What to Do When You Lose Your Job
Over 50 and Unemployed, a Disadvantage or Opportunity?
Thousands of older individuals, throughout America, have had dramatic life changes due to unemployment. Knowledge is the tool they require.
Rejection, fear and expressed outrage are all sentiments felt by the unemployed elder worker: society offers encouraging words, sympathy and undirected hope and optimism. What is needed is direction, knowledge and a little luck. This article will guide you through the first two.
Mourning
Ranking #8 on the Holmes-Rahe scale, loosing a job is considered highly stressful; the grieving process is natural. Emotions vary based upon individuals and the reasons for the loss. Unintentional loss (outsourcing, plant closure, and downsizing) has the affect of presenting anger, resentment and hostility. Intentional, or expected, terminations have an equally damaging affect resulting in insecurity, fear and hesitation. The individual will most likely feel all emotions but the sooner these feelings can be overcome the sooner the final hurdles can be confronted – the "less ness" twins; hopelessness and uselessness.
The Twins
can appear early in the process or later but certainly they will appear. Self-assured in their abilities, elder workers search diligently for employment – the wrong employment. Their continued lack of success has a great and devastating effect.
The Key
Don’t be the Lone Ranger! Find the tools available and use them exactly. If you are a victim of down-sizing or outsourcing, it is highly unlikely that your field of employment (your job description) will be available to you domestically. If the field is still open, with other corporations, it will probably mean that your salary will be greatly reduced. Or you may have unequal competition with younger candidates that are willing to work for less. Understand this up front and don’t go back to the twins.
The Tools
This is not a new problem to developed nations. Of course you should utilize all short term assistance like unemployment compensation and redundancy pay that is available; but long term, productive employment is the goal.
Retraining is one of the most advantageous programs available. The list is short but quite extensive. Each department may have in excess of 100 different programs available to the individual.
- DOL – The US Congress has appropriated the Labor Department $5.7 billion including $800 million specifically for workers over 50. In 2004 $100 million in grants went undistributed.*
- Rapid Response (RR)
Corporate retraining Programs vary from GM’s lucrative but mostly unused program, to small grants issued by local establishments and communities. As presented in the GM article the employment opportunities available are high paid jobs in aerospace and data processing, yet few elder workers seek the training.
Government has many “Preferential Government Hiring Programs” available to dislocated workers.
- The Transportation Security Administration has hundreds of unfilled jobs for displaced workers in just about every conceivable area of expertise.
- While basic recruitment is still limited to 42 years old, the military has instituted readmission programs for career specific positions. Also civilian advisers are used in critical AFSC/MOS position that you may fill.
- Depending on your state the Department of Commerce has initiated the Trade Jobs for Success program.
Overseas employment has many areas of need. Locations where the jobs are outsourced to usually need the experienced leaders doing those jobs. Many times the positions offer better salary and working conditions. As Captain Brian Murphy explained in a Wall Street Journal Article, “…two years ago, at age 51, Brian Murray took early retirement….[he] was outraged by the airline's termination of his pension plan and worried about his future…” He moved to Dubai and “he's home more than he ever was…and his total compensation package…is superior.”
Experience is valuable. Ex military personal have become excellent teachers as told about Don Deliz, 59, a special-ed teacher. “When he taught about the Vietnam War, he gave his students a first-hand account….”
But the list of aid and service is not limited to retraining and jobs. While the “student” learns, life continues. Programs are in place to assist in the areas of mortgage assistance, transportation allowances, health and childcare. The worker or their dependents may qualify under various Special Assistance Pell Grants and University Assistance Loans.
- US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
- The Rural Housing Service (RHS) under the Department of Agriculture has literally tens of programs that range from grants (no need to repay) to loans for individuals.
While the tools are available a fundamental reality is necessary for our displaced older worker. Your weaknesses may be your strengths. A 30 year automotive shop foreman could easily, with training, manage a young group of call center agents – even by satellite in India.
* DOL Budget http://www.dol.gov/_sec/Budget2005/overview-toc.htm
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