Local Resident Profiled In Brooklyn Ink Series On Unemployed

Lance Diamond, a Bensonhurst resident who was laid off in February from his senior management position at a healthcare firm, was profiled on local website Brooklyn Ink as part of a series on unemployment in the County of Kings.

According to the article, Lance, like many of the more than 100,000 Brooklynites who have recently found themselves out of work, is actively seeking employment. The piece makes note of the fact that for Lance, a poor economy isn’t the only obstacle he faces on the hunt for a new job. His age of 64 years may be nudging him towards an unwanted early retirement.

From Brooklyn Ink:

“Sure I can stay here,” Lance says, “I can sit around all day [but] it’s not doing anything for me. I am not retired – I don’t consider this situation a ‘retirement’. Retirement is usually something determined in good spirits by the person retiring and not by being forced out of work for any reason.”

(snip)

He wants to believe that his experience and skills will help encourage future employers to look past his sparse white hair and weathered blue eyes. Yet Lance admits that age is an issue.

“I was asked right in [an] interview, ‘How much longer do you think you’re gong to be able to work?’” Lance says, with an incredulous look on his face as he recalls the interview. “Now that’s a terrible question to ask but I had the right answer. I said that I intend to work for as long as God enables me to and gives me the facilities to work. That’s how long I’m going to work.”

Fortunately, prior to the loss of his job, Lance and his wife Anna had been careful to not overspend and put money away. Anna, who works as an assistant portfolio manager for a financial services company, is able to pick up some of the slack from the formerly two income household.

Still, Lance worries about the future. Having spent much of his 401k on a down payment for the condo he and his wife share, he says they are carefully budgeting their money as he plans for potentially tough times ahead.

Despite this, he still remains optimistic that he’ll eventually find something, even if he has to settle for a part time or temporary job.

“I’m going to search for as long as I can, in any capacity, whether it’s full-time, part-time, [or] temporary because that’s who I am,” Lance told Brooklyn Ink.