Double-nickeled and stuck! Getting re-employed at 55 or beyond – Launching a Three-part Series

A current coaching client of mine is 58 and stuck! Had the rug pulled out from under a 30-year successful run in sales in the healthcare space following a merger of his company with another.

No warning. “Here’s a few month’s severance and thanks for your service. We already have three other people doing what you do for about 1.5x your salary.”

Another victim of the merger/acquisition steam roller running through many industries.

Another talented mid-lifer on the receiving end of the last un-addressed “-ism” – ageism.

He kinda saw it coming. You know, that little uneasy feeling in the gut that’s hinting something is up but that’s so easy to suppress and deny. That little voice that says maybe I should be thinking about “putting out feelers.”

But it’s so easy to just back-burner it and let it get lost in the onrush of 21st century life and our deeply ingrained pursuit of material goals.

Then the curtain comes down! BAM! Life just took an unintended turn and the “pucker factor” and cortisol flow just went way up.

Unfortunately, it’s a pretty common story. Current reality is that both corporate loyalty as well as employee loyalty has shifted dramatically. Today, companies feign employee loyalty but, end of day, they are looking for ways to get rid of employees and replace them with technology.

Don’t we wish that companies truly love their employees? And they do, but only as long as the “productivity index” is positive. When technology can step in and replace to restore/achieve the productivity, the love goes away.

Who would have thought that in the mere span of 15-20 years that the least safe place to find employment security would be working for a company?

Three part series

I’m putting together this three part series in hopes of providing some help and encouragement for those in this type of situation to regroup and reinvent themselves and move onto an even more productive and fulfilling period of “second growth.”

I’m breaking the series into three parts to address three of the most common questions asked by someone in this position:
• Am I re-employable? Who wants someone like me when they can get two or three “youngsters” at the same price?
• Do I have the energy to launch a job search?
• Do I even know how to go about looking for another position in today’s job market?

My answer to those questions are:
• Yes. Somebody needs you
• Maybe
• No

Over the next three blogs, I’ll expand on those answers and provide some insight into each. For now, just know that you aren’t in this battle alone and that the potential solutions are much better than you may think. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, if you have comments or other questions that you would like answers to, leave a reply below.