UNRIGGED with Kirk Coburn
The corporate game is rigged against executives over 40. Unrigged is how you get out.
I'm Kirk Coburn. I created the Fractional CMO category 15+ years ago and built a firm that's placed 2,000+ executives. Now I teach the system — so you can own the playbook, keep 100%, and stop asking permission from HR departments that already decided you don't fit.
This show is for corporate refugees ready to stop playing a losing game:
• The data on why traditional job searching is broken
• The fractional executive bypass (how to talk to founders, not HR)
• Process, not motivation — the stuff that actually works
• Real numbers, real stories, no corporate theater
New episodes weekly.
🚀 Join The Crew: https://theretern.com/crew
📧 Newsletter: https://theretern.com/newsletter
🌐 Website: https://theretern.com
#fractionalexecutive #careerover50 #executivetransition #corporaterefugee
UNRIGGED with Kirk Coburn
001: You're Not Getting Another Corporate Job (The Data & The Bypass)
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60% of executives over 50 experience age discrimination in hiring. The system is rigged — but there's a bypass.
HR filters you out. Founders don't. That's the whole game.
In this episode:
• The LinkedIn/AARP data on age discrimination (it's worse than you think)
• Why HR is incentivized to filter you out — and it's not personal
• The fractional executive bypass: Talk to founders, not recruiters
• "Qualify hard, close soft" — the framework that actually works
• The David story: What founders really need (hint: it's not dashboards)
• Your first move this week — 3 companies, 3 problems, 0 applications
Key insight: HR filters you out. Founders don't.
Your experience isn't a liability. It's the product.
Join The Crew — where corporate refugees navigate this together. Weekly calls, deal flow, accountability. $99/month, 15 founding spots.
https://theretern.com/crew
Show notes: https://theretern.com/blog/podcast-001-age-discrimination-bypass