With unemployment still high - ranging to as high as 40% for some groups - we are still looking closely at people out of work and their chances of getting re-hired.
If you are among the "Baby Boomer" executive or upper management crowd, the circumstances of your being "separated from service" make a big difference.
Let's take a look at three elements of this situation.
Where do you stand with each? Emotional Trauma of Losing your Job If you were expecting to work to some reasonable retirement age and then depart gracefully, being laid off may have been a big shock.
In fact, some 20% of Boomers who have reached age 65 NEED to stay in the workforce.
And that percentage is increasing.
These people say they can't afford to retire because they don't have adequate savings, haven't earned an adequate pension, or need to make up for stock market losses.
For this group, being out of work is disconcerting and frightening.
And they can anticipate a job search that lasts anywhere from 12-24 months before they find anything.
Moreover, that new position will probably be less desirable, and pay less, than the one they held before.
If you're in this group, and you were actually fired and not just laid off, the resulting embarrassment, guilt and anger add to the challenge you are facing.
Financial Impact of Being Fired or Laid Off Obviously, whether you were fired, laid off, terminated or discharged may make a difference as to whether you can apply for unemployment benefits.
Different states seem to define matters differently, so no matter how you "think" it all happened, your first task is to be sure you understand exactly where you stand in the eyes of the law - and the unemployment department of your state.
For example, here are some definitions pulled randomly from the internet: "If you were fired or discharged from your job because you did something that was not in the best interests of your employer, you may be disqualified from collecting benefits.
" But, from a bit further on in the same article, "Fired employees can claim unemployment benefits if they were terminated because...
they were not a good fit for the job...
or for being late for work several times.
" As a layman, I find these distinctions vague.
You probably do too - and that's the reason you need to become an expert in your own case.
Just the fact that you are vigorously pursuing benefits may cause your previous employer to decide to accept your claim rather than contest it and risk a lawsuit.
Getting Re-hired How you became unemployed has less and less importance the longer you remain unemployed.
After a year of being out of work, it is the fact of being unemployed - plus your age - that seems to play the biggest role in the eyes of hiring managers.
Where your age may be the real reason, your lack of current skills is likely to be the "official reason" given.
Of course, statistics are somewhat better for Boomers with unique skills and/or a stellar work history.
But even they are finding fewer, and fewer better, opportunities.
Many who are having the greatest success have turned to consulting as a new career or an interim solution.
These are the hard facts.
Many Boomers who find themselves in the circumstances described above are taking a deep breath and beginning to look at altogether new career options.
The sooner they are able to accept these hard facts, the more options they will have.
If you are among the "Baby Boomer" executive or upper management crowd, the circumstances of your being "separated from service" make a big difference.
Let's take a look at three elements of this situation.
Where do you stand with each? Emotional Trauma of Losing your Job If you were expecting to work to some reasonable retirement age and then depart gracefully, being laid off may have been a big shock.
In fact, some 20% of Boomers who have reached age 65 NEED to stay in the workforce.
And that percentage is increasing.
These people say they can't afford to retire because they don't have adequate savings, haven't earned an adequate pension, or need to make up for stock market losses.
For this group, being out of work is disconcerting and frightening.
And they can anticipate a job search that lasts anywhere from 12-24 months before they find anything.
Moreover, that new position will probably be less desirable, and pay less, than the one they held before.
If you're in this group, and you were actually fired and not just laid off, the resulting embarrassment, guilt and anger add to the challenge you are facing.
Financial Impact of Being Fired or Laid Off Obviously, whether you were fired, laid off, terminated or discharged may make a difference as to whether you can apply for unemployment benefits.
Different states seem to define matters differently, so no matter how you "think" it all happened, your first task is to be sure you understand exactly where you stand in the eyes of the law - and the unemployment department of your state.
For example, here are some definitions pulled randomly from the internet: "If you were fired or discharged from your job because you did something that was not in the best interests of your employer, you may be disqualified from collecting benefits.
" But, from a bit further on in the same article, "Fired employees can claim unemployment benefits if they were terminated because...
they were not a good fit for the job...
or for being late for work several times.
" As a layman, I find these distinctions vague.
You probably do too - and that's the reason you need to become an expert in your own case.
Just the fact that you are vigorously pursuing benefits may cause your previous employer to decide to accept your claim rather than contest it and risk a lawsuit.
Getting Re-hired How you became unemployed has less and less importance the longer you remain unemployed.
After a year of being out of work, it is the fact of being unemployed - plus your age - that seems to play the biggest role in the eyes of hiring managers.
Where your age may be the real reason, your lack of current skills is likely to be the "official reason" given.
Of course, statistics are somewhat better for Boomers with unique skills and/or a stellar work history.
But even they are finding fewer, and fewer better, opportunities.
Many who are having the greatest success have turned to consulting as a new career or an interim solution.
These are the hard facts.
Many Boomers who find themselves in the circumstances described above are taking a deep breath and beginning to look at altogether new career options.
The sooner they are able to accept these hard facts, the more options they will have.