I think LinkedIn also has better job listings, but oddly enough it was a recruiter for a company that only recruits senior accounting positions that found my resume on Monster (for some other job I had applied for) and called me in for an interview. The recruiter then sent me to interview with the company I am now working for.
I have never been on LinkedIn. I think what I don’t like is my former employers or peers being able to see it.
I use both. But have had little luck myself with Monster. But you never know…
I think you should definitely go ahead with the bleph ASAP. For one thing, there is no doubt that looking younger and/or livelier will make it easier for you to get a job of ANY kind.
Why not look? In fact, in my state, they will let you train to start your own business in lieu of looking for a job!
I have never ever heard of anyone forced to take a job they are offered because they are on unemployment. I do know that I had to keep a list of at least three employers I contacted each week.
FWIW, my brother is the same age and his company folded, so he was looking for a job. He is on his second job since then, and still looking for a better job. They wanted him, for both jobs, because he had experience and was a great problem solver. There was no reason to bring in a 25 or 35 year old or whatever who couldn’t do the job.
I would also say this might be a good opportunity for a career change. Adjust your resume to target new fields. Consider things you would have never considered before.
Good points.
OP, I could feel your pain. Been there. Done that.
Do not know whether it could help you if I say this: We almost have never had “play money” for the past several decades. (Wait…this is not true: We did go out to some fastfood joint occasionally for our “play”! Even shopping at a grocery store could be our “play”.)
Also, my spouse has been at home for several decades - she would still have her VERY stable government job which could enable her to retire at 55 with good pensions if she did not join me here. Also, our 401K may not as “healthy” as yours.
Someone told me that, In California, you could only collect the unemployment for up to 3 months now (it used to be as long as 99 weeks in California when things were very bad, as I was told.)
So sorry to hear this, conmama. As an Accountant, did you do any financial analysis or bookkeeping? Someone suggested getting your Realtor’s license…yeah, your idea of temp agencies is great. This way you can try out new jobs for a few weeks or months without committing.
In between treat yourself well. Busdrivers advice #33 is good advice. Eat well, exercise and go get yourself a manicure/pedicure! 
I really think you need to treat getting a new job like a full time job. I’ve known very experienced, highly credentialed women at around your age in similar circumstances, and it took them a very long time to find a job. It can be very demoralizing. Applying to a few jobs on Monster.com isn’t going to cut it. My very good friend applied to over a HUNDRED jobs online and got only a handful of interviews. She eventually got a job through Linked-In contacts. She was one of the most highly credentialed people I know. She eventually got a fantastic job but it was a long and grueling process!
I don’t mean to be negative but, if you want a new job, I think you need to plan several hours of concentrated search time a day on your search. Maybe 2-3 hours a day filling out online application packages, and another 2-3 hours a day contacting people you know who have moved on to other opportunities and who may know of openings, or who may have friends-of-friends.
Your attitude of not wanting peers and former employers to see your Linked-In profile is exactly the wrong attitude. You need to let everyone you know that you are looking. You should have breakfast, lunch or coffee scheduled with an old contact at LEAST 3 days a week, maybe more if you can stand it.
Think of it as a way to reconnect with old acquaintances. It doesn’t have to be grim, but it will take a LOT of work to get a decent professional job at your age. Age discrimination against women is very real.
I don’t mean to be harsh but this seems to be the new reality. I’ve heard this again and again from many old acquaintances who have contacted me out of the blue for coffee/ lunch / breakfast to discuss potential opportunities at my organization. Whatever you do, don’t express ambivalence toward working at s new job in those meetings!
Also, if you are realistic about the amount of work it will take to find a new job, maybe you won’t feel as guilty to indulge in a month off to get your bleph and to deal with all the health maintenance stuff and just to lounge around a bit. But if you do take some time off from high powered searching, you should have a definite end date so that you know the very day you will start the job search process in a concentrated, focused way.
The first step really does seem to be the Linked-In profile.
Someone probably already suggested this - get a part time low stress job. The Home Depot is an awesome place to work. It’s really fun helping ppl spend money! 
Did you have contact with external clients in your old job? Or, did you work closely with professional counterparts at vendors? Make a list of all of your contacts at those places and start calling them to let them know you are in the market for a new position.
Also, start contacting the people you intend to use as references to gauge their level of enthusiasm. Most people will signal quite clearly how enthusiastic a reference they will be. You want to make sure you have very enthusiastic references lined up.
The problem with retail is that they often treat you like crap. Lowish pay, kind of pathetic management, etc. If youve worked in non-retail where “rules can make sense,” it can drive you a little nutty dealing with some of the senseless rules of retail.
I like the idea of temp jobs…you have the freedom to block your calendar for times you’d be traveling. My sister substitute teaches and has lots of freedom that way. Just provides their “trip money”.
Re temping: The OP was at the same job for 28 years, which tells me she likes consistency and predictability and doesn’t like change. For someone like that, I would think that temping would be stressful. You’d constantly be having to learn new systems and new organizational dynamics. And you’d never really be a fully integrated member of the team. It may be good as a stop gap solution, but something tells me that the OP might not be satisfied with that as a long-term solution.
Setting up a LinkedIn account is not the same as posting a resume on Monster. You are not necessarily job hunting. It is just a professional Facebook. I just use it to keep up with people I have known and what they are doing now.
Yes! In fact, some employers might look you up and wonder why you are not on LinkedIn. It might be taken as a sign of not being technology-savvy (especially if you are in a tech field!) or reclusive.
My sister is in the same field and she is older than you by 5 years, she was only unemployed for one month. Sign yourself up to temp agency. You get job with health insurance + cobra after the contract is over. Don’t think about comparing your new job with the previous job. Be thankful you had a great job for 28 years. I mean don’t look back, look forward. My sister found LinkedIn to be not helpful.
LinkedIn is a great way to stay in touch with people from all your former jobs as well as professional contacts from volunteering or other projects. One way to look at it is … when you chat with friends and they say “I might know someone” LinkedIn gives them a place to point to, that person can take a quick look at your profile … and then can contact you … sort of like a smart business card.
Since you only recently left your old job, pick 3 or 4 colleagues you have good report with and ask them to link with you. You can write a personal note … With the Great Recession just slowly heading off, being laid off is nothing unusual anymore and nothing to hide. Then, pick 3 or 4 people you have non-work relationships with but are fairly successful in their careers, especially if you are close and the work they do interests you. Once these people accept your invitiation, they will lead to other people. I don’t usually link to people I don’t know personally fairly well … but you can exchange emails (their contact info may give you an email so you can escape the annoying InMail.
While you make these email contacts, certainly lunch or just coffee shop 30 minutes, especially with people whose company you enjoyed, would be a good followup.
In terms of what to put on your profile, I would look at formats for “functional resumes” and put some brief bullets on what your everyday work entailed. Add any special skills or software you know. This is advertisement / self-branding so make yourself look good. Since your contacts will see this, don’t get carried away, but a good list of what you do/did both at work and at volunteer activities may remind them of why they liked you and want to send you leads.
I doubt any job is so specialized that it is not needed at many employers. If it’s something that some companies only need a small amount of, that would make a perfect part-time job.
On a CC note, your college students should be working on a LinkedIn account as well, so you can share notes and experiences (and being contacts makes perfect sense). Both of you should be looking at peers or people you respect for ideas for LinkedIn or maybe career or volunteer activities (volunteering is a check box on there …).
PS: You probably already know this, but many times temp jobs are offered by companies to see if it’s a fit and match by both the employee and employer. Then full time employment could be offered.
Are you familiar with QuickBooks?
Also do not sell yourself short as to be able to become self-employed. There are many small businesses that could use a good accountant but not a CPA. You could also take the H & R Block or similar tax course and learn to do most tax returns very quickly.
My BIL who is not a CPA but was in corporate finance left a job to move east and he easily set up his own business. After a while he had to turn clients away.
You’ve gotten good advice so I will just pile on a bit: you can use some of this time to catch up on stuff you want to do and haven’t like medical stuff…two that immediately pop to mind for me is decluttering (at some point you might want to downsize) and something that takes a huge amount of time is getting your estate planning done. Wills, pay on death notices, lists of accounts etc. I think around 50 is just the right time to make sure all of that is in order.
A couple other volunteer options: animal shelter —our local one has people who walk the dogs or pet the cats–and the local library. If I needed a p/t retail job I think Trader Joes would be my first pick.
OR a non-paying full time job: PUPPY!
My husband when he was unemployed hated spending all day at home so he often went to Starbucks with his computer.
LinkedIn is my lifeline for getting the word out that I am looking for something new. You can find people who have left your old company (yay, contact at a new company!). It is my number one tool for contacting people about jobs. You would be amazed at who comes through sometimes.