What to do when you get Laid off from your Job
There is nothing worse than walking into work and thinking that your job is safe and then getting blindsided as you get called into your boss' office and told that your position had been eliminated. I know because it is exactly what happened to me. A feeling of betrayal and hatred sweeps over you and you feel as though you could reach across the desk and strangle the person. It is not an easy thing to do, but you have to let it go and move on with your life.
Initially, you are very shocked and of course you need some time to cool off, but then you have to get it together and start to figure out what you are going to do. Your finances are something that you are going to have to look at immediately. File for unemployment and then get a grasp on how that is going to affect your monthly income. Can you actually pay your bills with the money that you are collecting or are you going to come up short. If this is not going to be enough, don't panic because you have plenty of options.
Get on the phone and contact every creditor that you have and explain your situation. A lot of these companies have programs and deferrals that are in place for just such an occasion. However, you are going to have to ask for them in order to be able to use them. For instance, student loans have an automatic deferral plan that you can apply for if you lose your job and it is not your fault. If you were smart enough to have enrolled in the protection plan on your credit card, they will make the minimum payment until you are employed again. There are also various government programs in place for your mortgage or rent if you get behind there. Look into each and every one of these and take advantage of all of them. Remember, there is no shame in asking for help.
Something that is very critical is medical insurance, especially if you have children. Cobra payments can be very costly, but the stimulus package that The President put into play is a huge help in this area. The government will pick up 65% of the payment for the first 9 months. There is no way you can get insurance this cheap on any other program and you must take advantage of it.
The next step is to figure out how to reduce or eliminate bills that you currently have. A house phone is a great place to start. In today's age, you must have a cell phone, but how much are you using that house phone of yours? In my case, I eliminated it altogether and saved $40 a month. You already get long distance, so it is just a matter of getting the word out and letting people know you no longer use that number. Make the calls and then cancel the service.
Cable is another place to look. It is not realistic to think that you are going to sit in a dark house, but suck it up and get rid of all the premium channels until you find a job again. You can reduce your bill in some cases by over $50 a month. That is almost $100 a month that has already been eliminated in just these two areas. How many other creature comforts or unnecessary things do you pay for each month?
Once you go over your bills, it is time to look around the house and see what you can sell if you have to. This may sound drastic, but selling my baseball memorabilia helped me survive for 3 months. You may not have to do it right away or it may never even get to that stage, but you are better to be prepared for this stage if it comes to that. Get everything together, take photos and write down an inventory. If it gets to this stage, you are not wasting time and can get it up on sites like eBay in a hurry.
Now during the time that you are doing all of this, you should be cooled back down and ready to get involved in your job hunt. Get your resume together and get it posted on every job site that is available. Sites like Monster and Jobs.com are generic, but there are also industry specific sites that you will want to check out. For instance, the hospitality industry has HCareers. You can also start checking places like Craig's List. You would be surprised at some to the gems that pop up on there. Get your name out to any and every recruiting company you can find. There is no fee as they are employed by companies to fill positions that are available. Get your resume on their desk ASAP.
Something that you are going to have to be prepared for is that you may not find a position at your current salary during these times. Figure out what the lowest amount of salary that you will be able to accept is and include these positions in on your job hunt. A smaller check is better than no check, especially if unemployment is not touching your take home pay that you used to receive.
While you are out of work, think about picking up a part time position. A lot of companies are making use of this because they don't have to pay any benefits for part time staff. Maybe you can find something in your industry or maybe you can bartend or wait tables a couple of days a week. It really doesn't matter as long as you can increase your weekly income. Remember, partial unemployment is higher than regular unemployment. You can still collect even if you are working.
Another consideration is to think about opening your own business or do something that you always wanted to do. Now is the time. Go back to school or explore another industry and start your own business. You can take advantage of the programs that the SBA is offering and get the start up money that you need to get rolling. In all honesty, this is the best bet for many people as Corporate America does not seem willing to take the hit that they have to in order to get people back to work again. Don't wait on them, make your own breaks.
Whatever you do, don't feel sorry for yourself or get into conspiracy theory mode. There are over 12,000,000 of us that are out there looking for jobs and about half of that number did nothing wrong to get laid off. By keeping your head up and plugging away, you are going to be miles ahead of the ones that are sitting on their couches sulking about what happened. There is light at the end of the tunnel, it is just up to you to get through the tunnel and see it.
