Don’t sign anything yet. If you’re 40 or over and the severance deal asks you to give up age discrimination claims, US law gives you at least 21 days to consider it (45 in a group layoff) and seven days to change your mind after signing. Use that time to sort your money and health cover, then choose between a job hunt and your own thing with clear eyes.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the building, a nice man from facilities is deactivating your badge. Your out-of-office still says “back Monday.” Bless it.
(This is a starting point, not legal advice. Get a lawyer to read the paperwork.)
Why it’s harder than it sounds
Everyone says “it’s their loss.” Lovely. It’s also your salary, your health plan, your title and the answer you gave at every dinner party for 20 years. The loss is shared, but not evenly.
The job market doesn’t help. The Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks people who lost a job they’d held for three years or more because the company closed, ran out of work or abolished the role. In its January 2026 survey, 72.9 percent of displaced workers aged 25 to 54 were back in work. For ages 55 to 64, it was 57.3 percent. Nobody says the word “age” in the exit meeting. The numbers say it for them.
And it rarely arrives alone. One woman we spoke to was exited from a marketing director job at a high-tech firm’s headquarters, a “high responsibility job,” while dealing with “a pretty rough perimenopause myself, 13 years of, of it.” Being shown the door at 50 often lands on top of something else entirely. Nobody schedules these things for your convenience.
What actually works
Read the folder slowly
The folder HR slid across the table is a contract, not a goodbye card. The EEOC says a valid age waiver must advise you in writing to consult an attorney before accepting, and the seven-day revocation period can’t be waived by anyone. Use every one of those days. Pay a lawyer for an hour. It’s cheaper than finding out what you signed away.
Sort health cover before the feelings
Under COBRA, the Department of Labor explains, workers who lose their job can choose to continue their employer’s group health benefits for a limited time. Check the cost against a marketplace plan or a partner’s plan this week. Panic about who you are next week. In that order.
Count the runway
Add up severance, savings and any income you can switch on fast. Divide by what you actually spend, not what you wish you spent. That number is how long you get to think. Treat it like oxygen.
Decide what you’re actually shopping for
If you want another job, start with people, not portals. Former colleagues and clients know your work, and they don’t care what year you graduated. If you want your own thing, look at the problem you’ve already solved for yourself. The woman above spent two years working out what was wrong when the doctors weren’t helpful, then built a coaching business helping other women through the same thing.
Hire people who’ll tell you the truth
Her advice for any woman in business: get coaches. “I always have several coaches that I’m working with,” she said, and she finds the feedback “incredibly helpful.” Your old boss has stopped giving you notes. Pick someone better.
Hear it from someone who’s done it
Dyna Vink went from marketing director to running a perimenopause coaching business that’s mostly online. She tells the story of being exited from corporate, and what she did with it, right at the start. Jump to 2:13 or find the full conversation on the episode page. (One woman’s experience of perimenopause, not medical advice.)
FAQ
How do I handle being fired?
Say as little as possible in the meeting, ask for everything in writing, and sign nothing on the day. Then tell the people who matter before they hear it from LinkedIn. Fury is allowed. Just not in an email to the CEO.
Is it harder to find a job at 50 or older?
The federal data says yes, at least past 55. In the latest BLS displaced worker survey, 57.3 percent of 55 to 64 year olds were reemployed, against 72.9 percent of 25 to 54 year olds. That’s a reason to plan a longer runway, not a reason to stop.
Should I take the severance package?
Maybe, after you’ve read it properly. If you’re 40 or over and it includes an age discrimination waiver, you have at least 21 days to decide and seven days to revoke. A lawyer can tell you whether the offer is fair or just fast.
What if I’ve been fired from a high-status job?
The status belonged to the company. The judgment, the contacts and the war stories belong to you. Ask five people who worked with you what they’d hire you for now, and listen for the answer that comes up twice.
Next step: your old employer owned the stage. If you’d like your own, with your name on it and the people you’d love to work with as guests, that’s what Serena’s company builds. See how Captrr works.