Unemployment
65Unemployment
Unemployment. You hear it almost every day, on the news, from family, friends and neighbors. I did not ever think we would be hearing the word.
In late June of 2009, my husband called from work to let me know that up to 600 employees at BAE Systems would be put on paid furlough. He was one of them. The furlough was due to a stop work on a program he was working on for the Army. He was told he would be furloughed for 10 – 60 days, but was confident he would be called back soon. I was scared, he was confident. The days stretched into weeks. After six weeks of furlough his boss called to let him know that 327 engineers would be laid off in the Minneapolis office, he was one of the 327. I was devastated, he was confident. He was now unemployed.
The following day, after the call from his boss, he went into work for the first time in six weeks. It was time to hand in his cell phone, company credit card and clean out his office of 17 years. The company went over the details of the layoff and discussed the COBRA insurance plan to the employees. That night he came home, his mood a bit lower than it had been over the last six weeks.
The next few days he seemed depressed, but continued to go about his day. He seemed to throw himself into working on his Segmented Word Turned Vases, but now he was working on vases to sell instead of giving as gifts.
Outplacement Company
BAE hired Lee Hecht Harrison for the unemployed workers. My husband signed up for their orientation with high hopes that this company was going to help him find a job. He was ready to start sending out resumes at a high pace. Lee Hecht Harrison had a different approach. The first step in finding a new job was to review the resume. So another week passed before the next seminar. My husband was told not to send out any more resumes until they had completed the next seminar. I cringed at the thought of not seeking out a job, but trusted the company.
The next seminar was on resume writing, job search and how much time should be spend a week on searching for a job. Their resume expert showed them how to reformat their resumes, to use only their cell phone number for contact and expect to spend 22 – 24 hours a week on searching for jobs. My husband spent the following day rewriting his resume. Today, the seminar will be spent on fine tuning the resume so it is ready to send out. I am hopeful that by Monday, his resume will be ready to go.
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DO
Lee Hecht Harrison gave us some fine points after my husband got laid off.
· Stay calm. Don’t panic. Your life is changing, not ending.
· Be easy on yourself. Don’t blame yourself.
· Tell your family and friends what is happening
· Review your finances to see how long you can afford to be unemployed.
· Take good care of yourself during the transition.
Don't
· Be critical or say negative things about your former employer.
· Base your plans on rumors.
· Go it alone. Talk to former co-workers for information relative to your transition.
· Begin your job search until you are properly ready.
Networking
My Advice
My advice as a wife. Don’t hide your feelings from your spouse; you are as entitled to them as he is. Let your children (if old enough) know what has happened. Be supportive to your spouse and encourage them to keep going, keep looking, and keep networking. Take a hard look and your budget. Make a date with your spouse once a week to make sure you are both on the same page. Make sure your spouse has a quiet place in the house to work.
Taking a hard look at your finances can be difficult. We are fortunate to have 22 weeks of severance and have followed the six month rule of keeping enough money in the bank in case of a layoff, but we are cutting back now. We discontinued our cable, discontinued paying extra on our mortgage, we will be getting rid of our land line and using only cell phones. We will keep the internet, is a must for job searching and networking.
Health insurance, check with your former employer immediately and find out if the employer will be offering a COBRA plan and what your out of pocket cost will be. Find out who the COBRA carrier will be, and check other private health plans to make sure you are getting the best deal.
Relocation: If you have decided that you will relocate for a new job, now is the time to start preparing your home to sell.
A positive outlook can be difficult. I won’t candy coat my outlook, it is not positive at this time, but I am working on that.
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I agree with John in that your husband should also consider other alternatives. The world has changed today and your husband has been very blessed to have been in one job for 17 years.
If you take a new mind set about income you'll see lots of opportunities you never saw before!
Thank you both for your comments.
I'm not sure what other alternatives there are. He has been a Program Manager/Mechanical Engineer for over 20 years. How do you start over from there? Plus, we have two kids to consider & college tuition. Ideas?
Jane,
From your Hub, I am not sure what his technical skills/talents are. Mechanical engineer covers a lot of territory. Is he good at managing people? Managing people does not require as much specific skills as knowing and understanding people. This is one of the greatest needs of business. So if he has good people skills/talents, I would suggest he study the latest info on people management and seek a job in that area.
Does he have good computer skills? The world is going online. And there are plenty of people/businesses that need specific help to join the digital world. So if he has good computer skills, that is an area he might consider working as a free lance consultant.
What are his passions? What does he do on the weekend? Is he good at some specific activity? Most people undervalue their skills and talents. Because things in a certain are come natural to them, they assume it is of no value. But whatever skill or talent he has, there are probably hundreds of people who would love to learn from him.
Don't ask the question, "How can I make money?" - instead ask, "How can I be of service to others?" Zig Ziggler (a famous motivational speaker) says, "If you help enough people get what they want, you will always have what you want." Understanding what others want and then helping them obtain it is the road to financial success.
If you want more suggestions, just send me an email.
It saddens me to know what you are going through, but I can see from the last part of your hub that you and your husband are handling the situation the best way that you can. I'm just sorry I can't offer you concrete advices. But just to get your brains rolling on ideas - freelancing online, blogging online, writing online. How about virtual assistant? Or network marketing? The wood turning hobby of your husband - can this be commercialized? You can also try selling this online. These are mostly internet-based because I'm not really sure what opportunities are available in your area.
But whatever it's worth, I know you can make it. You'll get through this. Good luck and keep your hopes up.
Thanks John,
You can see his passions & what he does on the weekends in my Segmented Woodturning hub. He was a hiring manager and he gets a long great with people. He loves being an engineer and really enjoyed the management side.
Jane,
Those bowls and vases were simply beautiful.
Before I would sit around and stew myself into a depression I would start making those things for sale. Real wood bookcases, headboards for beds, etc. are difficult to find and expensive.
The small bowls and vases look like something that could be sold over the Internet. The mark-up (profit) would be nice since they would all be one of a kind.
I would certainly make a business of doing that sort of thing.
Thanks John,
I have been looking at building a website to sell the vases. He has about 8 more smaller ones that he made to see if we can sell them. We won't go the ebay route. They are quite expensive and he's already built up a nice supply of sizes, I wonder if the market is out there and if its worth my time setting up a website & paying for it. He is thinking of joining a local art council.
Please don't worry - he isn't stewing into a depression (I'm more apt to do that). He has a great outlook.
My advice would be to stay away from the art council. All those I have known about are more into art than making money from art. (I work with a very economically successful artist and a different artist very involved in the art community. Most of the art community doesn't know how to make money and therefore look down their noses at artist that do.)
In addition to setting up a website you will need to do some PR - but you will have a wonderful story to tell so getting PR should be a snap. This would be a great human interest story - "When you are laid off, get resourceful" - I would think local TV, newspaper and radio would want to pick up the story. Then you get all sorts of traffic to the website and because of the uniqueness of the woodwork, you will get orders ... it should snowball.
Also depending on the size city you live in you should consider some high end decorator shops, etc. Do not under any circumstances go for mass market. Custom made, high end is there the joy and the money will be ...
If you want more ideas, thoughts, etc. let me know.
And don't worry ... take action ... then you won't have time to worry. I think you have a gold mine. If you haven't read Acres of Diamonds, do. You have your Acres of Diamonds in his workshop.
Hi Jane, I agree with John about depending on some company for our livelihood. The same thing is happening here in Australia. People are getting laid off and guess what? More and more people are re-evaluating their life goals about how to make a living. Mindsets are changing about how employers treat loyal employees. There was a reported 10-fold increase in the number of women taking up courses on how to become a florist and when I heard that, I thought to myself ~ "Good on you!!" Be in control of your own destiny and don't let the lay off despair you. There are countless of other new opportunities arising as a result of the global financial crisis. I used to work as a CPA but I am looking at real estate investment and work from home and have bought 3 properties since the crisis. If it wasn't because of the troubles, I would carry on at my previous job as a Financial Controller which pays well but I feel a lot more passion these days. I wish you and your family well. Cheers!
Informative article.
Thank you!
I can identify with your feelings and with your husband. I am widowed, and recently unemployed for the first time in my career. Two days before my vacation, I was informed quite directly that 'my services are no longer needed.'
my vacation plans changed.
After the initial shock and awe phase ended, (although it still creeps in at times) I started writing down all the skills I have, what I enjoy doing, what I do not enjoy doing and listed all of my positive traits. Looking through job boards, signing up on the employment sites, and telling everyone I know that I am now unemployed and searching are positive steps I have taken. I did not receive severance after 7 years and had to apply for unemployment insurance which is hardly anything to live on, but I have the emergency fund (which I try not to touch) and a good support system with friends and family, which is essential for well being.
Although at times it can be overwhelming, I suggest you look at it as an opportunity to travel another path and be open to new discoveries. It sounds like your husband has a wonderful opportunity to use his creative skills with the wood working and possibly be new revenue for your family.
One more thought~~ I wrote a gratitude list and read it everyday!
Best to you and your husband~
Rebekah
I can identify with your feelings and with your husband. I am widowed, and recently unemployed for the first time in my career. Two days before my vacation, I was informed quite directly that 'my services are no longer needed.'
No reason was given. I am over 50. My vacation plans changed.
After the initial shock and awe phase ended, (although it still creeps in at times) I started writing down all the skills I have, what I enjoy doing, what I do not enjoy doing and listed all of my positive traits. Looking through job boards, signing up on the employment sites, and telling everyone I know that I am now unemployed and searching are positive steps I have taken. I did not receive severance after 7 years and had to apply for unemployment insurance which is hardly anything to live on, but I have the emergency fund (which I try not to touch) and a good support system with friends and family, which is essential for well being.
Although at times it can be overwhelming, I suggest you look at it as an opportunity to travel another path and be open to new discoveries. It sounds like your husband has a wonderful opportunity to use his creative skills with the wood working and possibly become new revenue for your family.
One more thought~~ I wrote a gratitude list and read it everyday!
Best to you and your husband~
Rebekah
Thank you all for you comments.
I love the gratitude list, I use to do one every night, you've reminded me to start again.
Emergency funds are a must! I'm so glad we decided 10 years ago that we needed a 6 month emergency fund, best decision we've ever made.
Good luck, it seems like even though you had not considered it a possibility you had taken many steps to prepare for just this event. My family was not as prepared and yet we have managed with my being laid off in February. With your preparedness, willingness to work and trying new ideas I'm sure you will be very successful. Good luck and keep writing, you have a talent for it.
Great hub!
Great Stuff! Here's one of mine: http://hubpages.com/hub/gossiptraps
Pat writes: my husband lost his teaching job 13 years ago. We had a financial cushion, but his situation took quite a lot of readustment. We explained to our kids (then young teens) that money would be tight, but our top priority would be saving for their University (College) expenses. They were both great. My husband did freelance education consultancy for a while, but for about 10 years has worked for a Headteachers (Principals) Professional Organisation. He loves the work, but would never have made this change without the huge push of unemployment.
On applying for a job in today's climate: My son is now in his late 20s, and was working in France on a temporary contract. When he left England his employer had said they would keep his full time job open, however the change in the economy meant that there was no job for him. While he was still in France he contacted a recruitment consultant who found a job for which he was qualified. When he got home he absolutely devoted his time to applying for that job. This involved deep research into the company, reading up on interview techniques and likely questions, writing himself notes, etc. The company had an extremely rigorous selection procedure that started with a telephone interview, then tests in maths and English, then an interview with a Power Point presentation, then a final interview. In between all this he spent a lot of time lying on the sofa. But he got the job.
I hope that things sort themselves out for your husband, one way or another, and that you both come through this feeling happy and healthy.
Wow... I loved your hub and all the comments that have been made in response they provide a wealth of information and encouragement I will be sure to come back and read more of your stuff.
Thanks again for all of your comments and support, it is so nice to be supported by this community :) We are still keeping a positive out look.
i picked this hub of yours first to read because it hits home in my home also. i have two grown sons one 21 and the other just turned 18. my older son was working with me for the past two years and i was so happy to teach him my trade and felt relived that i was showing him how to make a liveing. i planed to do the same with my youngest son. all the time when they were growing up . i thought if nothing else at least i could provide this very important skill for them . its one of the few things i could give them that when im gone would insure their prosperity . but then the bottom fell out of the construction trade here in florida. so my dreams and hopes for now are squashed. and their both unemployed . your hub i find to be very helpfull. and your positive attitude lifts mine. thank you very much.
Aware, I'm sorry about your situation. On a positive note, you've taught your sons invaluable skills that they can use for their lifetime. My husband grew up learning the same business from his dad, and we don't need to call for help on things like plumbing, fixing a water softener, and he makes great furniture and turns wood. So maybe your dreams are squashed, but they still have skills that many men will never have. :)
Copyright 2009 Hubpages Author Jane@CM. All rights reserved. This material may not be republished, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in any way"
John Chancellor 2 years ago
Jane,
While reading your Hub, the words of Gen. Douglas MacArthur kept ringing in my ears, "There is no security on this earth. Only opportunity." Unfortunately many of us grew up thinking the only way to make a way in the world was to work from some company. Many are now coming to realize that when you depend on others for your income, you are really gambling.
The thought of life-time employment is a long ago memory. Companies come and go. The only security is in each person's ability to be of service to others.
From your Hub it is clear that your husband has been and probably is more comfortable being an employee. However I would not put my entire future in the hands of some company. I would strongly suggest that he explore alternative avenues for earning a living.
In my opinion, depending on someone else/some other company for your well being is too risky.