Yes, i was unemployed for one year. I was also trying to move industries (leaving journalism for another field), which made it all that much harder. But what could i do, stay in a field that had gone to crap and where I’d be walking into certain instability once again? I did eventually find an OK corporate job. It’s just a very hard process.

Anonymous wrote:I constantly see posts on LinkedIn and Reddit where people state they have been unemployed for months / years: in most cases, they were laid off and despite applying for (in their words) thousands of jobs they are unable to find employment. This is just terrifying to me!

Do you know anyone like this and if so, what was their situation/career before being long-term unemployed?

Yes. I was long term unemployed. In my case I had a health issue which contributed to my being laid off. I took some time to get healthy again and then it was surprisingly hard to find another job. The longer you aren't working the harder it gets because a gap in employment scares off recruiters.

I finally ended up doing some consulting work for a friend and he let me exaggerate the job on my resume. That got me my current job.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 68 year old brother in law got laid off in 2008 financial crisis at 51 and never worked a real job again. Did some Aflac type no sense to pretend to do something. To make matters worse his last good job was 2001 he lost in that recession. His peak salary was 2000 25 years ago at 43.

He “retired” at 65. Doubt he gets much SS

You sound like the IL from hell.

Seriously, the fact that you know this with this level of detail is kinda disturbing. Also you define all of your family by their jobs?

Know a few people this happened to, high income earners in their late 40s or early 50s who never seemed to get back into the job market. Absolutely devastating if you're living an upper-middle class life with 2-3 kids and a no or low-income spouse. It's easy to say everyone should plan for this but life is expensive and it's hard to sock away a lot of savings on one income these days.

My dad started out in data programming in the late 1960s, then was a project lead, then systems analyst, then senior systems analyst. He was laid off three times for lengthy periods due to the collapse of manufacturing in the rust belt. The first time was in the early 80s for about 9 months, when my mom was a SAHM. The second time was about the same length of time around ‘91. My mom was working then, but my brother was in college and I was a year away from starting college, so they were facing big expenses. In fact, my mom had gone back to work specifically to help pay for our college educations. The third time was about a year and a half, starting in ‘99 or 2000, right after my parents had paid for my wedding. My dad was about to turn 60 when he was hired by his final employer. He had a 1hr 20 min commute each way, driving. Public transportation wasn’t an option. He was incredibly lucky that his final employer was an insurance company that offered great benefits and treated their employees (and even retirees!) extremely well. I’m so glad he had a good experience in his final decade of working.

My parents were always very careful with their money, so the lean times were stressful and scary for them, but we always had all of our needs met, lived a middle class lifestyle, and they saved and invested well for their retirement. They really benefited from living in a LCOL area.

Anonymous wrote:My 68 year old brother in law got laid off in 2008 financial crisis at 51 and never worked a real job again. Did some Aflac type no sense to pretend to do something. To make matters worse his last good job was 2001 he lost in that recession. His peak salary was 2000 25 years ago at 43.

He “retired” at 65. Doubt he gets much SS

You sound like the IL from hell.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also the most annoying thing is when people are like ‘DoorDash! Uber!’

Many people were making mid to six figures when they got laid off. Many do have a nest egg but at some point it will run out so they are looking hard. Doesn’t make doordashing or dog walking a good use of a former lawyer’s time

Well, have them use their head then. I worked for low wage my whole life. It was a challenge at times to pay all the bills, but I made it.
I have every penny I ever made and then some. Being the master of your money is available to everyone. The new investment banks and the apps have made managing money and personal finance piece of cake.
But also, you don't see me turning down Doordashing, dog-walking, or waiting on tables. You also don't see me out of work, panicking, or NOT getting calls from former employers monthly.
I can downgrade my life by June and have two jobs by tomorrow. Flexibility is a super power, but so are mental and physical health. Use them to your advantage as long as you still have them.

No one wants your job.

My 68 year old brother in law got laid off in 2008 financial crisis at 51 and never worked a real job again. Did some Aflac type no sense to pretend to do something. To make matters worse his last good job was 2001 he lost in that recession. His peak salary was 2000 25 years ago at 43.

He “retired” at 65. Doubt he gets much SS

Anonymous wrote:A coworker was out for 2 years of increasingly desperate searching before landing a similar title but less pay/startup/not as great industry. Good resume w/top schools and companies but he was 45 and looked older. I expect the same would happen to me. Program manager type roles in tech.

For us over 45, it’s worth it to color the hair, get the Botox, lose that 10 lbs, and update the wardrobe. Not only does age play a role but looking older plays a role.

A coworker was out for 2 years of increasingly desperate searching before landing a similar title but less pay/startup/not as great industry. Good resume w/top schools and companies but he was 45 and looked older. I expect the same would happen to me. Program manager type roles in tech.

Yes, friend in tech hasn’t worked for almost 16 months, and apparently has not applied to even one job. His partner has been incredibly patient, maybe even enabling?

My sister was unemployed during covid for almost the same time.

Anonymous wrote:My DH and I were both laid off from big law firms in fall 2008. He found a job with a huge paycut over a year later. I never went back to work. We were pretty junior in our careers and still paying student loans. It sucked.

Wow, so you just decided to be a SAHM?

My DH and I were both laid off from big law firms in fall 2008. He found a job with a huge paycut over a year later. I never went back to work. We were pretty junior in our careers and still paying student loans. It sucked.

Anonymous wrote:Also the most annoying thing is when people are like ‘DoorDash! Uber!’

Many people were making mid to six figures when they got laid off. Many do have a nest egg but at some point it will run out so they are looking hard. Doesn’t make doordashing or dog walking a good use of a former lawyer’s time

Well, have them use their head then. I worked for low wage my whole life. It was a challenge at times to pay all the bills, but I made it.
I have every penny I ever made and then some. Being the master of your money is available to everyone. The new investment banks and the apps have made managing money and personal finance piece of cake.
But also, you don't see me turning down Doordashing, dog-walking, or waiting on tables. You also don't see me out of work, panicking, or NOT getting calls from former employers monthly.
I can downgrade my life by June and have two jobs by tomorrow. Flexibility is a super power, but so are mental and physical health. Use them to your advantage as long as you still have them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you kidding, OP? Months is the bare minimum these days. It’s brutal. Especially in your 40s or older.

So how are you supposed to support yourself or your family?

they don't care. "should have planned better. don't you know families are expensive?"

a friend got laid off from a tech job in their 50s during covid and has not been able to get a job since. still get interviewed occasionally but they are resigned to downsizing and living on what they managed to save.

Umm, you should always have an emergency fund for unplanned job loss.

Do you think any employer owes you a job for life?

Umm, an en emergency fund for unplanned job loss will eventually run out when one cannot get another job. Idiot.