yeah, sorry about that.
Seems like no job is stable. Maybe technology jobs as long as they progress with the company.
Many people are starting up their own businesses. Sometimes that is a great way to go!
I wish you good luck. Job hunting sucks. Not the finding of the job, the hassle maybe?? Its a full time job with no pay.
Again good luck
Seconding the recommendation to file for unemployment right away. There are usually waiting periods involved which you can take care of while you’re still getting your severance. You won’t get unemployment payments until you exhaust your severance, but having it filed for in advance will make the transition between severance payments and UE payments seamless.
My last several weeks were spent automating a job that really wasn’t that critical in my opinion (critical for the business, but not critical for efficiency). It took one person an hour or so per week to perform. I couldn’t understand why they were making it such a priority and with such urgency.
I spent the last few weeks making sure a friend of mine could be laid off because I automated a critical part of her job… and I got laid off to as a thank you.
Oh the irony… I just brought in the mail and I had something from my (ex)company. It was a letter giving me important information about my upcoming reservation. It was obviously a test. My boss took over part of it and guess what was screwed up… yup, the part she worked on.
No good deed goes unpunished.
Yes, file immediately. Severance does not affect unemployment, at least not in California it doesn’t.
Spud, I’m sorry you are going through this. I can relate - last Thanksgiving, after 20 years at my company, I and many others were laid off after the company had been struggling. Like you, I am 55. Try to find the silver linings in the clouds. They are there. I am better off now.
Don’t share any of the info you have about your excompany’s system(s). Figure out your consulting rate, it should be about 2-3x your previous equivalent hourly salary. If they call, that’s your play.
Don’t rely on them calling. TPTB, in their infinite stupidity, never underestimate their ability to pilot a sinking ship that’s going under water by feeding more power to the engines and mashing the throttle to FULL. Never underestimate moronic stupidity with the execs there. That is still happening at my excompany. Flabbergasting, but, the mucking forons, they get paid the big bucks.
Get on or expand your existing network on LinkedIn. The job I have now came from a LinkedIn connection reaching out to me, out of the blue.
No matter what, do not touch your 401(k)! Retirement is not far away for us, and time time time is our friend with our long-term investments. Two words: compounding interest.
Good luck, Spud. This, too, shall pass.
Eight years ago this happened to me as well, after 28 years at a major computer company. This round it was 700 employees from this one location, so it was kind of a relief to see who else was affected: lots of great senior people were let go. It made us all wonder how and what they’d be doing after so many people left. Those who are still working there say they’re working harder and harder each year, always looking over their shoulders, so it’s a relief that I don’t need to work there in that environment.
As mentioned, file for unemployment immediately. And keep it mind it’s not a handout, it’s really “unemployment insurance”, something that your company paid on your behalf instead of paying you a bit more each month. You might run into some alt-righters who look down at you for “being on the dole”, but insist that you are receiving insurance benefits.
It took me about six months to find something close to what I was doing, and I didn’t really want the same type of job back. I woke up the same time every morning, got ready for the day, drove my wife to work, checked on job openings, etc. (I also took a few naps during that time if I wasn’t working, I admit.)
Fifteen months later I came across a job teaching programming at a community college, which was different from what I was doing, but to me it’s an ideal job. The point is keep looking, find out what you really want to do, and don’t despair. It was almost a relief to see how we could survive on my wife’s salary on the months I wasn’t working, which you might use as a test for living on less while retired.
Keep us informed on what happens.
From your description your job sounded kind of mission critical. Are they banking on the system not having a breakdown? Is there someone else doing your old job at this point or are they hoping for the best?