The Official Unemployed Discussion Group

Are you pretty well networked with ex-colleagues, ex-students, parents? If you built good relationships there, I would try to get get in touch with some of those contacts and have them spread the word that you're looking for a new opportunity. Over 20 years, and considering that whoever you talk to will be able to talk to multiple others, you should be able to get a lot of feelers out there.

Esp as we get older/farther along into our career, my experience is that new jobs are landed through contacts rather than applying without a referral or inside connection. Could be a friend of a friend - doesn't have to be direct.

Also, though you may not want to go back into the public K-12 education system, are you open to private schools? Some of the bureaucracy that might be embedded in a public system could be better in a private system where there's more autonomy and if good administrators are there. I only mention that because it's often easiest to get hired into a role very similar to what you have experience in.

Try to remain positive and realize that others are in the same position. I do believe there is age bias against older workers. So difficulty you may be having landing a job isn't necessarily related to you, specifically, but to your demographic group, which is beyond your control. You (and anyone else in your age group) will have to fight harder than someone younger to overcome that bias.

But to reiterate my first point, I would really try and get back in touch with people that you have good relationships with and can be good referrals and, ideally, are also well networked themselves to help you spread the word.
It's all good advice. The problem is, I am essentially an introvert and have no meaningful network to fall into.
Private schools have their own particular political and funding problems so, no.
 
I do want to say to all that I hope for this thread to be about EVERYONE in the situation, not just me and hope that it outlasts me.
 
My dad sold electronics for Bluff City Electronics for a long time. They closed his location in Blytheville, AR. and merged it with Memphis. He reluctantly got into the insurance business in 1977. 41 years later? He's starting to semi-retire from the business. I have spoken with Aflac myself and found them to be a good company to work for as far as commission and what they'll do for you, but the only problem I found is that you are sometimes competing with other agents in the same territory.

Aflac told me, at least the agency I talked to, that they would pay for my licensing (around $100) if I paid for half of the schooling. Not a bad deal, plus you're not a "captive" agent and can sell for other companies.
I dunno- outside sales? Cold calls? The latter ives me shudders.
 
Back in 2015 (just before turning 65) I was abruptly booted from a place where I had spent 16 years. It caught me completely by surprise and I really didn't want to be retired (couldn't afford it yet either I thought). I was eligible for unemployment compensation. But to get it I had to take skill and job hunting skills classes, meet with a counselor and apply for 4 jobs per week. For the most part this was a good thing. Luckily it was April and I had plenty of nice weather ahead. After 6 months of this I was ready to throw in the towel and change my status when a dream retirement job was offered to me. I was hired for a small group in a bigger company. This group had only one Quality Engineer and he wasn't happy about it. So I was brought in as the backup Quality Engineer (similar to an experienced backup quarterback to a Star player who seldom gets hurt) at a cut in pay from my last QE gig. But that didn't matter much because all I have to do is show up. I seldom have more than 2 hours of work to do each 8 hour day. It is a boring job and I have a hard time believing that this is really their plan. But the No1 QE is happy now. Been here for over two years. Hope to milk this for another two years,... but then April and warm weather is fast approaching.
 
I dunno- outside sales? Cold calls? The latter ives me shudders.
There will be some of that, but not as much as you think. When my dad was in his heyday, he would order leads, so people to an extent knew to expect a salesman to call. There will still be some cold calling and outside sales, though, so it is something to think about.
 
I'm on my last year. Been with my current job 20 years, in sales. Best job I ever had. Set my schedule. Go where I want, when I want,and how I want. Just started full Social Security this year with my first check coming in March. Wife is 13 years younger than me, so we have a while on her. Also, in order for her to take any retirement money before 59 1/2, she has to set up a special program with the Government. Can't remember what it is called, something like T-71 or T-72 rules. The problem with that program is once set up, you can't make any changes of any kind until age 59 1/2. Our goal is to have her do it next March.........THEN, we will look at finally fully retiring. I still have mixed feelings about stopping, since I can basically write my own deal at this point.
 
I envision this thread as a place for those of you who are in their last 10-15 years of a working life and have found themselves unemployed and looking to re-enter into a job. It will help us to hear from others, provide some support and feedback- discussing with others sometimes allows one to see something new.

I am 56.5 and have been out of work since mid-Sept. I negotiated an exit with my former employer (a school system). I was a classroom physics teacher or 20 yrs. and I'm not going back into K-12 education I REALLY though that taking a Trainer or Instructional Design position would be something easy to slide into. Not so much- 4 months unemployed. I had to learn the new ways to seek jobs and have come to realize that
1. I am very narrowly educated BS in Physics and education, MA in STEM education.
2. There are too many people in the world.
3. Hiring processes are lengthy and obnoxiously complex from bloated HR departments.

It is affecting my mental state and self value.
Who else is there? Lee, I know that you'll hopefully chime in.

Have you looked into online teaching (i.e. College, University). I work with some folks (these guys are idiots compared to your credentials) that do that for Colorado Technical University online as a second job. It pays pretty good depending on how many courses you're willing to instruct. If these guys can get on the process must not be too hard.
 
Im not unemployed, but what I have seen out there directly factors us elderly who might be looking. Years ago (18) after I made my bones at IBM (bunch of patents, division award etc) it was a good job but I saw gold in them thar hills and left on my own terms for a 33% increase in pay, doing the same job for a customer of IBM. on my exit interview, the 'will hire again' box was checked so return is possible (current and ex ibmers reading this know what I mean) My gig lasted in silicon valley remotely for 5 years until the dot bomb and I was fortunate to parachute out. I started my own company consulting essentially yet again, what I did and since everyone was shedding FTEs for contractors, bizness was good, in fact, until recently it was the most I ever made. But I took as a client unca sam, doing yet again, the same job, on the system I wrote, with people (other contractors) I had known for decades - we are a closed, small group, dying faster than being replaced.

After 2 years, I dormanted (its a word you have to use) my company and used the CTFTE (contractor to full time employee) program to get a position which I hold still. A couple years back, IBM was hiring, in my old area, and I could come back for more money, a higher level, and staff. so I started applying and while that happened, ginny (IBM CEO) initiated a 'resource action' that 95% of the people were age 50 and above. I was 51. I withdrew my application and figured, screw it.

IBM had 2 commands when I started: #1 "respect for the individual' and #2 "think"

Today it is "enhance shareholder value". As long as they are willing to treat employees like trucks, then I will treat them like a dog with rabies.

sadly, that is the norm, and not the exception today. As my old IBM buddies were bled off one by one, those that did not take a bridge and retire doing odd things, I helped quite a few with resumes and submissions. In a way, Im kinda glad I am getting close to the end and retirement, I can stay here till retirement. But I weep for the masses. What happens is not ethical or moral. sadly, its lawful and that is all that counts today.

rant over...
 
a whole lot of years ago, I taught adult education on the side. it was introduction to programming.
long before you buy any book on C/java/basic/ for dummies and long before windows 1.0

my classes were always overflowing with folks who wanted out of their otherwise normal jobs
(teachers, nurses, among others). at the end of the semester (only 14 classes of 3 hours each)
I taught them how to get a job. I had one guy tell me he had 99 interviews before he got
that entry level job.

my point is that today there are literally thousands of jobs ( a lot are remote), thousands of sites
offering intro classes, and free ebooks, and sites with total service - all are free. up to you
to investigate.

and before you think of pointyhead programmers. yes they exist but only about 19million professional
programmers out there and this number has not changed in the last 10 years. and yes they are working
for the big companies doing really hairy programming.

what has changed are all the high-school, college grads, hobbyists, random guys who bump into this
field. there are very easy ways to learn, easy languages, and easy programs (now called apps) to
create.

all you need is a laptop/desktop running windows. you can download a copy of "community" Visual
Studio for free ( the requirements are modest), and download an intro book and go through the examples
and start understanding the concepts. you can create windows apps, android apps, and recently iPhone
apps.

you could do the android things but I think the Java environment is a bit complicated. same for Apple
stuff (costs more than free).

before you think I'm nuts - consider this. debugging audio is, in my opinion, harder than programming.

now for the good stuff. once you feel competent enough you can tackle some
programming for pay. won't be easy because the first job is always scary and the
"buyer/employer/contract-holder" sees $5 apps for phones and thinks it should only
cost $10. then they don't tell you exactly what they want to see (they are not programming
managers)...

if there's interest, PM me, I can walk you through what you need - if there's more than one
a new thread can be created.
 
I've been unemployed a couple of times. Luckily I have skills and tools. I painted HO scale Brass steam locomotives for 3 years because my skills in schedule management weren't needed by the big Gov't contractors.(the software tools could single out who the slackers were and middle mgmt hated that). A friend, also entrepreneurial was starting a computer hardware reselling company. I got to be the office admin and shipping/receiving dept. I learned HTML, Windows NT and building servers. That led to other jobs. I was a Mac computer consultant for a while where I learned some Adobe Software stuff. THAT led to my current job at NASA where I support the high end graphic designers.. I'm 63 now. The guy who started the Hardware reselling company is now flipping houses.
 
I received a phone call today from a potential job. I actually thought it was a lawyer's office calling me back over the accident. Anywho, it was the Verizon store here locally looking for a sales rep. Starting pay is kind of low, but they do pay a nice commission rate on gross profit. The guy seemed interested, and he said I will be receiving an email with an assessment test to take.
 
In 2016 my employer, a Fortune 100 insurance company based in Boston, announced a major shift in how our software applications would be developed and maintained: Agile is the new methodology being implemented. As a result of this transformation an entire employee job class is being eliminated: Business System Analyst. I am a BSA, just one of many hundreds. On January 8 I learned my position is being eliminated on March 9. I am scrambling to find a new position within the company. Like you @tybrad I find the HR process frustrating. Granted our HR is being bombarded with applicants for every opening as a result of this. I am 61 and had anticipated the next 5 years to be filled with challenging work in my current position (CTI: computer telephony integration) and had planned to retire at 66. Alas I am scrambling to find anything remotely suitable for me.

I wish you success in finding gainful employment. I hope I have success as well.
Update: In June I reached out to contacts with this employer. I’ve been fortunate to have been brought back as a contractor since July and next week I return as a full time employee. I’m happy to be back and looking forward to other opportunities with the company.
 
very sorry to hear some of you wanting to work and can't find the right gig
can be very, very hard, esp if you have a specialized degree/skill.
I once took a job with a call center, thinking I'd do that 3-4 months, and spent nine miserable years there.
everybody says networking is your best shot. if you have a network.
Ty, maybe consider library work? doesn't pay much but your academic background would be an asset. and I'm sure you have puter skills.

good luck to all of you!!!
 
I was employed in outside sales for 25 years working my way up to a top job with a fortune 500 company. Then after the 4th merger of companies in my industry I was sent packing. I made up a resume and started my search but with no college degree I did not qualify for anything that paid close to what I was making. I took a job in a cabinet shop making minimum wage. One day on a commercial install the client had an opening for a T-shirt salesman. I then moved up by taking a job selling building supplies. I was still only making half of what I was formerly so I decided to take a leap of faith and go to work for myself in Real Estate. A very tough business to make money in right out of the gate and I about starved for a while but i stuck with it. As mentioned previously network, contacts were the way to get business. Filling out applications and going on job interviews just did not work for me. So you say your contacts can't help you? Make some new ones. Reinvent yourself. Join a gym, volunteer at food bank, local non profit, wherever just to get out and meet new people and let everybody you meet that you are looking for something. EVERYBODY is a prospect for a job, tip for a job, or a customer if you have a skill you can use. GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE. I keyed that in all caps because that is important. You will not get a job mopping around the house watch Judge Judy reruns. Take less than you are worth and upgrade as you go. Good luck in your search and stick with it.
 
Last edited:
Keep your chin up. Hopefully things have improved somewhat for you. We've all have faced this at some point in our working career, and while it sucks, there are some useful things you can do with your time while you're not working. You can access your current skills and abilities, and look to take on some new skills or interests. This is also a great time to go back to school and gain a new discipline, or finish your studies and obtain a degree.

Be relentless in your job search, despite any resistance or difficulty. There is someone out there waiting to hire you, so always be ready for an interview with a polished resume and an enthusiastic outlook.
 
Back
Top Bottom