I was laid off from Nike after 20 years. 3 actions helped me land a new executive role within months.

This as-told-to effort is based connected a speech pinch Tim Perks, a 58-year-old vice president of shop creation and readying astatine DICK'S Sporting Goods successful Pittsburgh. It's been edited for magnitude and clarity.

After 2 decades astatine Nike, my squad and I sewage trim from the institution successful a awesome reorganization. It was my first firm job. I wasn't freaked retired erstwhile I heard the reorg was coming — it had been announced immoderate months before, truthful everybody knew it was connected its way.

In September 2024, conscionable 4 months aft being fto go, I started a caller executive domiciled as a VP astatine DICK'S Sporting Goods. I had besides been interviewing intensely pinch a 2nd institution erstwhile I accepted DICK'S offer.

I'm successful my precocious 50s, and taking this occupation required my woman and maine to waste our location successful Portland. We had to relocate crossed the state to Pennsylvania, leaving a spot we loved for location neither of america had roots.

The process of landing my caller occupation progressive galore interviews, assessments, and sessions pinch a firm psychologist. Here are 3 strategies that helped maine to quickly onshore connected my feet arsenic a job seeker successful my 50s.

I hired a profession coach who helps older execs get hired

I held respective unit creation roles astatine Nike crossed geographies and world teams — my past position astatine Nike was arsenic elder head of unit design.

The institution went done much than 1 reorganization during my 2 decades there. As the strategy that had driven maturation astatine Nike since 2020 began to slow, I could spot my profession maturation opportunities astatine the institution narrowing.

I started reasoning astir what the adjacent section of my profession was going to be.

Prior to being laid off, I'd already started moving pinch an executive profession coach, who helped maine explain my worth and build a strategy. When I first met my profession coach, I didn't cognize for judge whether I was going to get kept connected astatine Nike — but I was fresh to make the alteration 1 measurement aliases the different myself.

This alteration progressive reasoning astir what was important to maine and what I wanted to do next. Through my activity pinch my profession coach, I knew it was important really you show up connected your LinkedIn profile, truthful creating my positioning location was really I started preparing for my adjacent steps.

I activated the web I'd built complete my Nike tenure

Through my coaching conversations, I'd besides started to web pinch a batch of different people.

Part of the process was penning retired a database of my relationships astatine Nike and starting to understand the types of connections they represented, arsenic good arsenic the skills I sought successful them. After 20 years, I crossed paths pinch a batch of group astatine different brands, including group who I had worked pinch astatine Nike who had moved connected to different brands. The cardinal to uncovering a caller position was that I leaned heavy into this web I'd built.

That network proved to beryllium the astir valuable plus successful the search. I started to build retired a position for myself that featured group I knew by grouping them successful different ways:

• The types of leaders they were.
• The types of connections I had pinch them.
• How could they lend to my search?
• What I was going to do next.

Then I reached retired to each of those folks for java aliases vino to spot if they had immoderate thoughts aliases ideas astir my adjacent steps.

One of the web folks that I reached retired to began arsenic a elemental conversation. I had told her, "I'm not asking you for a job, I'm conscionable reaching retired to person a speech astir the adjacent shape of my career." She ended up inviting maine for an interview.

I knew my value

I didn't person to little my expectations astir salary arsenic a occupation seeker successful my 50s.

Some of this came from my coaching conversations. I knew that I was leaving money connected the array staying arsenic agelong arsenic I was astatine Nike. I realized I could importantly summation what I was making by going to different company. If I near and later came back, I had a amended chance of getting a salary raise than staying astatine a institution for a really agelong time.

I besides didn't person to little my expectations to find a caller occupation successful my 50s. I ne'er fto myself get to that spot wherever I believed that my property was someway going to beryllium a barrier.

I approached this job searching process knowing I had existent worth to connection and felt assured I could find a institution that would agree. I felt for illustration my property meant overmuch much astir my acquisition and my profession level, and it was an plus pinch worth that companies would want.

Working astatine Nike feels for illustration getting a Ph.D. successful moving pinch a brand, and it gave maine a batch of assurance successful what I could offer. I was mentally prepared to beryllium fto spell because I knew what I was worth.

Do you person a communicative to stock astir landing a caller occupation successful this existent market? If so, please scope retired to this editor, Agnes Applegate, astatine [email protected].