You are not getting a job in January.
You are not getting one in February either.
So maybe stop scrolling and start deciding.
Let us Be Honest About Why You are Here
It is the week before Christmas. Most people have checked out. But you are still on LinkedIn.
You are not "catching up on industry news." You are not "networking." You are looking for an answer you have not found yet.
Maybe you are between roles. 100+ applications. Ghosted by recruiters half your age. Wondering if the market will magically fix itself in the new year.
It will not.
Maybe you are employed but you know it is ending. The reorg is coming. The severance package is being drafted somewhere. You are going through the motions while quietly panicking about what January actually looks like.
Maybe you have clients but you are working 80 hours a week and calling it "freedom." You are not free. You are self-employed and drowning. The holidays are not rest, they are just a pause before the grind restarts.
Different situations. Same lie you are telling yourself:
"I'll figure it out in January."
No You will not
January will come with the same inbox, the same broken strategy, and the same magical thinking that got you here.
You will send more applications into the void. You will "leverage your network" and get coffee meetings that go nowhere. You will take another client at the wrong rate because you are scared to say no. You will tell yourself that this month will be different.
It will not be.
The job market will not suddenly want 52-year-old vice presidents (VPs). The recruiters will not suddenly call back. The scope creep will not fix itself because you wished really hard over the holidays.
The only thing that changes is whether you have a system or not.
Why I Came Back to Fix This
Quick background: I founded Chief Outsiders in 2009 and introduced "Fractional CMO" to the market. The system we built has placed thousands of executives at $10K-$25K a month retainers.
I went on to build other companies. Invest in others. Was not planning to come back to this space.
But execs kept reaching out. Asking for help. And I saw what was broken:
- Placement firms taking 30-40% of your revenue forever for making an introduction
- Career coaches selling motivation without systems, "believe in yourself" does not pay the mortgage
- Executives spinning in circles, blaming themselves for a game that is rigged against them
So I came back to fix it.
The Truth About Your Situation
If you are a corporate refugee with no clients:
I keep seeing this on calls. The W2 path is rigged against you. This is not pessimism, it is data.
78% of workers 40-65 have experienced age discrimination. Workers 50+ spend 50% longer unemployed. Only 10% of displaced executives over 50 find comparable roles within 12 months.
The job boards are not broken. They are working exactly as designed. Just not for you.
Fractional executive work bypasses all of it.
No HR filters. No ATS algorithms. No 28-year-old recruiters deciding you are "overqualified." Just founder-to-founder conversations where your 20 years of experience is the product, not a liability.
There is a systematic process to land your first fractional client in 90 days. Not networking. Not hoping. Not "putting yourself out there." A system.
If you already have clients but you are drowning:
I keep seeing this on calls. You do not have a demand problem. You have a scope problem and a pricing problem.
I helped a fractional chief financial officer (CFO) named David before The ReTern even existed. He was making $432K a year. Sounds great, except he was working 100+ hours a week, responding to emails at midnight, and had not picked up his kids from school in six months.
Six months later: Half the hours. Fewer clients. More revenue. His wife noticed within the first month.
The domino was scope control. Everything else fell from there.
There is a system for that too. Different problem than landing your first client. Same principle: right activities, clear boundaries, systems over hustle.
The Window You are Wasting
The two weeks between Christmas and New Year's is the most underrated strategic planning time of the year.
No meetings. No fires. No one expecting anything from you.
Just space to think. To decide. To stop lying to yourself about January.
Most people will waste it. They will binge Netflix, scroll LinkedIn, and tell themselves they will "hit the ground running" on January 2nd.
They will not.
The executives who actually change their situation? They use this window.
They get clear on what they want. They diagnose what is actually blocking them. They find the system and start executing before everyone else is still recovering from New Year's Eve.
December is when you decide. January is when you act.
I keep seeing this on calls. But you cannot act on magical thinking. You need a plan.
Here is What I am Offering
I have a few slots open between now and January 3rd.
30 minutes. No pitch. Just diagnosis.
- Where you are
- What is actually blocking you
- Whether there is a fit
If there is not a fit, I will tell you. I would rather spend 30 minutes being honest than waste both our time.
But if you have been waiting for the "right time" to figure this out, stop waiting. There is not one.
The right time is when you stop scrolling and start deciding.
Two Paths
Voyage 1: You are trying to land your first fractional client.
Take the Launch Assessment before we talk. 19 questions. 7 minutes. Shows exactly where you are blocked.
Voyage 2: You have clients but you are drowning.
Take the Scale Assessment. 24 questions. 10 minutes. Different problem. Different solution.
Or just book the call and we will figure it out together.
You are not getting a job in January.
But you could have a client by March.
The only question is whether you are going to keep scrolling, or start deciding.
Comment "CALL" or DM me and I will send the link.
The work is serious. The life does not have to be.
Kirk Coburn created the fractional chief marketing officer (CMO) category in 2009 and has helped place 2,000+ executives in fractional roles at $10K-$25K a month. He writes about the systematic path from corporate refugee to thriving fractional executive.
