I played nine holes before sunrise this morning.
Got in before 6 AM, finished by 8:30. Made it to my home office with a fresh coffee while most people were still stuck in traffic.
I should not be writing this.
I am building InspirePlay, disrupting golf media for Gen Z audiences. We crossed 150K YouTube subscribers in under 12 months.
I should be focused entirely on that.
And honestly? I would rather be working on the next episode than writing about the broken corporate hiring system.
But I keep seeing something I cannot ignore.
"Talented executives I know—people with decades of experience building billion-dollar projects—are slowly losing their sense of self-worth."
They are applying to hundreds of jobs.
Getting automated rejection emails.
Hiding their unemployment on LinkedIn like it is something to be ashamed of.
I have been there. Twice.
I keep seeing this on calls. Left Dell at 27. Left Shell at 45.
Succeeded both times because I stopped playing their game and started building my own.
Now I am watching an entire generation of experienced professionals destroy themselves playing a rigged game instead of creating their own.
Look, I would rather be on the course right now. But someone needs to tell you the truth:
You are being discriminated against because of your age. And you are probably not getting another real corporate job.
I know that is harsh. But pretending otherwise is wasting your time and destroying your confidence.
The Uncomfortable Truth nobody is Saying
Age discrimination is real.
I do not care what the lawyers say about "protected classes." When you are 55+ competing against 35-year-olds for the same role, guess who gets the offer?
The 35-year-old who:
- Costs less in salary and benefits
- will not question "the new way of doing things"
- Has "more runway" ahead of them
- Fits their "culture" (translation: will not make them feel old)
Here is what opened my eyes:
One executive I know still shows his corporate title on LinkedIn. I had no idea he was laid off 10 months ago.
I keep seeing this on calls. His profile looks like he is still employed. His posts sound like he is still in the game.
When I asked him why, he said:
"I can't let people know I'm unemployed. It makes me look like damaged goods."
Damaged goods.
A guy with 25 years of tech sector experience thinks he is damaged goods because some management team decided he was "overqualified."
But here is the real issue:
At your level, the executive team knows you personally. They made a conscious decision to let you go.
That same dynamic, being seen as a threat rather than someone who will quietly follow orders, is exactly why you will not get hired somewhere else.
How many Corporate Refugees are out there right now, hiding in plain sight, burning through savings while pretending everything is fine?
The People I cannot Stop Thinking About
Let me tell you about five people I have talked to recently.
They are probably a lot like people you know.
Mark, 58. Former energy executive.
Laid off after 24 years with a major oil company.
Applied to 100+ jobs on LinkedIn, the definition of insanity, trying the same thing over and over expecting different results.
Got 3 interviews. Everything else? Automated rejection emails.
I keep seeing this on calls. His wife does not understand why no one will hire him. Which makes each rejection even more painful.
This guy built billion-dollar projects. He is not done making money, he is just done begging for permission to do it.
James, 54. Ex-tech vice president (VP).
"Restructured" after leading digital transformation initiatives.
Here is the kicker: his son has special needs requiring expensive medical care. He is burning through COBRA coverage. The stress of losing health insurance is killing him.
He told me:
"I'm not ready to retire. I was made to work. But apparently, nobody wants me to work for them."
David, 56. Former energy services director.
Has not worked in 8 months.
His wife has been battling cancer, and the medical bills are crushing them.
I keep seeing this on calls. Started applying for jobs two levels below his previous role. Still getting automated rejection emails.
He said:
"I've got 20 years left in me. I'm not done building things. But I might lose my house before I get the chance to prove it."
Sarah, 42. Recently divorced.
My wife asked me to talk to her.
Incredible marketing background before she took 15 years off to raise kids. Now she is starting over, needs income desperately.
But LinkedIn applications just generate form letter rejections.
She said: "I know I'm good at this, but how do I prove it when my last job was 'mom'?"
Cal, early 50s. The tech guy still pretending to be employed on LinkedIn.
Burning through his 401k while "networking" and hoping someone will save him.
When I asked about retirement, he laughed:
"Retire to what? Golf? I need to be building something. It's who I am."
(I get it, Cal. But here is the thing, golf is not a full-time job. Trust me. My handicap went UP after I had more time to play.)
Every single one of these people has 15-20 productive years left.
They are not done making money.
They are not done building things.
They were made to work.
And every single one is playing a rigged game instead of creating their own.
We Were Made to Work (Just Not for Them)
Here is what struck me about these conversations:
None of these people want to retire. They want to work. They need to work. It is their identity.
We are the generation that was raised to believe work gives life meaning.
I keep seeing this on calls. We measure ourselves by what we build, what we accomplish, what we create. The idea of "relaxing" for 20 years feels like death.
Science backs this up:
The landmark Whitehall II study found that retirement accelerates cognitive decline. Verbal memory declined 38% faster after retirement compared to before.
The researchers concluded this supports the "use it or lose it" hypothesis, when we stop engaging in cognitively stimulating work, our minds deteriorate faster.
But here is the problem:
The corporate world thinks we are done.
They see gray hair and think "retirement planning."
We see gray hair and think "experience advantage."
They want us to fade away quietly.
We want to build the best work of our lives.
"The solution isn't convincing them we're still valuable. The solution is proving it by building something they can't ignore."
Why I Created the fractional chief marketing officer (CMO) Category
I have done this twice. And I learned something important:
The corporate world does not want us back.
When I left Dell at 27, I was "taking a risk" to start something new.
When I left Shell at 45, I was "too old to be starting over."
Same skills, same drive, different perception.
Here is what I realized:
I was not starting over. I was starting better.
I built the PGA TOUR Network on SiriusXM despite knowing nothing about media.
I co-founded Chief Outsiders and introduced the term "Fractional CMO" to the market, that firm has now served 2,000+ clients.
I built Eleox despite knowing nothing about blockchain technology.
I built InspirePlay despite knowing nothing about content creation.
Each time, people said: "You don't understand this industry."
Each time, I said: "Exactly. That's my advantage."
Corporate refugees see problems differently than industry insiders.
We ask "why does it work this way?" instead of accepting "that's how it's always been done."
But here is the key difference between me and the executives I know who are struggling:
I stopped trying to get hired and started building something I owned.
I did not stop working. I started working for myself.
What I Built (And Why I am Teaching It Now)
I did not want to become a business coach.
The space is full of 30-year-olds on social media teaching "life design" to people with mortgages. And motivational speakers who have never built anything real.
But when you see talented people, people who were made to work, destroying their self-worth while living a lie on LinkedIn...
When these are your friends and you care about their dignity...
Sometimes you have to step up.
I am typing this from my home office on Nantucket.
Yesterday I played 18 holes, had a proper margarita on the deck, and still got more done than I ever did in a corporate office.
Not because I am retired. Because I built a system that lets me work on my terms.
I created The ReTern to teach that system.
Not another "find your passion" program.
Not another "age is just a number" fantasy.
Not another "enjoy retirement" suggestion for people who are not done building.
A systematic process, the same one I used, the same one I proved across 2,000+ placements, for turning your corporate experience into a fractional executive practice you control.
"You learn it once. Own it forever. Keep 100%."
A Challenge for Hidden Refugees
If you are reading this and you are one of the hidden ones, if your LinkedIn still shows a corporate title but you are actually struggling, I see you.
You are not done.
You have got 15-20 productive years left.
You were made to work.
Stop pretending.
Stop waiting.
Stop hoping someone will give you permission to do what you were born to do.
The corporate world has made its decision about people like us.
Now it is time we make our decision about them.
What if, instead of hiding your transition, you owned it?
What if, instead of waiting for the next automated rejection email, you built something they cannot take away?
What if you stopped being a hidden Corporate Refugee and became the owner of your own fractional executive practice?
Your Next Move
Here is what I know after watching dozens of executives make this transition:
Process beats network. The people who succeed are not the ones with the biggest Rolodex. They are the ones with a systematic approach to positioning, prospecting, and landing clients.
Partner Circle plus Referral Method beats a vague network ask. Give first. Make sure they can describe you. Close the loop on one named introduction. That is the data from 2,000+ placements. It is not magic. It is math.
Your 20 years is the product. You are not starting from zero. You are starting from 20+ years of experience that companies desperately need, they just do not want to hire you for it full-time.
I would rather be working on InspirePlay or playing another nine holes.
But I have watched too many talented people destroy themselves playing a rigged game.
So here I am. Building something I wish had existed when I left Shell.
The ReTern helps corporate refugees navigate their return to high-value work, on their own terms.
If you are ready to stop hiding and start building, the systematic process exists. It is not magic. It is math. And it works.
"You're not done working. You're just done working for people who don't want you."
The work is serious. The life does not have to be.
Now if you will excuse me, I have a tee time to keep.
Kirk Coburn is the founder of The ReTern and category creator of the fractional executive movement. He introduced the term "Fractional CMO" to the market in 2009 when he co-founded Chief Outsiders, which has since served 2,000+ clients. When he is not helping corporate refugees build fractional practices, he is usually on the golf course by 2 PM.
