Wellness

[qualitygal]

Financially and legally I don't know how this works, but around here, I've seen men in trucks and they have become "handymen". Their truck has their business name and phone number on it. I'm thinking with all the lone women who need someone who can do all that stuff "experience" let's say, it might be a terrific idea. One man even has his daughter working with him. Good learning experience for her and both are working. Just an idea, but so was Two men and a Truck, I'll bet. JMHO

[qualitygal]

On 8/18/2014 viva923 said:

My DD is close to jobless tonight. She has been with her company 16 yrs and today it was awful . 2 upper supervisors, pretty much told her today, :her time was short. She knew something was up because last week, (the store manager/ district manager) they told her she had to work on her vacation next week, when she said she had thing planned, they made life miserable all week for her. she is part of the old team. A new larger store bought out the small mom/pop store DD was working at. she is one of the last of the employees that was left from the merger 10 years ago. She knows they have been gunning for her because her pay is quite good, they want to get rid of her to hire a flunky who will earn less money.

Each day she goes into work very depressed not knowing if she will have a job by the end of the day.

That must be miserable to work under. I hope she is doing job searches right now. If she has to use her vacation to hunt for work, she might just want to. (Paid vacation?) Just idea.

[daisy4]

My husband is also in IT and lost his job some years ago. He would get up every morning, get dressed, have breakfast and then spend the entire day looking for a job. He would look on the internet, call people he knew in the industry and work with recruiters. Eventually he found a job that paid less than what he had previously been making, but he took it. After a few years he worked himself back up to where he had been previously.

I guess what I am trying to say is you just have to keep trying and not give up. When you do not have a job - working at looking for a job is your job. Good Luck!

By the way - it is illegal to ask someone their age at a job interview.

[Campion]

Anyone over 40 these days is having a harder time from age-ism--don't tell me "it's against the law to discriminate" because this is one discrimination that is overlooked 100 percent. I was fifty and all of us over 50 were downsized in one month, followed by a year when the rest of the ancients were shoved out. In a way, it was the best thing that happened to me, because I was bored.

I ended up in a new career where the company WANTED older people for their knowledge. It was VERY hard and I took a paycut for a while but eventually developed a 2nd career that is beyond rewarding. Along the way, over the last 10 years, I created about five or six new jobs for others in addition to my own.

My advice is threefold for your husband:

1. He should find some kind of consulting work or ANY work near his field even if it's one day a week or a few hours. Keeping busy, tuned up and "working" will let you put on a resume you are not out of work because..you aren't. Yes, it reduces the unemployment benefit but you can't really survive on what most states give you.

2. He should network with people in his field --a great book on networking lest you run the risk of being a pest rather than an asset. Some firms are hiring and they prefer recommended people rather than over the internet--although most places require you to apply over the internet and that is a deep dark hole of nothingness unless you understand how to navigate it.

3. There is a very fine book on what to do ABOUT applying over the internet and how to get your resume from being ignored to looked at. And how to follow up after nibbles and interviews. It's called "How to Find a Job in 30 Days or Less" but the subject of internet applications, resumes and other minefields is WELL covered. Don't assume you know anything about job hunting if you haven't done that since 2009. The world has changed.

[Sooner]

On 8/18/2014 kachina624 said: Don't waste people's' time and money by telling them to send out resumes. That's how people got jobs 40 years ago. Now those resumes go straight to the trash and the more informed and aggressive job hunter gets the interviews. All the state employment services hold classes in how to look for work, interview and find hidden jobs. Do job seekers a favor and help by suggesting they call there.

MANY people are hired from resumes. Don't overlook them. Why overlook any accepted means to get noticed for a job. Where both my husband and I work you have to have a good, well written PAPER resume to make the first cut. It's like that is lots of places.

[mfrctaz]

We are in the same boat. My husband and boss got in heated discussion about how the companykept cutting back his dept. and the people that work for him were getting too stressed out to do good job- good ole Az is right to work state so it was adios to my husband. He is 60 and can't seem to find anything. I truly believe it's his age

[Campion]

On 8/19/2014 Sooner said:

On 8/18/2014 kachina624 said: Don't waste people's' time and money by telling them to send out resumes. That's how people got jobs 40 years ago. Now those resumes go straight to the trash and the more informed and aggressive job hunter gets the interviews. All the state employment services hold classes in how to look for work, interview and find hidden jobs. Do job seekers a favor and help by suggesting they call there.

MANY people are hired from resumes. Don't overlook them. Why overlook any accepted means to get noticed for a job. Where both my husband and I work you have to have a good, well written PAPER resume to make the first cut. It's like that is lots of places.

You have to work all the angles (as you're pointing out.) Resumes are good--but there is a cheap and excellent new book on how to write, format, etc. If you don't have a Kindle, there is a FREE APP to read Kindle on your PC.

The state employment office DOES offer classes and do take them.

[terrier3]

On 8/19/2014 Sooner said:

On 8/18/2014 kachina624 said: Don't waste people's' time and money by telling them to send out resumes. That's how people got jobs 40 years ago. Now those resumes go straight to the trash and the more informed and aggressive job hunter gets the interviews. All the state employment services hold classes in how to look for work, interview and find hidden jobs. Do job seekers a favor and help by suggesting they call there.

MANY people are hired from resumes. Don't overlook them. Why overlook any accepted means to get noticed for a job. Where both my husband and I work you have to have a good, well written PAPER resume to make the first cut. It's like that is lots of places.

Almost every job now requires an on-line application, with a resume attached.

That's even if you know the manager and they want you to apply. Businesses need to keep records of applicants to prove they are evaluating job seekers legally.

So you WILL need a resume, even if it doesn't have much bearing on landing a job.

[dfyre]

I completely agree with trying free-lance consulting. My BIL found out about 10 years ago that his company was being sold and that there would be major lay-offs. He had been contemplating retirement at the time (he was about 60) but didn't know if he could swing it as my sister had always been a housewife and never worked. So, he went and offered to leave IF he could get a severance package which he did. Less than two weeks after leaving, he was hired back as a consultant at a much higher rate. He also took a few courses in night school to qualify for a teaching certificate and became a substitute teacher for a number of years.

My own husband's small company was bought out by a much larger one when he was 59. He was marketing manager for the small company and it was quite clear that his job would have been phased out. He had been suffering from emphysema which was getting worse, so he applied for SSDI and got it. He also had a private disability policy as the small company didn't offer it AND was eligible for the new company's disability plan AND got full health benefits from them (he always says it's the best company he never worked for). At 65, he, of course, had to take retirement but was able to keep some health benefits.

For me, I was raised by a single mother who had to find employment with no skills and a HS diploma. It was quite a struggle and she frequently counseled me to always have a marketable skill. I took her quite seriously and, besides a teaching degree, made sure I could type really well. While I don't do either now (teach or type), I know I always can if I need to. I'm nearing 68 now and still not seriously considering retirement, but I'm sure I could find something part-time if needed.

[Mz iMac]

Professional temp agency. Most if not all offer benies after you have been working for them for a year.

After a massive lay off at the company I worked for, I worked for a professional temp agency for the last 10 years prior to retiring 12 yrs ago. On all the jobs I temped for, I was always asked to become an "employee." I always turned them down because they couldn't/wouldn't match what my temp agency was offering. The $$$ was fantastic!!!!

I was in the Auto & Homeowners insurance claims industry.