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- Donna Kopman was laid off from her job as a sales operations manager in December.
- After having only two interviews from 400 applications, she's relying on benefits and savings.
- Kopman said she felt some employers were being ageist when assessing her application.
This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Donna Kopman, from Portland, Oregon, about her experience getting laid off at 57 and her job search. Business Insider has verified her previous salary. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
I managed a sales support team of 15 employees for a software company, Milestone Systems, for three years.