will be dumped

[shootingstar]

So my job is being eliminated. Without going into details, am in limbo state. But my work colleagues are safe. Great ----they know about my situation and now I have to work through the next few weeks. A good friend (same employer but totally different dept.) insists I continue to actively be present in the life of my home division.

[rebeccaC]

So sorry to hear this shootingstar!
hoping it's about things falling apart so better things can fall together.
sending thoughts of caring, strength and peace to you

[lph]

I'm sorry to hear this, shootingstar. I hope things work out for you.

[shootingstar]

Working through several scenarios. Tell me of your experiences..

[Crankin]

Sorry, Shootingstar. What are your ideas?

[emily_in_nc]

That's a bummer. There must be other places where your skillset could be put to good use? Hoping you'll land on your feet! Will they give you a severance package, I hope?

[shootingstar]

I have a good friend who has voluntarily and faithfully phoned me nearly daily as a check. At first, I wasn't totally aware of this pattern. She works for the same employer but totally different dept. I do have 2 trusted people who care deeply and talk with daily. (The other person is my partner..)

Cycling my baby rides because I'm recovering from neck muscle strain, helps. Still, I'm probably in deep denial how much stress this causing. When I am deep denial, I tend to get very sleepy. My body signals to me.

[smilingcat]

Terrible news indeed. I see layoffs and termination of position as a failure on the part of the management or those who are responsible for the employees. And as an employee, one should never blame themselves for this type of termination.

You asked, "How did you deal with this?"

When I was let go, it was because of retribution from in-house (between two division) political fight in a multi-national company. We lost. Those in charge were laid off, I call it being fired. Yes I was angry. Came home did something nice for myself, a treat of sweet and a very large cup of chai latte. Went for a walk thinking what I did wrong...

Then I took stock of my situation. How much I had saved? mortgage left. What was my burn rate (how much I spent per month) and how long will it last. Do I want an another job. It was bit tough even on the tail end of 2008 crash and especially for someone fairly high up, older and making lots of money. I was "over qualified" for several positions I applied.

Revisited my thinking and decided to move to a place where cost of living was cheaper, people were much nicer, a place with lot less stress and people who had more things in common with my way of looking at life. Worked out the numbers (finance) and decided that I could retire. That is what I did. That is in the nutshell.

So after you come out of the fog of the bad news, LOOK FORWARD, THINK OF WHAT YOU WANT TO DO, WHAT YOU LIKE, PLAN WHAT YOU WANT TO DO, CHECK TO MAKE SURE ITS POSSIBLE AND ACT ON IT. Don't let yourself stagnate in what was in your lifestyle.

[ny biker]

Good advice, Smilingcat.

I've been laid off three times. The third time was on my current job. We are government contractors, the contract ended, the new one was awarded to someone else. So we were all laid off from company A and then hired by company B a few days later. The stress and uncertainty only lasted one weekend, which happened to be the weekend I went up to NYC to do my first century ever.

The first layoff for me led to a period of unemployment. I actually hated my job at the time; the company I was working for was a horrible, stressful place to work run by a crazy person who screamed at people until they ran out of the room crying. So I was relieved when they re-organized and eliminated my job. I immediately came down with a bad upper respiratory virus that left me exhausted for about a month, no doubt a reaction to the stress of working for an abusive lunatic from 7 am to midnight for days on end. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do next and so I signed up to take a night class that was an intro to IT project management. I liked the class, took several more and learned web development. Along the way I got a temp job doing secretarial work so I would have a little income. I did end up running through my savings but after several months I was able to start a new career. The first job in the new career involved half the salary of my previous job but I liked what I was doing and no one yelled at me.

It was all a long time ago, but I think the important things were: keep to a schedule, get up and get dressed every day, maintain contact with supportive friends, family and colleagues. I did cut back on expenses since I didn't have much of an income for a while and the classes I took were not inexpensive.

The second time I was laid off I wanted another job in the same field and was able to find one within about a month. The hard part was not giving in to desperation. I interviewed for a few jobs that I knew I would not be happy with, either because of the location/commute or the type of work, but it was hard not to pursue them knowing that I couldn't afford to go for very long without an income.

For both the first and second layoffs I was lucky to have one or two very supportive friends who encouraged me without being judgmental about what I wanted to do. It was important to filter out some other "friends" who thought they were being helpful but really were just overly critical and negative.

So I think overall the important thing is to take care of yourself, physically and emotionally. Bike rides, other exercise, eat well, rely on those people you can trust.

And of course we're here for you, too. Good luck.

[shootingstar]

For the past decade, I've become a somewhat boring person --fashion-wise. Just 6 days before I was given this negative news, I had just bought a $80.00 dress shoes on sale. I already had 2 prs. of dress shoes (1 pr. 10 yrs. old while other 3 yrs. old), now I do really need? 10 yrs. pr. will fall apart probably next yr.

Thankfully mortgage paid off last yr. What is slightly daunting is need to work longer (am not at retirement age) because nowadays healthy people live alot longer and therefore there needs to be enough $$$ to live. However, I look to my parents who have lived low-income nearly all their lives plus support a large family...but parents never took any trips/vacations beyond 1 day roundtrip drive. They were incredibly frugal...which probably affected some of us in a good way....as adults in spending habits.

A good friend of mine close to 80 yrs. died suddenly early this winter...which puzzled me since there was nothing to indicate a heart /cardio problem. She retired at 65. A few years later, she sold her condo and rented instead for past 8 yrs. Unfortunately she hinted she was running out of money. This is an university-educated single woman who had middle class professional income jobs all her life.

Smilingcat you're right -- even a general plan is helpful. I'm not (yet) as brave as you yet.
NY bike- I've been unemployed/in-between jobs 3 times in past 3 decades before this latest. In the last time, it was a challenge to limit myself to just 1 coffee per day and snack. No clothing purchases and nothing else to treat myself.....except occasional haircut (I had to look good for interviews) and lots of long bike rides for 2 hrs. daily. :) Yes, health, a regular routine to get out of bed is needed.

[rebeccaC]

So I think overall the important thing is to take care of yourself, physically and emotionally. Bike rides, other exercise, eat well, rely on those people you can trust.
+ a gazillion

shootingstar....having a supportive/caring partner, no mortgage and the needed skills already to find work puts you in a reasonably good position. perhaps, if you can, just taking a brief break from work for awhile and following a passion you have for something can help with the emotional aspect of what you're going through. you may even find something completely different but more satisfying as a new work path to follow. I've always put an emphasis on savings and that would help in case i was going through a layoff or any financial problem. I actually would luv to be able to work full time for a number of non-profits i have done volunteer work with if i was laid off....but then I luv my present job/work/work colleagues too. Acknowledging and accepting the challenges of life rather than becoming upset/worried has helped me go through a long emotional/physical roller coaster this year....giving me more strength of spirit than I would have if i hadn't gone through it though. We can learn a lot about our positive selves and strengths going through difficulties. That's the kind of strength i was referring to in my first post in this thread....

Alex has a note on the kitchen chalkboard that says...'persevere by how you live, why you live and the manner in which you live .... when it rains, look for rainbows, when it's dark, look for stars'. that helped me this past year :)

[Crankin]

As most of you know, my DH quit his very lucrative job last year. He received a good sum when he left, we were already in the process of downsizing when he did this. Still, I was not happy. I stayed not happy for about 3 months, mostly in subtle ways, then it just became the new normal. He enjoyed his summer riding his bike to the farm and interviewed for all kinds of jobs. It was a hard sell for many to understand why he would work for $xx, when he had made $xxxx before. My DH does not look his age, but obviously, he is older. He interviewed with some people that were younger than our kids. He found a company with a different culture than his previous one, doing a new type of position in his field.
I guess what I am saying, is that looking for a job when you are older is different. I had the privilege of quitting my well paid teaching job, going back to school, and then working in a community mental health clinic. But, for sure, I would not have done that if DH was not earning a good sum. Now, all of my colleagues from grad school, including the other older students, have opened their own practices. I could do this and make 3X the amount, but then I'd have to deal with the business aspect and insurance companies. I just can't do it. Yet, sometimes I feel like I am being taken advantage of, doing the work I do, for less than a lot of jobs that don't require so much education and unpaid internships. In the end, being able to work 3.5 days a week, 2 miles from my house trumps it all. My life is infinitely easier and less stressful. I have a little bit of work I do at home, but it's not like the stress of grading hundreds of writing pieces at night, endless committee meetings, and planning.
You have to decide what you really want. For us, it was being able to travel. I still feel occasionally upset tht DH made this choice, but we will be able to do what we have planned, when we both stop working, which will be in about 4 years for him. Since I am older, I am not sure if I will last that long, as that will put me in my late 60s. My choice now, is to decide if i want maybe work 2 days a week after I turn 65, which will involve one more cycle of renewing my license to practice.

[ny biker]

It was a hard sell for many to understand why he would work for $xx, when he had made $xxxx before. My DH does not look his age, but obviously, he is older. He interviewed with some people that were younger than our kids. He found a company with a different culture than his previous one, doing a new type of position in his field.
I guess what I am saying, is that looking for a job when you are older is different.

This is a major concern for me, as we continue to lurch along at my job with funding cuts and uncertainty regarding the future of application I work on and how much the client wants us to be involved that future. I try to develop new skills, but am overwhelmed by how much there is to learn and not knowing where I should really focus my efforts. It is forcing me to think about what I really want to do. I don't think I will ever be able to afford to retire. I will need a new car in a few years and would like to think about moving to a different condo or townhouse in 5 years or so. But as I look into different aspects of software development, the things that interest me seem to be the things that are not the most lucrative. I don't have a plan yet and may not have one for a while. At the same time that I'm overwhelmed by the variety of things that are out there, I'm also encouraged by that variety.

There are no easy answers. Which makes Rebecca's point all the more important... we must find ways to accept the challenges and work through them.

[Sylvia]

In what field do you work? If I remember correctly, I think its computer related. Is that correct?


I work in Software Engineering as a QA automation engineer and got hit a couple of years ago, and was able to get another job in about 4 months.
But that 4 months wasn't a vacation, I spent the time looking for another job and keeping my skills up to date.

What worked for me was having my resume updated and posted on LinkedIn. This made it easier for recruiters who were looking for someone with my skills to find me.
Also allowed me to collect names of recruiters in my area that I could contact when I did get hit.

Next I used various online job boards to search for positions in my area. glassdoor.com was really helpful because I could sign up to get emails when new jobs opened that met my search criteria. I would also search various job boards, and job postings on company sites where you might be interested in working. You might find a good lead at an online career fair. If you find a job posting that sounds good, consider going on LinkedIn and see if you can't find a recruiter that works for that company, then message them and tell them you found this listing and would like to find out more about the position.

Between searching for the latest openings, and contacting recruiters, I also spent my time going through online tutorials to keep my job skills up and pick up some new skills, I found Udemy.com particularly useful, but don't ever pay full price for their courses. Go google for a discount code. You should be able to get a course for $20 or less. There are also various free online training places too. FreeCodeCamp.com comes to mind. But I think Udemy was one of the more useful sites I found and the cost wasn't that much if you used the discount codes.

For me it was tough and stressful, but I got through it and I feel more confident that if it happened again I could get through it again.

Good Luck!!

[Trek420]

I am so sorry to hear that!

I’m considering retirement in 126 days (who’s counting) and likely looking for something less stressful till 67 ish or Knott’s retirement whichever comes first. There are odd things going on in my industry which I won’t talk about till gone. But jobs which once seemed secure are now not and often the jobs most needed.

I plan to take 1-5 months off to recoup mental and physical health. Already keeping my eye on Linkedyn and Indeed.

[Geonz]

How are things going?

I'm catching up on a few thinsg here and saw this... and also the thread about websites that spans a few years... it made me think of the wait! wait! DOn't Tell Me "bluff the listener" segment where the true story was of women in tech never getting answers to their emails until they invented a man (the last name was even Mann...) ... then people responded... like the REmington Steele show of years gone by. Something to think about...

[shootingstar]

We'll see where things go (soon). Meanwhile I was organizing a clothes closet..so much clothing for self. Anyway will keep it since it's all in good shape and wearable. I'm a bit of a hoarder, so have enough non-perishable foods socked away, frozen fruit for winter..and for whatever reason, I've bough multiple bottles of body lotion (strong stuff is needed in our area. Dry, very cold prairie air) and shampoo when there were sales. Only certain brands work for me.

Because of my tenure in the workforce, I have a longish resume that's been rewritten drastically several times just so I can fit it all in 2 pgs.... My partner tells me just to list the employers and 1 line of top accomplishments per employer. Skills, skills, ...yes, dearie I agree and I have it summarized. But I don't want to give to the impression to prospective employers I'm hiding info. either. I hate resumes that hide a lot, and those that aren't chronological, when I've had to hire people in the past. Have eliminated years when I got my university degrees.

Yea, I actually do include cycling in interests. The message here is: I'm an experienced worker...and also quite active/fit/energetic. How else should I knock down ageism and similar impressions?

[Crankin]

Jean, when I was getting ready to graduate from my grad school program in counseling, I had the head of career services check my resumé. She was a woman my age, so I was pretty frank with her, about my concerns. So even though, I've been pleasantly surprised to find that I now work in one of the few fields where age is seen as an asset, she definitely encouraged me to include and keep my volunteer work as a bicycle trip leader for AMC on there. She also noted that it would back up the fact that I present as a fit person and I don't dress like an "old lady."

[Sylvia]

Because of my tenure in the workforce, I have a longish resume that's been rewritten drastically several times just so I can fit it all in 2 pgs.... My partner tells me just to list the employers and 1 line of top accomplishments per employer. Skills, skills, ...yes, dearie I agree and I have it summarized. But I don't want to give to the impression to prospective employers I'm hiding info. either. I hate resumes that hide a lot, and those that aren't chronological, when I've had to hire people in the past. Have eliminated years when I got my university degrees.

How I handled keeping my resume to 2 pages was I removed the positions that were the furthest in the past and didn't fit on the 2 pages. And at the end of that employment timeline I said, "For more extensive employment history see my LinkedIn profile at" with the url to my LinkedIn profile. I also had the url to my LinkedIn profile at the top of my resume with my email address and contact info. On my Linked-In profile I have a full dump of my employment history. This way if they really want to see it, they can, but typically they aren't going to care what I did 20+ years ago.

[ny biker]

Shootingstar, I was thinking about you... I hope things are going well.