By Abby Lovett
I know many Culpwit readers are in the early stages of their careers, so I want to start this guest post with a story about how I got my start.
I graduated in May 2001, at the tail end of the tech boom, a time when recruiters showed up on campus with full-time offers before you even crossed the stage. I went home for winter break with a signed offer, a signing bonus, and a very clear plan. That spring and summer, I kicked it. Golf, hiking, and sleeping in consumed my days.
In early September, I moved to Chicago with a couple of male college friends who I knew, but weren’t my “besties.” (I was fine with this, as my role was a consulting one and I was expected to be on the road Sunday through Thursday.) I got ready to start my new “big lady” job.
Then, September 11th happened.
That big consulting company put all new hires on ice. They (understandably) weren’t sure when they could start us. Less understandably, they said that if we spent the signing bonus without coming to work for them, we’d owe it back.
Now, I had just spent the last several very valuable months playing. There had not been a resume update or a networking call in sight. Here I was in Chicago, with a lease and bills, but no job. I had “connections” to those two guys in the living room, but no close family in Chicago.
I was up a creek.
A friend heard about the situation and told me about a PR firm that needed an intern. It was a small but growing agency. I scored an interview, got an offer (at a fraction of my big consulting signing bonus), and I took it, gleefully. It was the toehold I needed and it served as the foundation of everything that followed.
Abby, this story is older than me.
I know, I know. The story is old, but the pattern isn’t.
Since 2001, the economy has done more than one belly flop. Job cuts surpassed one million by November 2025. Before that, COVID ravaged the market in 2020. Before that, the Great Recession took us on a roller coaster in 2008–2009. Perhaps you have been in the game for one (or a couple) of these moments; if so, you know how deeply unsettling they can be.
The confusion, frustration, and … a honest conversation
Fast forward to 2026. Like you, I am sitting with a lot of “WTF.” Collectively, we’re wading through slop. Thousands (if not millions) of people are on tenterhooks, wondering if AI is coming for their job or if another company restructure is in the offing. We’re witnessing early career professionals enter the corporate world, having their social skills impacted by COVID experiences and isolation. Experienced pros are figuring out the balance of remote / hybrid / in-person work and the associated expectations and reward(s) for each. The covenant that so many of us understood (i.e., work hard and reap benefits) doesn’t necessarily hold true in the same way today that it did in 2001 (or before).
I want to talk about it. All of it.
Clearly, there is “human revolution at work.” That’s why I wrote Super Human: 8 ‘SMALL’ Ways to Be Super at What You Do…And Human While You Do It. It’s a compendium of battle-tested, research-backed moves that professionals can make to navigate (and thrive) in the deeply unsettling landscape which we find ourselves.
It’s the book I wish I had in 2001. And 2008. And 2020.
It doesn’t have answers. (After all, this is your life, your body, your career.) It does give you a toehold. A place to start to begin to navigate through these tricky times. Each section begins with research, but I also offer personal anecdotes to back up my experience with that data. (There is no sanitized storytelling from “on high” here.) Then, the book offers ways in which pros can put the research into action immediately. (This isn’t theoretical fluff.)
In uncertain environments, small moves compound quickly.
I hope the “tiny guidance” is useful in charting your path. I hope you know how wonderful you are. I hope you go for it. I hope you don’t let ‘em get you down.
If you ever need to talk, I’m here.
Abby Lovett, a former Culpwrit colleague at Ketchum, is the founder of CTP Visibility Advisors. Author of Super Human: 8 ‘SMALL’ Ways to Be Super At What You Do…And Human While You Do It.”