This is post 15 of the 16 post series.

Imagine working in one of these industries:

• Telegraph
• CRTs (TV Tubes)
• VHS Tapes
• Camera Film
• Typing pool
• Typewriters
• Steam Engines
• Floppy Disk drives
• Mimeograph machine
• Horse Drawn plow
• Cobol Software Developers (still dying)
• Computer manufacturers  of the past, like Commodore 64, AT&T and Wang Laboratories

I am sure there are thousands of other examples of industries and products that have gone Poof.

Imagine if you were trained in one of these industries or businesses and your only experience, talents & skills were based on these industries. There are many people who have been and are in this situation.

Many people would believe that they are out of luck, screwed or that there is no hope for them.

Not true, if you think past your title, industry & company.

Not true, if you believe in yourself to overcome

Here are 5 things you can do to find another job, despite having worked in a dead or dying industry, doing a job that no longer exists:

1. Ask yourself, “What activities have I enjoyed & been successful doing that I can do in a different job & industry?”
   • Write down all of the activities, not jobs, that you have done in your jobs and life that you enjoyed & were successful doing. Prioritize these activities by enjoyment & success only after you have a big list. And we all have a big list.
   • Use Self Assessment tools like Strenghtsfinder.com, DISC, etc to dig deep into what your skills, talents, experiences are that can be put to use in another job & industry.
2. Ask people who know you and and what you can do, “What kinds of work do you think I could be successful doing?”
   • Often we don’t see what others see in us. We tend to be more narrow minded and less trusting in our own self assessment.
   • Have good open conversations with lots of people. Your industry & job may have gone poof, but there are lots of other industries and jobs that you have never heard of before. Ask big open questions.
3. Attend classes at your local Community College to brush up on skills that you have which can be used in a new & different job.
   • There are lots of skills that you can brush on and/or build thru community colleges at a lower cost & time investment. Check out your local community college class listing online.
   • Think big and different. You could find a class that fuels your passion and interest beyond your old job.
4. Re-engineer yourself into a completely different industry and career
   • I hear this often, “But I’m too old to consider something totally different.” BULL! Lots of people have changed careers completely at ages beyond your’s and I don’t care how old you are. Don’t put disqualifiers up as you consider re-engineering. Think bold, positive and exciting. Then find out what it will take to become what you want to become & GO DO IT!
5. Take a Gap job. Reality says, “pay the bills with a job you can get, until you can get the job you want.”
   • Maybe you won’t be living the life you think you want. Maybe you’ll live the life you always wanted, but had convinced yourself that you needed more materialistic things and ended up working a job you hate. Either way, often a Gap job is the answer to a new and better life, despite it’s short comings, or possible shortcomings.

The one thing you can’t do in this situation is to whine about your lost job. You have to do what ever you can to get over it. Accept the change as a fact of life and nothing personal. Find a way to focus on the future and the hidden benefits. Hidden benefits that you will find if you put your mind to it.