Life After a Layoff

Layoffs happen. That’s unfortunate, but it doesn’t have to completely demoralize you. You can recover and in many ways maybe come out better off than you were before. Here are a few tips on what to do after a layoff. The first thing is to take a week or two to lick your wounds and decompress. You don’t need to jump right in the next day. Even if you feel antsy to get moving allow yourself some time mentally recover. When you feel ready to move to the next level, get yourself organized.

Write up a budget that you can live on and still cover expenses. You will likely need to make some cutbacks. Apply for unemployment benefits and do some research on different health insurance options. The most common organization is COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act). That’s a pretty costly plan so if you are healthy it doesn’t pay off. There are other plans that are less expensive. You will have to move fast on this because you have 60 days sign up after you are terminated.

Take time to educate yourself on your 401K rollover if you have one. Often when people are laid off, financial planners jump in with all kinds of advice and are eager to handle you money for you. Don’t turn over your money to someone who is not willing to give you sufficient time to investigate the investment with them. Watch out for too-good-to-be-true offers, such as the ones who take on your investment for only a small commission paid out by holding company or your previous company. Ask the financial planner how his or her commission is actually being paid. If they insist that nothing is coming from you, it’s likely not true. There are people who are eager to get their hands on your floating retirement funds and if you’re not educated on the process, they can easily leave you empty handed. Research the company to see if there are any complaints. If it’s a single person, you can check with the Securities and Exchange Commission to learn about the person’s dealings and track record.

When you’re ready to pursue your job search, remember that the process has likely changed since you were in the “trenches” so you might want to seek the advice of a reputable Web site or career outplacement firm. If you haven’t prepared a resume in while, there are plenty of free services and samples that you can use. However, the competition is getting tougher so to stand out in your job search process, you might want to enlist the help of a professional resume consultant.