Laid Off or Fired : Now What?

Jim Willis asked:


So….you’ve been laid-off, fired, whatever you want to call it. A mix of harsh emotions are probably stirring around inside you. So, what should you do now? First, realize this may be a dream come true. Seriously, every time I’ve been fired or laid-off, it’s ended up being a blessing in disguise. I’ve always ended up in a new position that either pays more or is a lot more fun than the old career.

First things first, adjust your attitude. This is no time to feel sorry for yourself. There is more opportunity in this country than you may know. Open your mind to opportunities you may not have ever considered. For example, just because you’ve been an accountant for 10 years, doesn’t necessarily mean you must find an accounting position. Maybe you’d do well in a sales position or get into pest control. You could always use your accounting skills as a freelancer in the evenings to keep those skills polished. So, look at this layoff as an opportunity! Your ex-employer may well have given you a blessing in disguise!

Let’s take care of some things right away, before you even start a job search. Apply for unemployment. Have no guilt about it. Unemployment is not a gift from the government. It’s not welfare. Your past employer has been paying into an unemployment account to cover you should this layoff happen to you. Claim it…it’s yours! No reason to feel guilty about it. In some cases, you can apply over the phone. The US Department of Labor is a good place to start. Note….state laws vary, but unemployment generally starts after your last payment from your former employer; so if you received a severance package, don’t expect to receive your first unemployment check until that severance package ends.

If your former employer provided health benefits, you should begin shopping for health insurance. Sure, your employer has offered you Cobra, but you want to drop that as soon as you can. It is too expensive. If you shop around, you can find reasonable coverage at a reasonable cost. Do not take this lightly, especially if you have children! Check out eHealthInsurance for some good coverage and fair coverages.

Your next step should be to update or write a good resume. There’s isn’t room in this article to go into all the details and tricks to writing an effective resume. Try to keep the resume down to one or two pages. Too much detail can put off potential employers. Employers want to be able to get a quick overview, not read a book. Try to emphasize your skills, not every detail of each job you’ve held. If you want to put together the most effective resume, check out Resume Rabbit. I’ve used the before and they were very effective.

One trend you may find in our current economic scene is employers laying off employees only to replace them with contract employees. Companies will do this for a couple of reasons. The employer doesn’t need to provide contract employees with benefits and doesn’t need to contribute income taxes. If a contract employee isn’t working out, the employer simply tells the contractor there services are no longer needed and finds another contractor. No counseling is required, no documentation. This trend could provide an opportunity for you. Check with temp agencies. Who knows, you might find yourself in the position you were laid off from!

Another option for you to consider in internet marketing. I currently hold a full time position, but have worked part time to eventually match my current salary, just with internet marketing. I don’t live beyond my current salary’s means. Just put the internet marketing money in the bank. So, what I’ve done is insulate myself from a potential layoff. I no longer fear being fired! I’ll be writing articles soon on how to make money on the internet. So, stay tuned.

So, to summarize…keep your head held high. See this as an opportunity, not a bummer. Apply for that unemployment…it’s yours! Shop for health insurance…dump the Cobra. Get that resume written sooner than later. Check with temp agencies. You may find some immediate work that will help make ends meet while you search for a new career. And look into internet marketing. It’s getting bigger and bigger!

Best of luck to you!


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