Sent out hundreds of resumes, reached out to everyone I know. Got one interview, and it went sideways. I just wanted to see what options are out there, to ease my mind ahead of the layoffs. Now I’m just more desperate.
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@cd I agree - I still remember my father getting laid off in his early 50s almost 15 yrs ago. He desperately applied for 5 years then finally just gave up, hired a lawyer & filed for disability. The layoff took a massive toll on his health - his diabetes/blood pressure spun out of control.
@a5 Keep hustling and your head up. It feels like a marathon because it often is. I had similar issues before and created a few variations of my resume for categories of jobs. Btw if you were laid off, there should be a no-cost, limited period job coaching service made available, with some resume assistance. You’d have to sign up for it though.
@a5 This is the best, most realistic advice. The government has been shut down for more than a month so they haven't been releasing the real unemployment numbers. When they finally do, the public will be shocked. Markets could tank. Sell stocks if you don't already have 6+ months or more in savings in cash. Keep working to bring cash in. You might even find a new career that you love.
@cs Using ChatGPT or Co-pilot can help getting past those filters. It finds the correct keywords to use and removes the ones that will get flagged. Just be careful to not rely entirely on it so your resume doesn’t make you sound like a robot.
I could be wrong but keeping experienced people for quality decision and vision make more sense vs having an inexperienced (very talented) person trying to reinvent or figure something out that has already been done. I see it a lot and honesty it could solve the companies philosophical problems over time.
Unfortunately it is absolutely American to fire people when they reach age 50 and for other companies not to hire them. It is extremely common, and we already have laws against it. Advice: work for a European based company. The culture is better and they really value their people more.
A great start is filtering LinkedIn postings with 10 clicks or less. I’ve noticed that even the worst AI HR software doesn’t strip out applications when the count is this low. There aren’t many of these postings that exist but I’ve also noticed it matters how quickly you get your name into the hat after something is posted. A lot of companies are already starting 2nd rounds before their 1st round is even finished. I don’t agree with the logic but simultaneous rounds is absolutely a thing right now.
In short, if you can drum up even the most indirect or casual referral connection for a low trafficked role you’re likely to hit on at least a Zoom round. But yes, many mid level individual contributor roles right now have 300+ legit candidates.
And anyone who says high paying roles don’t get posted publicly is simply untrue. I’ve seen a half a dozen director roles posted at major reputable companies for up to 220.
This is my biggest worry is that it is near impossible to get through the AI filters these days. Someone on a post in past weeks had it right, may be worth paying a professional resume writer who knows how to navigate those filters.
@cd that is exactly the opposite of a good idea. Who will hire 50+ year-olds if they know they are not allowed to remove them when times get tough?
We need a law that prevent companies from just laying off people in their 50s for no solid reason when they have gave their whole life work to a company. It is not an American thing to do, it’s just wrong and should not be accepted as a norm. I feel like that happens a lot now.
The ones who have been in office chairs for years will have a hard time. If your in you are 55 plus, it is probally over.
Between tariffs, corporate greed, inflation, AI taking jobs, and the current administrations policies hurting energy and manufacturing, it’s no wonder finding a job feels tougher than ever.
Focus on your skill base. Surely there was something you were expert in.
Dude, I hate to be the one to break it to you. In case you haven't noticed, our industry has been in the process of shrinking and shriveling up for over 10 years... with no end in sight. Going to get smaller, and smaller every year.
If you're lucky enough to find another job in the field, fantastic! I hope it lasts for you, but odds are it probably won't. And If you actually believed you had a career with COP, I'm very sorry you fell for the COP propaganda. Be open to look at careers in other fields. Just being a realist here. Best of luck!
@OP I know it su-ks , but go get a job . Any job . Keep moving forward. $500 a week is better than nothing . If I was interviewing someone during the next bo-m and they said I went to work at McDonald’s … Id hire them over someone who sat on their a-s for 6 months and complained.