Didn\'t Think It Would Get This Bad...

FeelingHo, Poway, CA

Hello. After 20+ years in the automotive industry, it's not the stable place that it used to be. Been out of work twice in the last 5 years, but this time, it's worse. Still trying to pay off the credit card bills we used to stay afloat from the last time, and this time, the house is at risk. We bought the house for the kids, so they could come back to it when they had kids of their own, and to leave it to them as an inheritance. I've got no family to ask for help from, and the wife's family has done so much already, and I do need to pay them back when I find another job, in a more stable industry, but it's not easy to move to a different industry when the interviewers start out with, "Well, you seem to have a very strong background in the automotive industry. Why do you want to leave it?". The other thing that's hard to hear is "You're overqualified for the position you're applying for. Why do you want to start at an entry level position?". When you try to leave one industry for another, can you really expect to start at the top...? It doesn't seem to matter that I have skill sets that can be applied to a number of different industries. Sometimes, it seems like we're branded with a Scarlet Letter because of the industry and the publicity it got a few years ago, with going to the government for a handout when none of the Big Three really needed to. Ok, sorry about the rant... I need to find another job, hold onto my house, and be able to sleep at night again. Anything you can give would be vastly appreciated. Thank you.