Starting Over at 59

1993-2000

Upon moving to NJ I accepted a job as an Account Exec (sales) for an IT staffing firm owned by my “brother-in-law candidate”. He quickly became my mentor and taught me the staffing business well. He took good care of me and I was earning more money than I could have ever imagined. 9 years and several promotions later, it’s now 2001, I was VP of Consulting Services, responsible for 15 sales reps across 5 offices in 5 different states. Then 9-1-1 happened, and I quit.

2002 – 2004

It’s 2002, I’m now 36 with a young family. My mentor taught me well and I decided to take the same leap he did, and start my own staffing firm. Of course my timing was awful. I’m the immediate aftermath of 911 staffing in the NYC metro area grind to a halt, especially IT staffing. I lasted almost 2 years, burned through 90% of my savings, but was forced to abandon the dream. My kids were now 7 and 4, and I now know the financial strain was the beginning of the end of my marriage. She never forgave me.

I slogged through jobs with 3 different staffing companies over the next 2 years. Under employed ,making a fraction of what I was earning, the stress continued and I kept looking for new roles.

2005-2018

I finally landed with company that provides outsourced services to Pharma companies. Now I wouldn’t be “selling” anymore, but still client facing and leading a team of recruiting. I was making the transition from staffing company to client-focused recruiting. I loved it! And the comp package was lucrative! I was back!!

14 years and a promotion later, I was let go. My company had merged with a complimentary company and there were several redundant roles eliminated.

Now divorced, remarried and with mortgage and alimony payments to choke a horse, I was 53 and unemployed. As a recruiter, through the years I had interacted with several “seasoned” candidates. They struggled to understand how, with 25+ years experience and a great track record, they couldn’t get another job in their field of expertise. Sitting as I was between the candidates and hiring clients, I knew the reason. Clients can hire candidates half the age of these professionals at a fraction of their salaries. Why pay that much for someone on the backend of their career, when I can get “the same” results with someone who costs peanuts and they can mold to their will. It was a no-brainer.

2019 – 2023

Now it was my turn. Let go in August 2018, it took until March 2019 to land a new role. I was earning less than half what I was, but the mortgage and alimony (and now college) payments didn’t stop.

Then, a few months later a company I interviewed with months prior called and offered me lifeline. Still less than I needed to make, but this was a Fortune 500, big Pharma company. I jumped at the opportunity.

4 years and a promotion later, I’m now leading a team of 15+ recruiters spread across the country supporting arguably the companies most important function. But, in those same 4 years I had 5 different leaders. The instability combined with the unspoken sentiment that I was stalled at best or being managed out at worst, made me nervous.

2023 – present

As always I kept all options open. Through networking I developed a relationship with a CHRO. We spoke nearly once a month for years. When he called with an opportunity to build and lead a recruiting team for their fastest growing BU. 👀👀 Sure! I’m available!!

Build a dedicated recruiting team to support this BU – check!

Reduce reliance on outside recruiting agencies – check!

Improve KPIs such as time to fill, 0-30 day retention, hiring manager and candidate survey results – check, check and check.

Didn’t matter – 18 mos later, citing a significant business lull and client loss, I was impacted by a series of lay offs, again.

Now it’s 2025 and I’m 59. I’ve worked my network, applied to literally hundreds of jobs and managed just 5 interviews in 8 mos. What’s worse is I’m struggling to get any traction for roles for which I’m seriously over qualified.

Just to bring in some income I’ve started substitute teaching. At $15/hr that is not a long term strategy. But it does offer me the schedule flexibility to continue to ramp up the catering and food truck business.