- Jay Cadmus was laid off in his 50s after more than two decades at IBM.
- He was unemployed for six months and had to pause his 401(k) and his kid’s college savings.
- Cadmus said he experienced ageism in his search and found younger people got jobs he applied for.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jay Cadmus, a communications advisor, about being laid off at age 55. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I worked for IBM for 23 years in various roles. I started in Raleigh, North Carolina, where I did internal communications, local and regional media relations, and speechwriting for the general manager.
I had roles working on IBM’s sponsorship of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta in its software group, technology, and web content. My final job was as the media relations manager for the global technology services division.
I hoped I’d be able to keep working at IBM until I finished my career unless another great opportunity presented itself.
I was laid off in September 2015 when I was 55. I was surprised when my boss told me, but I wasn’t shocked. I’d been laid off earlier in my career and always knew it was a possibility.
I had been laid off before — in my 30s
I was laid off at 31, only three months after joining the organization where I was working. I had two kids and a mortgage — I wasn’t prepared.
The experience changed my perspective. After that, I viewed every role as a bridge job.
Over the years, I kept my network current, updated my résumé at least twice a year, kept my LinkedIn profile current, and always looked for other opportunities.
So, when I was told I was going to be laid off from IBM in August, I was ready for it. My résumé was already updated, and I started applying for jobs on my way home.
I knew that it would be harder the 2nd time around
Time wasn’t on my side. I thought it would take me several months if not longer, to find my next opportunity. I knew being older, there were fewer opportunities because I’m more expensive, and there are fewer roles where the hiring manager is looking for someone with that level of experience.
When I was laid off at 31, I was given two months’ notice in October, and by February, I had landed another position. I was younger, cheaper and the job market was probably a bit different.
I had a kid at home and a mortgage
After my 2015 layoff, I looked for freelance consulting work because I needed an income to bridge the gap until I landed a new job. My third child was still living at home, and I had to pay the bills and mortgage.
We had to make some financial adjustments as a family. I thought getting a new job could take as long as a year. We paused our investments in our funds for our kid’s college and our retirement.
My wife increased her work hours from part-time to full-time, and because of that, we were both able to enroll in her company’s health insurance.
I reached out to a business associate who ran a small marketing firm. He was growing and needed people to work. The next week, I started doing freelance content writing for him. Some weeks, I worked 30 hours on freelance projects; some weeks, it was 12 hours.
It wasn’t as much as I had been making, but it was significant. Doing something kept me from worrying about my finances.
I networked to find job opportunities
I treated finding a job like having a job. I applied for 60 jobs, spoke to around 20 recruiters, and got between eight and 12 interviews. I only applied to jobs I knew I had a chance of getting.
Whenever I saw a job I wanted, I found someone at the company who worked in that function on LinkedIn and reached out. That could help slip my résumé to the top of the stack. The human element was important.
My greatest asset was the network I’d built over the years. When I reached out to people, they told me about job opportunities in their networks.
I was very organized. I kept records of every job I applied for, every interaction I had, and every contact I made in my network so I knew when to follow up.
I experienced ageism in my search
There is some bias against older employees. In some interviews, I could see the light go out in their eyes when they realized my age.
There was one job I didn’t get where I saw the person they ended up hiring was much younger and had significantly less experience than I did or even than the job had required.
Employers are never going to tell you it’s because of your age, but it was in the back of my mind.
I landed a job after 6 months
I heard about a job through a contact in my network. I’d applied for a role at her company and hadn’t gotten it. During a chat with her afterward, she said a recruiter had reached out to her the previous week with a role. She didn’t want it because she wasn’t looking to move but thought I’d be a good fit.
She gave the recruiter my name, and I landed the offer three weeks later, in March 2016. It was such a relief to have a salary and to start saving again for my son’s college fund and my 401(k), which I had paused for six months.
The job I landed was tough but interesting. I worked in the company’s consulting group on organizational change and management practices. I’m still there. I do all the communications for the company’s sales.
I thought I’d retire in 2021, but I haven’t yet. Maybe one day, I’ll start up my freelance and consultancy work again. I’ll always do this work just because I enjoy it and I’m pretty good at it.
If you have been laid off in your 50s or 60s and would like to share your story, email ehopkins@businessinsider.com.