs; it’s preventing them from being created, making junior roles scarce and competition fierce.
* Scale vs. Strategy: Use automation to cast a wide net, but never automate your relationships with your top 10 target employers.
* The Inside Champion Advantage: Having someone inside a company vouch for you can bypass interviews entirely, as seen in a recent example where a candidate started a new role in less than a week without a formal interview.
* Relationships Are Non-Negotiable: You cannot build an inside champion without actually talking to people. If no one is willing to vouch for you, it may indicate a need for introspection regarding your interpersonal skills and reputation.
* The Seniority Edge: While younger workers face less age bias, older professionals possess a massive advantage: a robust network of senior leaders who can pull you into companies and validate your character beyond what a resume shows.
* Mutual Protection: An inside champion protects you from toxic cultures just as much as they protect the company from a bad hire, giving you honest intel on what you’re walking into.
Larry Cornett, Ph.D., is a career coach who spent 20+ years in Silicon Valley at Apple, IBM, Yahoo, eBay, and several startups as a designer, leader, and product and design executive. Whether you're fighting for a promotion, navigating a layoff, or planning your exit to independence, he combines executive experience with psychological insight to help ambitious professionals reclaim their power and build an Invincible Career.
Would you like to help support my newsletter and podcast, but don’t want to commit to a monthly fee? Check out my ☕️ Buy Me a Coffee. I’m self-employed, and coaching and writing are how I provide for my family. Thanks for your help!
* How ageism, layoffs, etc. are affecting both the young and old
* What we discussed in our live community meeting last week
* My recommended strategy for navigating the job market and easing out of this chaos
* Use AI to play the numbers game
* Leverage relationships to focus on high-value roles
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit
Why I'm Quitting Career Coaching - After 10 Years (Issue 694)
mercredi 1 juillet 2026 • Durée 31:14
This summer is kinda special. I will be celebrating 10 years of career coaching. What started as an experiment turned into a real business and a fresh start after I shut down my tech startup. I’ve met some wonderful people, worked with great clients, and enjoyed the journey.
This will also be the summer I turn 60. Yikes! Just writing those words feels crazy. It sounds so old! Luckily, I don’t feel old, thanks to investing so much in my health and fitness. It also helped to step away from the stress of my old corporate job when I left in 2010 to take control of my destiny.
Stress ages you. I’ve even lost friends and colleagues all too soon, and I blame the stress of that lifestyle for contributing to the issues that took them away so young.
I’ve talked about the cycles of life before, and how I’ve noticed a repeating 10-year cycle in my life of change and reinvention. I guess that partly explains what I’m announcing this week.
⬆️ I discuss everything in more detail in the audio for this episode, so scroll up, hit play, and check it out.
Taking a coaching break
At almost 60 years of age, and after a decade of coaching, I’m giving myself the gift of stepping away (a bit). I think the time has come.
* My life and my needs have evolved.
* I’ve become a different person.
* The industry has shifted.
* The world has changed.
So, I’m taking a break from accepting new career coaching clients (perhaps forever). Of course, I’m still working with a few clients on retainer, and other engagements are in progress and will need to wind down over the rest of the year.
Also, if we’re friends, or we’ve enjoyed working together before, I may make an exception here or there. But that’s about it.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit
How to Navigate the First 7 Days After a Layoff (Issue 688)
mercredi 10 juin 2026 • Durée 32:55
I recorded a podcast episode for my recently updated article on navigating the first week after a layoff.
Written version linked below…
Larry Cornett, Ph.D., is a career coach who spent 20+ years in Silicon Valley at Apple, IBM, Yahoo, eBay, and several startups as a designer, leader, and product and design executive. Whether you're fighting for a promotion, navigating a layoff, or planning your exit to independence, he combines executive experience with psychological insight to help ambitious professionals reclaim their power and build an Invincible Career. ➡️ Ready to create an exciting future? Book a free call today to learn how!
Would you like to help support my newsletter and podcast, but don’t want to commit to a monthly fee? Check out my ☕️ Buy Me a Coffee. I’m self-employed, and coaching and writing are how I provide for my family. Thanks for your help!
Don't Be Vulnerable If They Are in the Room (Issue 685)
mercredi 20 mai 2026 • Durée 28:40
Do you feel you spend your days working in your job and trying to keep everyone happy, but you never have the time to invest in yourself?
Unfortunately, that’s pretty common. In this episode, I talk about the need for you to take time away from the office to focus on your career development, leadership development, and/or personal development.
Episode summary
* Start Investing in Yourself: Who is focusing on making you happy and helping you future-proof your career? If your boss isn’t, we will.
* Virtual Burnout is Real: We’re all tired of sitting behind the Zoom screen. That’s why I’m moving beyond online workshops to bring more training and experiences back into the real world.
* 3 In-Person Events I’m Planning:
* The Invincible Job Quest: A 1-2-day workshop in the real world for navigating your job search, practicing interview techniques, negotiating salaries, and more.
* The Exit Blueprint: A 2-day deep-dive for experienced professionals to plan a future strategic transition into semi-retirement through self-employment (without draining your precious nest egg).
* The Leadership Retreat: A weekend escape to rewrite your leadership operating manual, navigate leadership challenges in the age of AI, define your legacy, and plan what comes next for you.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit
🚀 AI Won't Just Automate Jobs; It Will Challenge Identities (Issue 677)
mercredi 8 avril 2026 • Durée 38:36
My guest for this episode is Peter Morville. Peter is a pioneer in the fields of information architecture (IA) and user experience. His bestselling books include Information Architecture, Intertwingled, Search Patterns, Ambient Findability, and Planning for Everything.
He has been helping people to plan since 1994, and advises such clients as AT&T, Cisco, Harvard, IBM, the Library of Congress, Macy’s, the National Cancer Institute, and Vodafone. He has delivered keynotes and workshops in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. His work has been covered by NPR, The Economist, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.
Peter’s IA book has been on my shelf since 1998, when I was a young designer first learning how to design websites (after designing software at IBM and Apple). So, I’ve been a fan for a long time! He has some intriguing thoughts on the future of tech and the impact of AI on careers, so I know you’ll enjoy this episode.
Summary
Speaking of AI, here’s an AI-generated summary of our podcast transcript. It’s kinda good for tasks like this, right? We talk, it listens, and then it summarizes.
* AI skepticism has been earned. Peter spent 25 years professionally advising clients to be skeptical of AI hype, and then ChatGPT changed his mind. The lesson: evaluate each wave on its own merits rather than defaulting to either enthusiasm or dismissal.
* We’re in the fog of war. No one (not the CEOs, nor the researchers) can see clearly beyond the next year or two of AI’s trajectory. The smart career move is to keep your eyes and options open rather than betting everything on one prediction about how this unfolds.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit
🚀 Let's Talk About AI, Baby! (Issue 673)
Épisode 673
mercredi 18 mars 2026 • Durée 40:26
Are you familiar with Alex Karp, the CEO of Palantir? He thinks you’d better get used to the reality of the impact of AI on your job.
“This technology disrupts humanities-trained—largely Democratic—voters, and makes their economic power less. And increases the economic power of vocationally trained, working-class, often male, working-class voters. And so these disruptions are gonna disrupt every aspect of our society. And to make this work, we have to come to an agreement of what it is we’re going to do with the technology; how are we gonna explain to people who are likely gonna have less good, and less interesting jobs.” - Alex Karp (source)
And if you keep up with tech news, you may have seen that Meta is planning large layoffs that could affect 20% or more of the company. They are trying to offset their massive investments in AI infrastructure, but also anticipating the greater efficiencies of AI-assisted employees. Apparently, Zuckerberg believes the company will no longer need a significant number of its current staff.
“We’re starting to see projects that used to require big teams now be accomplished by a single very talented person.” - Mark Zuckerberg (source)
Even if you don’t work in the tech industry, I’m sure you have witnessed how AI is weaving its way into many of the tools and services we use every day. Some employees encounter more often than others, of course (e.g., knowledge workers). And some folks are fairly insulated from its impact, for now at least (e.g., those with blue-collar jobs).
Where does your profession fit into this chart from Anthropic below? Are you one of the people Karp says will have to accept “”? Will the theoretical capabilities of AI enable it to take over your job soon?
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit
What Are You Missing? (Issue 667)
mercredi 11 février 2026 • Durée 38:45
In this podcast episode, I explain more about why I created the Invincible Career Guide and how we’ll be using it to provide a structured approach to pursuing your career goals this year (hit play above to listen). Each month has a specific theme, and each week includes topics and exercises aligned with that theme.
Grab the content of this week’s update so you can paste it into your copy of the career guide. It’s about the gap between where you are today and where you want to be by the end of this year (your career goals for 2026).
The Invincible Career Guide for 2026
I created the companion guide to provide additional structure for the weekly emails I will share with you this year. If you haven’t grabbed your copy yet, use the button below to access and save it.
It’s in Google Slides format, so you can save a copy of the presentation to your own Google Drive in your preferred folder. This will allow you to edit the placeholder text to enter your answers to the questions in the guide.
How to use the guide
Every month this year will have a specific theme.
* Each week will have a set of homework questions related to that month’s theme.
* I will share a new presentation document with that week’s questions via the newsletter email and in my private community.
* Then download the new presentation, copy and paste the new slides into your editable copy of the guide, and use it to answer the questions.
I have already included all the slides and questions for January (i.e., Your Goals) in the guide. New slides will come each month. Stay tuned for more emails about those.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit
🚀 How to Survive in Tech This Year (Issue 663)
mercredi 14 janvier 2026 • Durée 33:15
Struggling to find a new job in tech? Look outside the bubble! I’ve been telling my clients this for years.
As the core of the Silicon Valley tech industry swirls in chaos, uncertainty, and darkness, move to the periphery and explore healthier industries and geographies that need your valuable expertise.
“So much opportunity, inspiration, creativity, and possibility lies in applying the skills and experience that you may have from technological disciplines in other realms and industries that are often far less advanced in their deployment of technologies.” - Anil Dash (source)
Some strategies that I discuss in this episode:
* Look at industries outside of the traditional tech industry.
* Look at geographies outside the U.S.
* Consider going independent with consulting or contracting.
⬆️ I go into a lot more detail in the audio. So, scroll up and hit play to listen.
I’m Larry Cornett, an executive coach who works with ambitious professionals to help them reclaim their power, become more invincible, and create better opportunities for their work and lives. Do more of what you love and less of what you hate! If you’re interested in joining my free Invincible Career community, please complete this application form, and we’ll get back to you.
I know some people would like to help support my newsletter and podcast, but don’t want to commit to a monthly fee. So, I set up a ☕️
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit
* Make sure you stay visible and relevant
* Follow the “ripples” to seek opportunities in other industries and geographies
Larry Cornett, Ph.D., is a career coach who spent 20+ years in Silicon Valley at Apple, IBM, Yahoo, eBay, and several startups as a designer, leader, and product and design executive. Whether you're fighting for a promotion, navigating a layoff, or planning your exit to independence, he combines executive experience with psychological insight to help ambitious professionals reclaim their power and build an Invincible Career. ➡️ Ready to create an exciting future? Book a free call today to learn how!
Would you like to help support my newsletter and podcast, but don’t want to commit to a monthly fee? Check out my ☕️ Buy Me a Coffee. I’m self-employed, and coaching and writing are how I provide for my family. Thanks for your help!
Instead, I am shifting my focus to my new Exit Blueprint business coaching and Gen X life coaching. I will also offer a few courses, workshops, and retreats throughout the year (I miss working with folks in the real world). So, even though I won’t offer new one-on-one career coaching, I will have courses and workshops:
* The Invincible Goals System (success strategies and planning to achieve your goals)
* The Exit Blueprint (business design, planning, and testing self-employment)
This change will free up my time for all the side quests I’ve put on hold for years (e.g., finishing my book, writing fiction, making music again, painting, etc.). Of course, I’ll still be working out every day, hiking as much as possible, traveling the world, and visiting my children often. Life is too short!
Newsletter and podcast
So, what happens with this newsletter and podcast? That’s a great question.
I’ve written almost 700 articles to share my advice on the job search, interviews, getting promoted, dealing with bosses and coworkers, and generally making yourself so valuable and known that you get to call the shots in your career. My podcast episodes date back over six and a half years. I know many people aren’t even aware of half of what I’ve written and shared in my podcast.
So, I’ll resurface more of my evergreen advice and freshen up details to make sure they are relevant for today’s working world. If something ignites my passion (or anger 🤣) about a recent event or topic, I’m sure I won't be able to resist writing about it. But I don’t think I need to write any more articles about how to interview, using AI for this or that, or how to bypass all the BS that is keeping people from finding better jobs.
I’ve shared the secrets to all of that so many times. I know some people listened and landed great gigs. Others ignored it, kept trying the same old approach, and wondered why it's not working.
Literally yesterday, I saw someone post…
“Hey, I don’t think the traditional job search and application process works anymore! I’ve been struggling to get any interviews for almost 2 years. Now, I’m bypassing recruiting and automated systems to connect with people directly and get my resume into the hands of hiring managers. It’s working!”
🙄 Sigh… It makes me so weary. Seriously. You just realized that? Even though I’ve been beating that drum for 10 years?!? And I know you’ve seen my articles that I post every week for those 10 years.
Okay…
I guess you can lead a horse to water, but… Yeah, I’m done leading horses to water and watching them not drink—over and over again. Either you get it, or you don’t.
I want to have more fun with the podcast. I want to invite more entertaining guests and have enjoyable conversations with people who have wisdom to share and stories from their amazing careers and lives. I’ll be dipping into my network that I’ve grown for over 30 years and reconnecting with some fun and familiar faces.
So, I guess that’s that!
* 60 years of life (soon).
* 20+ years in my tech career.
* Another 10 years of career coaching.
It's time for a new adventure!
I’m excited about focusing on business coaching and life coaching. I’m really, really tired of American corporations and the games they play. I had to live it during my own career. After that, I had to hear horror stories and try to help people navigate their careers. So, now I’d rather help good people live more amazing lives through self-employment, early semi-retirement, and chasing more adventures before time runs out.
Thank you for being a reader and a listener! I will still be writing articles and recording podcast episodes. That won’t change. And I still have the community for the few people who enjoy the support and encouragement of like-minded peers.
A big thanks to those of you who became clients! And for those of you I never got a chance to work with, sorry. I guess it won’t happen now.
But maybe I’ll see you in one of my courses, workshops, or retreats. Or, you may be one of those few brave souls who decide to take the same leap I did, escape the 9-5 world, and create your own path. If so, check out my Exit Blueprint business coaching.
Larry Cornett, Ph.D., is a career coach who spent 20+ years in Silicon Valley at Apple, IBM, Yahoo, eBay, and several startups as a designer, leader, and product and design executive. Whether you're fighting for a promotion, navigating a layoff, or planning your exit to independence, he combines executive experience with psychological insight to help ambitious professionals reclaim their power and build an Invincible Career.
Would you like to help support my newsletter and podcast, but don’t want to commit to a monthly fee? Check out my ☕️ Buy Me a Coffee. I’m self-employed, and coaching and writing are how I provide for my family. Thanks for your help!
* Note: Leaders Need Off-campus Retreats: Corporate training sessions frequently fail because you can’t be completely honest and vulnerable in front of your boss or peers (who are often your competitors). My upcoming retreats offer a confidential, safe space with peers from other companies where you can be yourself and truly solve your toughest leadership challenges without fear of political fallout.
* Join Us in a Beautiful, Fun Setting: To get started, we are looking at locations around Lake Tahoe and the Bay Area in California. We want places where we can enjoy nature, disconnect from the demands of the office, reconnect with your purpose, and redefine your future.
Not sure which event is right for you? Have questions about any of this? Schedule a free call with me to chat more about it!
Larry Cornett, Ph.D., is a career coach who spent 20+ years in Silicon Valley at Apple, IBM, Yahoo, eBay, and several startups as a designer, leader, and product and design executive. Whether you're fighting for a promotion, navigating a layoff, or planning your exit to independence, he combines executive experience with psychological insight to help ambitious professionals reclaim their power and build an Invincible Career. ➡️ Ready to create an exciting future? Book a free call today to learn how!
Would you like to help support my newsletter and podcast, but don’t want to commit to a monthly fee? Check out my ☕️ Buy Me a Coffee. I’m self-employed, and coaching and writing are how I provide for my family. Thanks for your help!
* Question the motives behind the hype. When tech executives insist AI must permeate everything, consider who profits. As I put it: the CEO of Nvidia telling everyone to use AI is like the CEO of Oreo telling us to eat 50 cookies a day. Follow the money before following the advice.
* Technology follows fashion cycles. Peter’s observation that tech trends work like fashion is underappreciated. You fight the fashion at your own peril (e.g., resisting Agile during its rise). The skill is learning to ride the wave strategically while waiting to see what actually remains when the dust settles.
* AI disruption is exponentially faster this time. Unlike the Industrial Revolution, where ripple effects took generations, this wave is hitting engineering, design, legal, medical, and other white-collar jobs simultaneously. Robotics will soon follow for blue-collar workers. Speed is the new variable that makes historical analogies imperfect.
* AI as a coding tool has a hidden failure mode. We discussed a cautionary tale. A veteran CTO went “all in” for 90 days only to find AI-generated code nearly impossible to debug when it broke. Productivity gains can mask a dangerous loss of deep understanding.
* Your identity is not your job title or employer. One of the most powerful moments: Peter’s deliberate effort to give up being “the information architect” after 25 years, and my coaching exercise of asking people to introduce themselves without mentioning their company or title. The people who can’t do it are the most vulnerable to identity collapse in a disruption.
* Redefine yourself by going back to childhood. When Peter hit age 40, he started thinking about retiring at 50 to have the freedom to do something else. Initially, he struggled to identify what he would do if money wasn’t a motivator. His breakthrough came from remembering what he loved as a kid: animals. That led to a 48-acre farm sanctuary in Virginia. Reconnecting with your pre-career self is a powerful reinvention strategy.
* The future belongs to purpose-driven solopreneurs. AI is making it possible for one person to do what used to require a larger team. Combined with the decline of lifelong corporate careers, Peter and I see an opportunity for individuals who build around something they care about, rather than chasing traditional big-company careers.
* Ask better questions than “What won’t AI automate?” Peter reframed this perfectly: the less obvious and more important questions are Where can I find purpose? What will make me want to get up in the morning? Career resilience in the AI era isn’t just about skill-proofing; it’s about building a life around meaning that no algorithm can replace.
⬆️ Scroll up and hit play to listen to our conversation.
I’m Larry Cornett, a career coach for ambitious professionals who might be feeling a bit stuck, frustrated, and unfulfilled. Reclaim your confidence to design the life you want and the work you’ll enjoy. 📕 Check out The Invincible Daily Journals!
Would you like to help support my newsletter and podcast, but don’t want to commit to a monthly fee? Check out my ☕️ Buy Me a Coffee. I’m self-employed, and coaching and writing are how I provide for my family. Thanks for your help!
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei last year said the technology could disrupt half of entry-level white-collar work. Microsoft’s AI chief, Mustafa Suleyman, made a similar prediction, estimating most professional work will be replaced within a year to 18 months. (source)
With few exceptions, people are rushing headlong into AI and using it for so many things where it doesn’t really add value and may even be destructive (e.g., AI therapists, AI companions, AI warfare strategists).
I do use some AI tools judiciously (e.g., Granola AI). But I don’t let AI saturate ALL of my tasks and life. I kind of like using my cognitive skills and judgment as much as possible.
As usual, humanity is frantically adopting a new technology, damn the consequences.
I just wish that—for once—we would be smarter about the research, the rollout, and establishing intelligent ethical guardrails.
Some people predict that AI will eliminate millions of jobs. Some have denied that AI will take jobs. In fact, they claim the rise of AI will create a host of new jobs. A few admit that jobs are indeed disappearing (you need fewer employees when they can leverage AI to accelerate work and take on tasks that others used to provide).
As usual, the actual answer is complex, and no one can predict the future. The best we can do is try to ride the wave and see where it takes us.
I’ve seen a lot of tech trends
I’ve been in the working world for a very long time—before personal computing, the internet, and cellphones entered the scene. So, I’ve experienced and observed the disruption caused by new technologies. Some were a flash in the pan, while others stuck and changed our lives forever (for better or worse).
I know some people who behaved like squirrels on their ninth cup of coffee. They would leap into every new tech trend and embrace it with a rabid passion, only to abandon it a few weeks or months later when a new shiny object appeared.
That’s not exactly an optimal use of your time and energy!
However, at the other end of the spectrum, I watched other people complain grumpily about every new tech trend and refuse to engage with any of it. Before long, those people’s dusty skills were irrelevant, and they struggled to remain employed.
That sucks, too.
So, what is one to do with this AI trend? Will you be a squirrel with ADHD, a stubborn tortoise, or something in between? It boils down to the following career choices.
Five options
* Ignore
* Adapt
* Ascend
* Pivot
* Escape
Scroll up to listen to the audio of this episode to hear my full thoughts on all of this.
Schedule a complimentary callwith me if you want to discuss how AI is impacting your career and profession, and what you should do about it.
I’m Larry Cornett, an executive coach who works with ambitious professionals to help them reclaim their power, become more invincible, and create better opportunities for their work and lives. Do more of what you love and less of what you hate! 📕 Check out The Invincible Daily Journals!
Would you like to help support my newsletter and podcast, but don’t want to commit to a monthly fee? Check out my ☕️ Buy Me a Coffee. I’m a solopreneur, and coaching and writing are how I provide for my family. Thanks for your help!
I’m Larry Cornett, an executive coach who works with ambitious professionals to help them reclaim their power, become more invincible, and create better opportunities for their work and lives. Do more of what you love and less of what you hate! 📕 Check out The Invincible Daily Journals!
Would you like to help support my newsletter and podcast, but don’t want to commit to a monthly fee? Check out my ☕️ Buy Me a Coffee. I’m a solopreneur, and coaching and writing are how I provide for my family. Thanks for your help!
to let folks contribute without an ongoing financial commitment. I’m a solopreneur, and coaching and writing are how I provide for my family. Thanks for your support!
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