You spent 25 years earning your title: vice president (VP), CXO, Director.
Now it is gone.
Nobody prepared you for how much that would hurt.
The Part Nobody Names
The silence after sending your 200th application.
The recruiter who used you as a stalking horse to land a different candidate, then ghosted you after the third interview.
The growing suspicion that your best years are behind you.
And underneath all of it, the question you do not say out loud: Do I still matter?
"Your title changed. Your value didn't."
I keep seeing this on calls. You are not alone. Hundreds of executives are asking the same thing right now.
The Problem Is not You
Here is what I have learned watching hundreds of people make this transition:
I keep seeing this on calls. The problem is not you. And the answer is not another application.
It is a room where you can figure this out together. Where the person next to you just went through what you are going through. Where nobody needs you to explain what you lost.
I built that room. It is called The Crew.
Your Next Move
Weekly calls. A private Slack of real peers. People who get it.
You do not have to prove your value alone.
See if The Crew is your room: theretern.com/crew
"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.
