I lost my job
- Thread starter mustangcy
- Start date
I am sorry to hear about your job going away. I was in the same situation during the 2008 recession. Primary bread winner with a wife and two kids. Small town and not wanting to move. #1 DO NOT BURN ANY BRIDGES. Keep your head up and move on to your next job. Things change. After 8 years I was rehired by my original company because their business had improved and I had left the company on good terms with the management.
Use your contacts with any vendors that you buy your safety stuff from. They will know people in all of the businesses in the area that have safety departments. I got more leads from the vendors I knew than from the internet sites.
I agree with the ideas to start your job search right away and to make it your job until you accept your next job offer.
Good luck, work hard, better days are coming your way. FYI, I made the most money that I have ever made during the year that I lost my job. That year gave me my current salary plus the buyout payment plus the new job salary. Keep your head up, this was not your fault. You are not alone. The Cyclone family supports you.
Use your contacts with any vendors that you buy your safety stuff from. They will know people in all of the businesses in the area that have safety departments. I got more leads from the vendors I knew than from the internet sites.
I agree with the ideas to start your job search right away and to make it your job until you accept your next job offer.
Good luck, work hard, better days are coming your way. FYI, I made the most money that I have ever made during the year that I lost my job. That year gave me my current salary plus the buyout payment plus the new job salary. Keep your head up, this was not your fault. You are not alone. The Cyclone family supports you.
Check out the power plant just outside Chillicothe Iowa, I’ve got friends that work there and like it, and good pay. Good luck you’ll be fine.
Food production is a big safety area. It may be a packing plant, but you aren't doing the grunt work, you are trying to keep them from getting hurt and finding better ways for them to do their jobs. My friend worked at a place that made breakfast foods eggs. Cereal makers, Morton buildings has several of these people.
Just about any business larger than a ma and pop store will have someone in one of these positions.
Just about any business larger than a ma and pop store will have someone in one of these positions.
This is how I reacted in 2014 to losing a job by company closure of 21 years. My life is so much better!!! I am truly blessed.
I hope the worst of this is over.
At least Iowa has had it comparatively easy.
May 2020 state unemployment rates
At least Iowa has had it comparatively easy.
May 2020 state unemployment rates
I know what you're saying for sure. I've been operating under the assumption that either me or my wife, or both, could lose our jobs for an extended period of time, and if it happened, I am quite sure I would be shocked anyway.
I hope you will keep a journal and give us a weekly (summary) update, so we can see your thoughts and progress. A journal is good way to keep track of all your email, phone calls. Obviously some good info to help others, too.
Mustangcy...just know that I are not alone. I know many friends who just lost their job and they are high level earners and it was a shock to them.
I’ve not read all the replies so my two cents..
You have to do what you have to do to take care of your family...period.
if that means moving, then move. Your kids will be ok and they will understand.
I don’t know if your profession uses recruiters but I’d update my resume ASAP and send to any recruiters if possible.
sign up for unemployment bc at least you will get something coming in and I’d say there’s a decent chance the CARES act gets extended....meaning a lot more $$ for you.
it could take a week to get another job or months but you will get one.
I know you will be ok.
I’ve not read all the replies so my two cents..
You have to do what you have to do to take care of your family...period.
if that means moving, then move. Your kids will be ok and they will understand.
I don’t know if your profession uses recruiters but I’d update my resume ASAP and send to any recruiters if possible.
sign up for unemployment bc at least you will get something coming in and I’d say there’s a decent chance the CARES act gets extended....meaning a lot more $$ for you.
it could take a week to get another job or months but you will get one.
I know you will be ok.
Yeah, it sucks. I've been thru it myself more than once. My first impression of how you're handling it is good. You are telling people that you're available. This may seem obvious, but a lot of people are ashamed and don't do that. Networking, i.e. talking to people like you're doing, is a very good way to find a new job. Keep doing that and, if available, join a local networking club. These are clubs for people looking for jobs. I joined one that was led by a retired HR VP. Learned a lot and made some good friends. If a networking/job-seekers club is near you then you should check it out.
One thing that you said that I think you should reconsider is your reluctance to move because of your children. Families move all the time. Children may not like moving, but they probably also won't like the stress of having their father unemployed. Moving is somewhat like starting over. I think most kids can readily adapt and, if they don't adapt easily, then it may be all the more beneficial to have them experience this. Life typically has ups and downs. People need to be able to make changes in response. You moving the family to obtain another job would be a life-learning experience for your children and, probably, a valuable lesson for them.
This has happened to me twice in my career (so far
). Middle management is always at risk when there is reshuffling at the top. The first time I did not skip a beat and never even had time to collect unemployment. I did need to relocate but the new job was fantastic for 10 years. Then out of nowhere, new president of the company and I was gone. Now I was 50 years old and it took me nearly a year to find employment despite an exhaustive national search. We had a put away a years worth of expenses in a rainy day fund but really hadn't thought about the effects of paying full premium on a COBRA health policy which ended up costing $1,800/ month. Things got a little stressful as the days wore on. I am in an okay job now, not nearly the pay, but my wife finally has the best job of her life , outside of raising our 4 now young adult children that is.
I am a firm believer that things happen for a reason but when we are going through it we are blind to what that might be. The time I was unemployed for nearly a year, I was able to spend a lot of time with my daughter who was going through a very difficult time in her young adult life. That was a few years ago but just recently she confided in me that while she knows it sucked that I couldn't find a job for so long, if I hadn't have been there for HER, she's not sure she would be here today. That really put things in perspective for me. So as many others have said, talk to everybody, keep your options open and look at this as an opportunity for something new.
One final piece of advice...If you have to relocate, just make sure it is closer to Ames!
). Middle management is always at risk when there is reshuffling at the top. The first time I did not skip a beat and never even had time to collect unemployment. I did need to relocate but the new job was fantastic for 10 years. Then out of nowhere, new president of the company and I was gone. Now I was 50 years old and it took me nearly a year to find employment despite an exhaustive national search. We had a put away a years worth of expenses in a rainy day fund but really hadn't thought about the effects of paying full premium on a COBRA health policy which ended up costing $1,800/ month. Things got a little stressful as the days wore on. I am in an okay job now, not nearly the pay, but my wife finally has the best job of her life , outside of raising our 4 now young adult children that is. I am a firm believer that things happen for a reason but when we are going through it we are blind to what that might be. The time I was unemployed for nearly a year, I was able to spend a lot of time with my daughter who was going through a very difficult time in her young adult life. That was a few years ago but just recently she confided in me that while she knows it sucked that I couldn't find a job for so long, if I hadn't have been there for HER, she's not sure she would be here today. That really put things in perspective for me. So as many others have said, talk to everybody, keep your options open and look at this as an opportunity for something new.
One final piece of advice...If you have to relocate, just make sure it is closer to Ames!
This might have been where he got laid off?
Mustang,
Good luck!
As Keep said back in post # 36, consider consulting in your field. The first thing I would propose is going back to your old company and see if they would agree to be you first customer. Safety positions large companies are usually well staffed, but not in smaller manufacturers. Within a 2 hour drive from Bloomfield you would be shocked at how many companies, too small to have a full time safety manager, you could contact. As you already know, an insurance company safety review can have a dramatic effect on Property insurance rates for most companies.
Like others have said, moving the family to find a job you think you would like is much better than you spending too much time commuting to a new job. I moved twice as a child and moved my kids twice, they adapt and it is not a bad life lesson.
https://www.amazon.jobs/en/jobs/1152599/site-whs-manager
Safety manager in Bondurant. Idk how to message directly thru CF, so posting here. Happy to chat if helpful.
Safety manager in Bondurant. Idk how to message directly thru CF, so posting here. Happy to chat if helpful.
Can you give us an update on your search. You asked for our ideas. Let us know what's happening.
I was laid off in July 2008. I took a weekend to grieve the loss but then made job-searching my full-time job. I took every interview I could get to practice my skills. I would recommend contacting recruiters as that’s how I got the interview for the new job. I had to move and switch industries but I had a new, better-paying job three weeks after the layoff. To those experiencing a job loss know that most people end up with a better job in the end! Good luck!
UPDATE: First I wanted to say how awesome this CF community is. Can't tell you how many DM's I received from HR pro's to just general well wishers willing to lend a hand. I was pretty cool in a dark time for me and I truly appreciated it.
So....I got a job!!! Accepted an offer on Monday with a local (healthy 50 minute commute) company so don't have to move the kids. I ended up getting 3 offers all within days of each other last week so I even had several options. I don't start for a few weeks so I can finally exhale a little and actually enjoy this time off. I basically have spent the last month or so applying for jobs, interviewing...preparing for interviews and do some odd at home projects I never felt I had the time to get done. All told I was without a job (or offer) for about 4 weeks.
So all in all it's been a really productive month. And because my previous employer had to pay me out all my vacation plus a severance they basically payed me through the end of the year...which means I'll be drawing essentially two paychecks for the last four months of the year.
I can't say that those first few days and weeks were not some of the toughest of my life and I've lost a parent. Literally waking up in the middle of the night in fear...just feeling like a failure. Totally adrift. Really tough stuff. But today I feel more validated than ever in my career. I went 3 for 3 in my interviews and came away feeling I'm really at the top of my profession. I had to turn down a really elite job in the DSM area (maybe a dream job) and as much as that sucked, just getting the offer felt great. For a small town SE Iowa boy having the biggest of the big boys in DSM after you is a great feeling.
I also need to say this....and this is important - the position I ended with is actually a better position than the one I had. Better pay, more responsibility and room for growth within a larger corporate structure that I would have never had previous. Had this never happened to me I would have stayed at my previous company forever, never really knowing what else is out there for me. It's easy to settle in to a comfort zone (especially if the pay is already good) and sometimes the universe has to jolt you out of that comfort zone for you to really grow. For that I'm thankful.
So again I can't thank those that reached out or just posted encouraging thoughts in this thread enough. Thank you!
So....I got a job!!! Accepted an offer on Monday with a local (healthy 50 minute commute) company so don't have to move the kids. I ended up getting 3 offers all within days of each other last week so I even had several options. I don't start for a few weeks so I can finally exhale a little and actually enjoy this time off. I basically have spent the last month or so applying for jobs, interviewing...preparing for interviews and do some odd at home projects I never felt I had the time to get done. All told I was without a job (or offer) for about 4 weeks.
So all in all it's been a really productive month. And because my previous employer had to pay me out all my vacation plus a severance they basically payed me through the end of the year...which means I'll be drawing essentially two paychecks for the last four months of the year.
I can't say that those first few days and weeks were not some of the toughest of my life and I've lost a parent. Literally waking up in the middle of the night in fear...just feeling like a failure. Totally adrift. Really tough stuff. But today I feel more validated than ever in my career. I went 3 for 3 in my interviews and came away feeling I'm really at the top of my profession. I had to turn down a really elite job in the DSM area (maybe a dream job) and as much as that sucked, just getting the offer felt great. For a small town SE Iowa boy having the biggest of the big boys in DSM after you is a great feeling.
I also need to say this....and this is important - the position I ended with is actually a better position than the one I had. Better pay, more responsibility and room for growth within a larger corporate structure that I would have never had previous. Had this never happened to me I would have stayed at my previous company forever, never really knowing what else is out there for me. It's easy to settle in to a comfort zone (especially if the pay is already good) and sometimes the universe has to jolt you out of that comfort zone for you to really grow. For that I'm thankful.
So again I can't thank those that reached out or just posted encouraging thoughts in this thread enough. Thank you!
Glad everything worked out for you in the end. I went through this about 5 years ago. I took a couple days to feel sorry for myself and on the following Monday I got to work looking for something new. I ended up getting my last severance paycheck 2 weeks before my first check at the new job. Now we're in the middle of a restructuring as part of our New CEO's master plan to make everything way more better which means with way less people. It hasn't worked its way down to my level yet but they offered a buyout to everybody and of course if you were in upper middle management you found out if you were going to have a job in the end before the cutoff date for taking the buyout. Peons like me just have to take their chances. I'll know by the end of the fiscal year if I'm going to be job hunting again.
