Still haven’t gotten a new position. I’ve got my mortgage and bills covered for March, but then, there is nothing. I want to crawl into a hole and sleep until this nightmare is over.
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The "placement assistance" service provided in the severance package was awful. They did nothing but slightly reformat my existing resume - but did so in a manner that made it not friendly to applicant tracking systems. One job that I applied to reached out to me and let me know that the resume shows up as a bunch of garbage in wrong places when their system processes it.
Be sure to run your resume through some of the available tools out there to make sure it isn't thwarting your chances at success.
As for the job market, it su-ks. Remote is nearly impossible unless you want to work for a lower wage - and where relocation benefits are offered, they're laughable. One offered $10,000 as a non-taxable flat fee relocation package for a cross-country move. That wouldn't cover our closing costs to sell our existing home, much less actually move stuff...
Thankfully, I maintained contact with key players in my network, so I can get basic bills and necessities covered through consulting until "the job" gets landed. Until then, I'm Rick Ross...
Same here...still searching. Finding a job in 2024 is not an experience that I would ask anyone willingly take on. I have applied for 50+ jobs on job boards (LinkedIn, Indeed) and of those, I have had 2 interviews...even if the new resume has all the buzz words, I'm not getting the at-bats I was expecting...maybe I should get a job in HR so I can start hiring the right candidates, not just the ones that pass the resume algorithm...
It also su-ked that they didn’t pay us out our sick leave… you are punished for being responsible!
Also be sure to check the “vested balance” in your 401K account for a nice little surprise. You don’t really have as much as you might think due to vesting requirements CDW gives and CDW takes away.
Use the staffing place they offered us, the write great resumes. Anything pays better the CDW! You can do it. Praying for all us affected. The 25% tax hit ki-led the cr-ppy severence they gave us. And keeping our stock bonus su-ked.
Unemployment + part-time job. You can do it!! Chin up!! 👏🏼👏🏼
I'm really sorry to hear but keep your head held high and try to maintain a positive attitude. Since you have the time, make sure you're tailoring your resume to match the language of job descriptions. This is key in landing interviews!
In the meantime, until you find the job you want that'll inevitably come your way, have you tried meeting with recruitment / staffing agencies? Or checked out gig marketplaces like Upwork, Freelancer, Fiverr, etc? You can also try research studies to make some side cash like Respondent.io. There's also no shame in working at a local retailer like Costco which pays decently well.
Onward and upward!
Have you contacted your mortgage company yet? Typically they have plans in place to help you defer the mortgage payment. They don't want to go through the process of foreclosing on your house, so they put these plans in place.
Have you called Unemployment and set that up? Typically they have a few weeks that you have to wait before they will start paying benefits.
Find out where the food banks are and go visit them. That can cut down on your bills drastically.
Also call the utility companies to see if you can get signed up on some of their plans as well.
If you can qualify for Food Stamps, you can also qualify for Medicaid. Sign up for them as well.
There is no shame in signing up for help when you need it.
Typically, when I have been unemployed, I spent 8 hours a day doing things related to looking for a job (applying for jobs, tweaking resumes, getting new certifications, etc.). I would apply for anything and everything that I was even remotely qualified for, and then let the hiring manager decide if I was the right fit for the company. Lots of times I would apply for one job, but the hiring manager had another job that was not posted yet. Also, I don't bother looking for the "right job" or "ultimate job." There isn't a way to tell those things until you are actually at the company working there. The new company won't have any issues with releasing you during a "trial period" if you aren't a good fit, you have the same rights as well.
Also, develop your LinkedIn social media. Do more than just update your resume there, start writing a blog and posting it on LinkedIn and the other sites. This develops credibility and you can use that when interviewing for a new position. Also don't forget to go through your social media and remove any questionable things (pictures, statements, etc.) Hiring companies have ways to find out your social media sites and scan them if your settings aren't locked down. I only have one pic of me posted anywhere on social media, and I am wearing a suit. I also don't allow friends to post pictures of me on social media, because what they post might affect my family or my job. Also remember to remove anything that might reference your age on your social media, and remove your age and years you went to school from your resume too. Yes I know age discrimination is against the law, but try proving you didn't get a job because of your age. Set yourself up for success.
The last thing I do is address personal appearance. If I need to lose a few pounds, I do. If my hair is too grey, I get it colored. Yes I know potential employers can't discriminate and it's also against the law, but once again try proving you didn't get a job because of this. Once again set yourself up for success.
Good Luck!
Came back to add my personal “failing up” story. During the last recession, I was working for a toxic employer in my original field (think: public service) and after ten miserable months finally decided to resign because looking for a new job and working 60+ hours a week were mutually exclusive. Imagine my shock when this employer that “required” a full month’s notice pushed me out with no severance as soon as I communicated my intent to leave.
A month and zero successful interviews later, I decided to pursue any office job I could get to avoid a resume gap. A couple weeks later I accepted a cemetery sales job that I intended to be temporary. As a young professional with a masters degree and 5 years’ experience in my field, working an entry level, public-facing sales job felt awful. I read Gawker’s unemployment stories series religiously to talk myself out of quitting.
After a few months and rejecting a couple <30k offers, my manager at the cemetery left. While I still had no intention of making a career in that industry, I pursued the management role to make more money while I kept looking for a better job.
The regional manager role paid the most I had ever made at that time and opened the door to private sector roles I had never considered. About a year after my career low of accepting a menial sales job, I signed an offer for a business systems analyst role that I only landed the initial interview for thanks to my sales and marketing experience from the place I was embarrassed to work. A decade in tech later, I’m making 10x what I did in the initial cemetery sales job that surprisingly changed my career trajectory.
The hardest part is realizing you may have to settle for a job less than what you want or had. The market is tough, you may have to do what it takes to provide for yourself and your family, albeit temporarily, until you can find what you really want or experienced in.
Maybe try some practice interviews for jobs in high demand for which you are over qualified to gain some confidence. Praying for you to find hope (and cold hard cash).
Finding another job takes time. Let go of the expectation that you should have received an offer by now. Potential employers can sense when a candidate is desperate, and that perception works against you.
Creating some breathing room in your budget will take the pressure off and help you interview better. Start by listing all of the ways you could generate income, reduce expenses, or extend your financial runway, even those that are completely unappealing. Then consider the feasibility and impact of different options, as well as your emotional response to each. Are there a few that you could live with?
A major benefit of that exercise is seeing that you still have choices. You might not like any of the options, but proactively managing your financial situation will make you feel more in control, which is a win for your mental health.
Sorry to here that, stay positive…Hoping you find something soon