If you have lost your job, I realize that this can be a very difficult time for you. As a matter of fact, losing your job can be one of the most devastating things that can happen in your life. You have permission to sulk and feel bad about it, but only for a little while — like two days max.
Now that you have gotten that out of the way, it’s time to make a plan.
Being laid off or getting fired, whatever happened in your case, can sometimes be a good thing. In some cases, you might even end up better off than you were before.
Use this time as an opportunity to step back and reassess where you should go from here. Who knows, you may have been on the wrong path or a path that has come to an end for you. If you can still breathe, are capable, and have some marketable skills, the loss of a job is not the end of the world.
Make A Plan After a Job Loss
There is an old saying that definitely applies to this situation: “When one door closes, another one opens.“
Now let’s lay out a plan so that you can start earning a paycheck as quickly as possible.
Getting back into the job market after a layoff can lead to better opportunities than you had before.
In this guide, I will talk to you about dealing with being laid off in terms of both the emotional and the practical aspects. If you choose to use the advice in this post, it should help you secure the job of your dreams.
Let’s get started with one of the most difficult aspects of being laid off — dealing with the shock of losing your job.
Dealing with the Shock of Losing Your Job
Dealing with the shock of getting laid off is one of the most stressful things anyone will ever have to overcome. It triggers all sorts of emotional issues, as well as practical ones related to what you should do next.
Dealing with the emotional side is the only way to get over the paralysis that often comes with such bad news. There’s A LOT to do once you are laid off, so you need to be at your best and in the right frame of mind.
Why Me?
The first thought you may have had was, “Why me?” and it is perfectly natural to feel like you might have done something to deserve being laid off. And who knows, maybe you did do something to deserve being fired.
However, in most cases, a layoff is purely a financial decision on the part of the company, and not something to be taken personally. It typically just means that the company had to release some of its higher-paid employees to better balance their budget.
With that said, it is important to be clear about what you should expect once you have lost your job. You will need to know your rights. It also means that you will need to roll up your sleeves and get a jump on looking for a new job before everyone else despite you feeling devastated.
Trust me, I know it’s hard, but it is necessary to move past your feelings so that you can get back to work as quickly as possible.
The Impact of Losing Your Job on Your Family
Getting laid off can negatively impact your finances, especially if you don’t have a loved one’s salary to rely on for support. Once you get over your disappointment of being fired, you should look at your finances and make a plan for the next few months.
If you have been following this blog and implementing the strategies that I have laid out for budgeting and saving money, you will already be one step ahead of 90% of people in this country.
With that said, you should already have a household budget in place, but if you don’t, this should be your first step. Read more about how to set up a household budget in this blog post: Create Your New Budget.
Write down your essentials for each month, such as rent/mortgage, food, utilities, internet, car or transportation expenses, and stuff like that. Everything else will be a luxury until you start working again and earning a steady income.
Discussing your newly updated, slimmed-down, budget with your family can really help take off some of the pressure that is on you. Getting used to your new, temporary job situation is just a question of priorities and surviving the tough times by being smart.
The next step is to look next at the practical aspects of losing your job, and what your immediate steps should be in the aftermath of this unwelcomed event.
Know Your Rights and Get What You Can
When you have just lost your job, it can be hard to think straight; however, what you do in the immediate aftermath of the layoff can make all the difference between success and failure when it comes to coping with this challenge.
The most important thing is to find out what benefits you will get once you have lost your job.
The first is severance pay. If a company could afford to do so, they likely offered you a severance package to help ease the financial burden losing your job is likely to cause you. However, severance is not obligatory, so don’t get your hopes up too high.
Check with your employer to see if this is something they offer. If they did not mention a severance package when they delivered the news of you losing your job, they probably don’t offer this benefit.
Social Security Administration
You may also like to visit the Social Security Administration’s website after you have lost your job. This will help you understand any benefits or direction they can provide to those who have lost their jobs. You can find them at the following website: Employee Benefits Security Administration.
Additionally, if you are over the age of 40, check out this link. It will explain any rights and protections that are specific to your age. There is some extra protection for workers over the age of 40 in reference to severance pay.
It is important to understand the terms of the severance package as well. Not just in terms of how much money you can expect. You need to understand if anything else is involved in it.
For instance, such as a non-compete clause (and if so, the length of it) or a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). A non-compete might be a tough obstacle to you getting another job in the same niche or industry.
Unemployment Benefits After You Lost Your Job
Your next step will be visiting the unemployment agency’s website and/or office to determine your benefits. You will need to go through the paperwork and interview process so that you get the benefits that belong to you. You’ll also want to lay the groundwork for returning to the workforce efficiently.
The sooner you file for unemployment, the sooner you can start receiving your checks. Oftentimes there can be delays up to several weeks, so you should not waste any time in starting this process.
If you are reluctant to file for unemployment due to your pride, remember that whenever you are working, you are paying into an unemployment fund. So, the reality is that it is not actually charity. It is your money, and it is there to act as a safety net in case you ever need it. And now you do!
Understand Your Benefits
Make sure you have a full understanding of how much severance and unemployment you will get, along with the payout dates. Review your budget in light of this information and whatever savings you have in the bank.
Financial experts recommend that people try to set up an emergency fund that covers at least one to three months of their average household expenses. I only feel comfortable with at least 6 months of savings in the bank. I like to go overboard.
That’s just me.
However, if you have not been able to save enough money, you will just have to make the most out of what you do have coming in until you find yourself a new job!
Your next step is to evaluate where you are at the moment in your career and to polish up your resume and any other paperwork you might need to help you land your new job.
Preparation Is Key to Finding Another Job
If you are like me and most people on the planet, your resume is somewhere on a hard drive gathering dust. It has not been touched since the last time you had to look for a job. So go ahead and blow the dust off your CV. Then get it ready so that you can start impressing hiring managers in your new job search.
Brainstorming
I would suggest that you sit down and start with a brainstorming session by writing down everything you did in your most recent position. Think in terms of action verbs such as:
- Create
- Supervise
- Manage
This will help demonstrate that you were an active worker who was responsible for projects, people, and so on.
Specific Accomplishments
Make sure to include specific accomplishments in the form of a brief example of what you did, what happened, and what the positive outcome was. Examples include:
- Launched X product, which increased revenue by $Y
- Streamlined processing of Product A, which decreased costs by $B
- Grew Facebook followers from 10,000 to 25,000 in one year
…and so on.
Write down anything you got praise or recognition for, such as employee of the month, or an email from a supervisor or client thanking you for your great work.
Next, condense the information into a series of eye-catching bullet points, which will make it easier for hiring managers to read.
Pro Tip: Always use bullet points if at all possible. From a recruiter’s perspective, it’s just much easier to read.
Go through the same process for your previous jobs as well. If you want to change careers, create a second copy of your resume and rewrite it with a view to emphasizing the transferable skills that will be of most use in the new industry you wish to work in.
Length of Resume
Some professionals say your resume should only be a page long, but this is pretty unrealistic. Especially if you have been in the workforce for more than 15 years. If this is the case, you don’t need to list every job you ever had, only the most relevant ones. Try to keep it to two pages, with generous margins and a readable font.
Keywording
Be sure to use the keywords in your resume. Use words that an employer would be most likely to use when searching for someone with your skills and abilities. It is best to use the employer’s job description to find relevant keywords to insert in your resume.
Make sure you spell check your resume as well and print it out on paper and proofread a hard copy. If you are nervous about your spelling and grammar or want an independent assessment of the quality of your resume, consider hiring a resume service.
The Importance of Contacts / Networking
When you have lost your job, it is only natural to feel a bit depressed and perhaps even embarrassed that you have lost your job. However, not telling people that you have lost your job can be one of the biggest mistakes you can make.
Experts estimate that around 70% of jobs in the US never get publicly listed. They are part of the hidden job market. These are jobs that are not publicly posted that you find out about through your network.
Your Social Media Presence
At least 70% of recruiters and human resource managers admit that they shortlist candidates for jobs based on what they find out about each candidate through social media. With that said, it is important to have a great LinkedIn profile.
LinkedIn is the main social network for professional people to connect with one another. It is also the most trusted of all networks. Why? Because people can’t hide behind a cloak of anonymity.
The whole point of the site is to connect with others through your work history and educational history, which will be “verified” in a number of ways, including by people you know connecting with you.
Create a Daily Routine When You’ve Lost Your Job
Most of us are so used to the 9-to-5 and bosses telling us what to do that being unemployed can be a real shock to the system.
While it might be nice to enjoy a bit of freedom for a day or so relaxing for too long can have negative consequences and prevent you from getting back into a great job quickly.
A regular routine will keep you motivated and help you maintain momentum.
It is also important because the larger the gap in your resume, the more questions hiring managers will have. Below are some steps you should take to keep you in the right mindset until you find your next role.
A Checklist of Action Steps After You’ve Lost Your Job
Here are a few of the essentials things you need to do every day.
- Set a waking time.
- Take a shower, dress, and have breakfast.
- Create a professional-looking email address for your job hunt and check it first each day. A separate email will help ensure you don’t miss any important communications.
- Add your resume to top sites such as CareerBuilder.com. This can take some time.
Apply for jobs:
- Read through job descriptions to see if you would be a good fit.
- Research the company.
- If yes, fill out the application. Edit your resume as needed to emphasize the skills they are looking for in the job description.
- Write your cover letter. Use it to explain your interest in the job, and why you would be a good fit. An easy trick is to copy and paste the exact requirements and match your skills to them.
- Keep a file folder on your desktop of all this work, job descriptions, and so on, so you can refer to it again if you get to the interview stage.
- Check your LinkedIn page for recent communications and follow-up.
- Check your social media accounts. If there is embarrassing content, delete or hide it.
- Consider opening accounts at popular freelancing sites like Upwork and Fiverr. You can gain experience as well as cash.
- Set up a home office. Create a place for everything and keep everything in its place. This will save you a great deal of time.
Get Ready for the Interview
- Prepare for interviews/phone calls.
- Keep a calendar to help you remember what calls and interviews you have.
- Organize your interview wardrobe. Be sure to clean and press suits, shirts, and so on. Polish the shoes and briefcase.
- Prepare intelligent questions for interviews. Check out this Human Resources Pinterest Board for some interview prep questions.
- Write a thank you letter to send after the interview. Thank them for their time and recap one or two things you felt went particularly well in order to remind them of who you are as a candidate and why you stand out.
- Set weekly goals and schedules. They might include updating your site, adding more contacts on LinkedIn, and so on.
- Keep a to-do list. This will help you get it all done and not miss anything important.
In Conclusion
Remember, looking for a new job can be a sprint or a marathon after you have lost your job. Plan for a marathon so that you don’t get burned out.
Losing your job can be one of the most difficult times of your life. However, it doesn’t have to be. It can prove to be a blessing in disguise, even if this is not immediately obvious at the time.
For example, if you’ve been struggling to get out of bed each morning and find the motivation to get through your day, this is your chance to turn things around.
If you are organized, can stay positive, and are proactive about your career, you can lay a solid foundation for success. If you use this time to look within to determine what is most important in terms of your passion and skills, losing your job can actually open more doors than you could ever have hoped for.
Organize yourself, be honest, and stay positive, and your new career path should be your next golden opportunity.
Good luck!
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