You’ve Been Downsized!

Once a professional in an office, you suddenly find yourself working as a cashier at Target. Somehow you didn’t picture your pre-retirement years this way but you have a family that is counting on you for paying the bills and the all important medical insurance.

Not that there’s anything wrong with working at Target or wearing a name tag or working the family business. Those are all honest jobs. It’s just that after 20 years with your previous company, and with your education and expertise, you hadn’t exactly planned on ramping up to your golden years asking customers if they’d like to save ten percent on their purchase by opening a store credit card.

You’d heard the rumors, but of course nothing concrete. The company line was that the “numbers” were good. You didn’t really see the writing on the wall until the last minute and still were hoping for the best. You were hoping you weren’t going to be one of the countless main wage earners to get let go. But sadly, you were. Unemployment ran out. You sent out literally hundreds of resumes and still nothing. Your spirits are down, you’re frustrated (that’s an understatement) and you even had to humble yourself to get some help from a local food pantry.

You’ve tried everything, taking online courses and applying for every job - even ones you are overqualified for. You’ve been to monster.com and usajobs.com and every other job board on the internet. It seems like you’ve tried everything so now what?

For starters, keep plugging along. Keep on keeping on. You know a job isn’t going to fall from the sky, so you need to just accept that your job right now is finding a job. You are working and you’re working harder than most at this task.

The most important thing is to keep a positive outlook. I know, easier said than done but you do have a lot to be positive about, don’t you? Sure you may have financial trouble but everyone you love is healthy and there are worse things than working at Target.

Look at downsizing as an opportunity to find a better job, make a career change or even start your own business. Don’t view yourself as a victim since this will only foster a bad attitude. Having a positive outlook will help you present yourself better in interviews - no one wants to hire someone who is bitter and depressed.

You wouldn’t have advanced nor had the longevity that you did in your former career had it not been for your wherewithal and internal drive. You need to find that strength again. If you’re still having a pity party, it’s time to get over it. If you’ve sent out that many resumes and exhausted what you believe to be all your leads and you’re still bitter and feeling sorry for yourself, it’s time to reevaluate. If you haven’t already accepted a job that you’re overqualified for and underpaid, then it’s time you did.

So for now, picture your job as a cashier, or delivering papers in the morning or whatever you have to do to make ends meet as temporary. Sure, this isn’t what you pictured yourself doing at this time of your life but at least your house wasn’t torn apart by a tsunami or hurricane. Put things into perspective and you will see how lucky you are to be given this new opportunity.

View your temporary job as an opportunity to network with people you would have never had the opportunity to cross paths. Maybe your next customer could be a business owner that you’ve been attempting to get an interview with.

As for the people who give you clichés – know that they mean well. People who have not been a mile in your shoes don’t understand it. They don’t know what to say. Remember downsizing sometimes sucks, but it may be forcing you into a new opportunity that you really love. Make the best of it.