John Deere, Pella CorpWould venture to say there may be something in manufacturing for you in either Eddyville area or Ottumwa area. Look at Cargill, Ajinomoto, JBS.
I went thru this a few years ago. I also freaked out a bit. Here's the main thing to remember:
No matter what happens - your kids will still love you, you are still their dad. Rich or poor they don't care.
Other thoughts:
1. There is a >50% chance you end up with a BETTER job and/or better pay. Probably doesn't feel that way right now, but statistically, that's a fact. Even after the financial crash, most people who lost their jobs ended up making more within a year or two.
2. It's a marathon, not a sprint. Be patient and persevere. You will come out on top.
I got laid off today.
Never thought I could be "not surprised" and "completely shocked" at the same time.
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.So I lost my job on Friday. Even with Covid-19 hitting the energy business pretty hard I still didn't see it coming. I'm the pretty much the main bread winner in the family as my wife works part time for little pay. Her job has always been the family fun money at best. Now we've just lost 90% of our income.
To say I've been walking around in a daze since losing it on Friday is an understatement. I've lost 4 pounds since Friday...probably the worst part is I live in SE Iowa where the job market is nothing like it is in DSM or Cedar Rapids. I've got two kids, one is going to be a Sophomore and the other a 7th grader. I can't move them to DSM this late in the game can I?
For those that have gone through this what the hell did you do? I actually get to work until July 10 but after that...what? Do I just sit at home and cruise the internet for jobs that don't exist? Try and find a job that will pay me cash under the table so I don't lose unemployment?
I did get a severance and we've got a nice amount of cash in savings, certainly enough to get us by for a while but what then? Can't help but feel so many of my dreams, from paying for my kids college to a kick ass retirement slipping through my fingers.
Anyone that can talk me off the ledge would be appreciated...
PS: I'm a Safety professional is anyone knows of anything.
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.
Can you give us an update on your search. You asked for our ideas. Let us know what's happening.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.
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!
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.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!