Remember that as one ages, personal priorities, passions, and perspectives of that individual change. When you're 20-something, you're all about the company - long hours, ramping up your skill set, even becoming a workaholic. In short, sacrifice is your M.O. As you age, have a family, and realize that the company "machine" sees you as a commodity, you tend to come to the conclusion of a couple of things. First, security and control are an illusion. Second, you see that relationships and perhaps focusing on your purpose for being on this earth matter more than the marketplace. The job market is about consumption of human capital to achieve its goals, and the young who are sacrificial in their lifestyle are most attractive. Companies would do well to temper that thirst for raw sacrifice and appreciate the WISDOM, and not just KNOWLEDGE, veteran folks bring to the table. However, life's imperfect, and that balance will be difficult to achieve. Stay teachable, be ever learning, but don't give up having a life of service and care for relationships. During the day I worked for Xerox, at night I was a part-time faculty at a major university. When the axe fell on me, I was so grateful to have a fall back position. In fact - the chairperson offered me a full-time teaching position - although with lower pay - but this, coupled with some lifestyle changes - saved the day and was more fulfilling. Be adaptable, be agile....the axe WILL fall. When, where I cannot tell you, but it is like the stock market. It WILL crash worse than 2008. You need to pull your head out of the ground and start making plans, cut your debt, etc.
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Best employment advert: WANTED - Enthusiastic, driven 20 something Millenial with 38 years systems experience.
My layoff experience was the exact opposite. IRIF’d from a large company four months before turning fifty. I love working for a smaller company.
Glad it worked out for both of us!
Millennials don't sacrifice in their 20s. They live like they are already retired. I don't know how they get so many vacation days and money to spend
All is not lost when you are older. 8 months ago I was let go (shown the door with no explanation) from a small (under 150 employees) company that I worked at for 5 years. I am 61 years old and they wanted me to sign a paper stating I would not sue them for age discrimination in exchange for $4K. Yes I took the money.
4 months ago I got hired at a huge company (10,000+ employees) paying me more than $6 an hour over what I was getting at the place that let me go. My current employer appreciates my experience regardless of my age.
I have worked for way too many small companies overs the years to know that they are often cheapskates on employee salary. Give me a big corporation anytime for decent pay and benefits.