What do you think?
Rate this book
Coming Back: How to Win the Job You Want When You’ve Lost the Job You Need
"Bestselling author and four-time Pulitzer Prize-nominee Fawn Germer offers advice about how to present yourself in the best possible way and make sure you stay relevant and valuable as an employee." —Newsweek
A street smart, inspiring, practical, and utterly honest book for renewing or resuming your career.
Millions of mid- to late-career professionals are wondering why our careers are dying. We've been fired, downsized, job-eliminated, or we've left work voluntarily to raise children, care for loved ones, or go to school It takes twice as long to get hired, and usually for far less money than we were making. Is it age discrimination? Maybe. But it’s not that simple.
So many of us have lagged on skills and technology, shrugged off social media, or ignored the rate of change and let younger people become the face of our profession’s future. Our “track record” really doesn’t matter. We want to come back, but we aren’t ready. Coming Back offers clear advice, including:
• STOP PLAYING THE VICTIM, even if you are one.
• BRAND YOURSELF AS A CHANGE DRIVER who studies trends and studies independently so you are diving into change, not reacting to it.
• CALL IN THE CHITS. It is time to go guerrilla and bluntly ask for help from people who can get you what you want and need.
• TELL INTERVIEWERS about what you will do—don’t rely on what you have done.
• STOP GROUSING about “those millennials” and start working with them.
• BOUNCE BACK from a layoff or firing.
Coming Back shows how you can save a career if still employed or get one back if cast out. Fawn Germer, one of the nation’s most popular leadership experts and global motivational speakers, has personally interviewed more than three hundred CEOs, senior executives, professors, lawyers, organizational experts, industry leaders, and professionals. The result is a tactical, tough-love call to action: to learn, re-tool, connect, grow, and get ready to work again.
A street smart, inspiring, practical, and utterly honest book for renewing or resuming your career.
Millions of mid- to late-career professionals are wondering why our careers are dying. We've been fired, downsized, job-eliminated, or we've left work voluntarily to raise children, care for loved ones, or go to school It takes twice as long to get hired, and usually for far less money than we were making. Is it age discrimination? Maybe. But it’s not that simple.
So many of us have lagged on skills and technology, shrugged off social media, or ignored the rate of change and let younger people become the face of our profession’s future. Our “track record” really doesn’t matter. We want to come back, but we aren’t ready. Coming Back offers clear advice, including:
• STOP PLAYING THE VICTIM, even if you are one.
• BRAND YOURSELF AS A CHANGE DRIVER who studies trends and studies independently so you are diving into change, not reacting to it.
• CALL IN THE CHITS. It is time to go guerrilla and bluntly ask for help from people who can get you what you want and need.
• TELL INTERVIEWERS about what you will do—don’t rely on what you have done.
• STOP GROUSING about “those millennials” and start working with them.
• BOUNCE BACK from a layoff or firing.
Coming Back shows how you can save a career if still employed or get one back if cast out. Fawn Germer, one of the nation’s most popular leadership experts and global motivational speakers, has personally interviewed more than three hundred CEOs, senior executives, professors, lawyers, organizational experts, industry leaders, and professionals. The result is a tactical, tough-love call to action: to learn, re-tool, connect, grow, and get ready to work again.
- GenresNonfictionBusiness
304 pages, Hardcover
First published January 12, 2021
24 people are currently reading
72 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 8, 2021
The last few years have seen quite a change take place in the standard workplace. Previous generations could undertake a job and know they could probably stay with that same position and that same company for their entire lives. Generation X became the first group to see that safety net fall quickly away as changes in technology (the internet), infrastructure (insurance rates), and security (no more pensions) tilted the middle class into a downward trend. More layoffs have taken place during the boom years of the worldwide economy than in leaner times, thanks to automation and the elimination of previously secured positions. At the same time, parents and grandparents are living longer, requiring middle-aged workers to take on caregiving duties, resulting in workers leaving the marketplace entirely, long before they ever planned. What is one to do?
”I have long said that older women are the most discriminated-against group. Especially assertive older women. Companies hire them for their contacts, knowledge, and wisdom, and then chew them up and spit them out.”
This book aims to provide a boost for anyone who is coming back into the world of work. During the 2020 lockdowns, more employees lost their jobs and the older ones have found they are no longer wanted by companies aiming for leaner and leaner organizations. While the most impacted have been those in the 50+ age-range, older Millies are also starting to feel the push from younger Zoomers (but then it’s the Millies who eliminated the Xers, so karma). As the author points out, it’s useless to talk about the years of experience one has or to complain about age discrimination. No one cares. Instead, Fawn Germer wants the “returners” to get going by “upskilling” themselves into the new world of work.
Just go learn something new. Then learn something else. One step at a time, you’ll become relevant.
She also points out the advantages of the new world. Gig working, for example, whereby one can make money by renting out an extra room on Airbnb, sell crafts on Etsy, or buy groceries for others as personal shoppers. If you want a regular job (aka vanishing benefits), then you need to know how to get past the ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems) process and the increased amounts of applicant tests (if you were a chocolate bar how would you tackle a blockchain gap?). There are also some tips for resume refreshes and dealing with younger and younger managers.
One area she lists which has proved difficult for Millies and Zoomers is communications, which is an opening for older workers to display skills rarely seen anymore. With AI and bots eliminating even routine tasks, the most difficult customer-facing problem solving still requires workers who can hold difficult conversations, listen well, and bring out the best in people. You just can’t automate good customer success and people management skills.
This book is a good pepper-upper if you want to get a little push in the butt. I would have liked some more concrete examples, for example, an actual resume showing how to display work gaps, as opposed to rah-rah paragraphs. Still, it’s an excellent reminder to understand where the worldwide economy is heading and how to adjust to the change that will always be constant.
Book Season = Year Round (plug in)
”I have long said that older women are the most discriminated-against group. Especially assertive older women. Companies hire them for their contacts, knowledge, and wisdom, and then chew them up and spit them out.”
This book aims to provide a boost for anyone who is coming back into the world of work. During the 2020 lockdowns, more employees lost their jobs and the older ones have found they are no longer wanted by companies aiming for leaner and leaner organizations. While the most impacted have been those in the 50+ age-range, older Millies are also starting to feel the push from younger Zoomers (but then it’s the Millies who eliminated the Xers, so karma). As the author points out, it’s useless to talk about the years of experience one has or to complain about age discrimination. No one cares. Instead, Fawn Germer wants the “returners” to get going by “upskilling” themselves into the new world of work.
Just go learn something new. Then learn something else. One step at a time, you’ll become relevant.
She also points out the advantages of the new world. Gig working, for example, whereby one can make money by renting out an extra room on Airbnb, sell crafts on Etsy, or buy groceries for others as personal shoppers. If you want a regular job (aka vanishing benefits), then you need to know how to get past the ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems) process and the increased amounts of applicant tests (if you were a chocolate bar how would you tackle a blockchain gap?). There are also some tips for resume refreshes and dealing with younger and younger managers.
One area she lists which has proved difficult for Millies and Zoomers is communications, which is an opening for older workers to display skills rarely seen anymore. With AI and bots eliminating even routine tasks, the most difficult customer-facing problem solving still requires workers who can hold difficult conversations, listen well, and bring out the best in people. You just can’t automate good customer success and people management skills.
This book is a good pepper-upper if you want to get a little push in the butt. I would have liked some more concrete examples, for example, an actual resume showing how to display work gaps, as opposed to rah-rah paragraphs. Still, it’s an excellent reminder to understand where the worldwide economy is heading and how to adjust to the change that will always be constant.
Book Season = Year Round (plug in)
March 10, 2022
This book took me five months to finish and it’s less than 300 pages. That should help explain why I’m only giving a two star rating. I usually fly through books.
The first few chapters of the book had lots of thought-provoking statistics. In fact they were so thought-provoking that I questioned the validity and source. There was no appendix to show where the data came from or any footnotes. That was my first indication that this book was going to be a let down.
As I continued to read, I noticed a ton of repetition and motivation along the lines of, “You can do this. You can find a better job.” However, there was very little content to back up how to go about doing it. Maybe you would get a sentence or two or even up to a paragraph about how to make your LinkedIn profile better for example, but you didn’t walk away knowing exactly how to do that.
That’s why I put the book down for several weeks at a time out of frustration. I did end up finishing it, but mostly it was a waste of my time as I have very little actionable information to work with.
The book had much potential, but I was left very disappointed.
The first few chapters of the book had lots of thought-provoking statistics. In fact they were so thought-provoking that I questioned the validity and source. There was no appendix to show where the data came from or any footnotes. That was my first indication that this book was going to be a let down.
As I continued to read, I noticed a ton of repetition and motivation along the lines of, “You can do this. You can find a better job.” However, there was very little content to back up how to go about doing it. Maybe you would get a sentence or two or even up to a paragraph about how to make your LinkedIn profile better for example, but you didn’t walk away knowing exactly how to do that.
That’s why I put the book down for several weeks at a time out of frustration. I did end up finishing it, but mostly it was a waste of my time as I have very little actionable information to work with.
The book had much potential, but I was left very disappointed.
January 18, 2021
What an incredibly timely book. As so many of us face employment insecurity during covid, this book is a refreshing, approachable guide to fighting to do the work we love. Germer provides many actionable ideas for staging a comeback. Thanks to her book, I have started taking classes on edx to make sure I'm ready for whatever comes next. Love this book!
November 7, 2024
I appreciate clear tactical tips on making a comeback both before and after losing a job (most helpful chapter: Letter To Dave) but found that the writing was lofty and could be condensed. The tone was that of a motivational speaker, which is not what I would have opted for but may appeal to folks in need of motivation. Overall it has some gems and will probably be more valuable to folks of older age or who are returning from long gaps away from work.
December 31, 2021
This was a good book to read when reevaluating my career direction. It has a lot of hard-to-hear, but good advice for those looking to figure out how to navigate the current job environment. There are some parts that sound a bit preachy and the author does repeat herself at times, but overall, this is a good book for "starting over" or facing what you need to to move on.
June 28, 2021
Some great tips! But I also couldn’t help but feel exhausted by reading them 😅 I feel like I always have to be on that grind...nonstop. It kind of stressed me out a bit. Still, I’m grateful for the tips, so here’s to another day!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 1, 2023
Germer is extremely direct, and it's in a good way. She tears off the band aid brusquely so we can get on to heal and get better. It took me several months to finish this book, mainly because I didn't want to hear it.
May 19, 2024
Helpful book if you are forced to enter the job market or wish to prepare for that possibility. Biggest was to demonstrate you are up-to-date and knowledgeable about current work-related trends & topics.
May 18, 2021
I read this for tips on staying relevant in my career. Lots of helpful advice in a friendly, narrative style.
August 11, 2021
A much needed slap in my brain
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews