Well… I never thought it would happen to me. Spent 25 years at a Fortune 500 company, working my way up to a Director with 50 reports. Took a lateral move to a high profile individual contributor role that I held for the last 5 years. Then got cut during a downsizing (as did all but one in my department). That was 2 years ago. Managed to find 5 months of consulting work, but the rest of the time has been pretty ugly.
For example: Late this spring I submitted my name into a local mega-company. Went in for three interviews, well over a dozen hours of discussion. Talked to something like a dozen people. This over about 6-8 weeks. Got a call three weeks later telling me that the interviews went well. Most liked me, but two had “yellow” flags. Therefore the company had decided to keep looking for another 3 months or so to see if they could find the perfect candidate.
Its tough, and not only financially. One begins to question ones self worth. Lots of anxiety over playing the bills. Can’t do yard work – landscaping cost money! Can’t take the kids to the water park – that money might feed them for another few days. These days I get outside perhaps twice a week. Fortunately, compliments of my wife, that has lead to the creation of this blog site!