According to Inc, we’re in a brutal job market with a 4.6% unemployment rate and major layoffs at companies like Target (1,800 jobs in October), Verizon (13,000 in November), and Omnicom (4,000 after its IPG merger). HR veteran Paul Wolfe notes companies often time these Q4 cuts to clean up the balance sheet. In response, a “Great Reassessment” is underway where seasoned professionals, like former Bumble VP Gab Ferree, are consciously choosing consulting over corporate jobs. They’re building firms like Off the Record and RJ Communications, using AI to scale and tapping into new referral networks on LinkedIn to find work quickly, with some posts attracting 50 freelancers in 24 hours.
The Great Reassessment is Real
Look, the social contract is broken. Theresa Fuchs-Santiago from The Courage Space nailed it: people became line items. So when you get laid off from a place you gave decades to, the calculus changes. It’s not just about finding another job. It’s about reclaiming agency. For folks like Gab Ferree, the eight-round interview gauntlet and the constant threat of a board’s whim deciding your family’s healthcare is a losing game. So they’re opting out. And honestly? It’s less of a fallback and more of a strategic career pivot. They’re taking the business plans they wrote for their old companies and are now writing them for themselves.
The RFP is Dying, Long Live the Network
Here’s the thing about big agency bureaucracy: it’s slow. And clients are tired of it. Lindsay Lapchuk at Notebook Agency says there’s “less patience for red tape.” The new model is trust and speed. A trusted intro, a quick conversation, and you’re off. That’s why posts on LinkedIn are becoming a legit pipeline. When Omnicom laid off those 4,000 people, Adam Ritchie called it “Omnicom creates 4,000 direct competitors.” He’s not wrong. These new independents are forming “anchored but borderless” power networks, as Robyn Jackson Malone puts it, completely sidestepping the geographic limits of back-to-office mandates. They’re competing directly with their old employers—and winning.
AI: The Ultimate Force Multiplier
For corporate employees, AI might be a scary job-replacer. But for a solo consultant? It’s the ultimate account exec, designer, and copywriter rolled into one. Amanda Coffee uses it to turn a panel recording into a full article and social video package in one sitting. Shawn Smith sees it as the tool that handles the tedious work, freeing him up for real strategy. This is the secret sauce. AI lets a one-person shop operate at the speed and scale of a small team. It makes their time hyper-billable. So they can take on more, deliver faster, and look like a full-service agency without the overhead. It’s a complete game-changer for the independent model.
A More Transparent Marketplace
What’s emerging is fascinating. It’s a direct, almost wholesale marketplace for high-end talent. As Dan Mazei of All Tangled Roots says, “battle-tested professionals can connect directly with leaders, negotiate their own terms, and plug immediately into the most critical of decisions.” The value exchange is clearer. No more politics stifling a good idea. The client gets seasoned, C-suite-level counsel without the big agency markup. The consultant gets control, purpose, and frankly, probably a better cut of the revenue. And with platforms like Meredith and the Media chronicling these shifts, the playbook is out in the open. This isn’t a blip. It’s a fundamental restructuring of how expertise is bought and sold. The cord is cut, and they’re not looking back.
