Well, we can assume that since you're here, either you've been laid off, or you feel that you might get laid off soon. Maybe you just want some tips on how to create a personal budget - to prepare yourself for a layoff since your company has been downsizing. One thing we have all learned during the last year is that nobody is safe from a layoff. Some may be less susceptible than others, but we're all at risk. Job loss is becoming an everyday occurrence at businesses everywhere. Over 6,000,000 workers have been laid off during the last year. You're not alone. When a layoff hits us, most of us feel like the little gold guy on the right. Like we've been thrown out with yesterday's trash. Once they've hit you with the bombshell news, an HR person usually follows you around like a guard dog to make sure that you don't steal a company pencil, or do any intentional damage. Maybe one or two "goodbyes" are allowed, but getting you out the door as soon as is possible is the general rule. Few workers get any sort of severance package - just a pink slip, and an insincere "Good luck" or something of the sort. If your company offers health insurance to its employees, they are required by law to furnish you with an application for COBRA health coverage. This option is detailed in List Item #3 on our Layoff Information page.
It's no wonder that many of us feel bitterness, anger, confusion, despair, or any of the many emotions that we all feel when life-changing events blindside us. A layoff can be a terrifying experience. Income stops abruptly. Insurance is usually cancelled immediately. COBRA insurance costs too much (or so we think). Your employer may have even invented a "reason" to fire you in order to prevent an Unemployment Compensation Claim being filed on them. Altogether, you are probably feeling that it can't get much worse than this. And now you (probably) have family and friends to tell that you just lost your job. What now? Where do you start? It's a miserable, lonely feeling.
But, you've taken the first step in recovering from the damage that the layoff caused. You searched the Internet for help, and it brought you here. That's a good start. Everyone on our team has been in the same situation that you are in right now. Over the years, we've learned some necessary steps that need to be taken to get our lives back on track. We'll goad you into completing the tasks that you must do - immediately. Like filing your Unemployment Compensation Claim, applying for COBRA coverage, working on a budget, and some other tasks that a worker who was just laid off should tackle right away.
Many common sense items are included too, but we've organized them by priority, and provided detailed instructions for each item. It's tough to think straight when you feel that your life has just been hit by a truck. Follow our guide step-by-step and you'll be well on your way to feeling more self-confidant and getting that positive attitude back. Job loss doesn't have to be the end of a journey. To the contrary, it can be a new beginning.
Just so you know ahead of time, there is one thing that our site is not. It isn't a site that will attempt to teach you how to look for or find a job. There are thousands of sites available on the Web that can help you there. Each profession requires job hunting techniques that are unique to that profession. Because of that, we don't attempt to fill that role. With all of the downsizing going on now, that is an area that you will need to approach thoroughly in order to fit the search to your own specific circumstances. If we find a good job site or two, we will post links if we feel that doing so would be helpful to some. Our focus here, however, will be on how to survive your layoff while you are looking for work. We will attempt to help you minimize the stresses caused by the financial difficulties that your layoff has created, so that you will be able to concentrate your efforts on finding work with as few distractions as possible. Look through our site, and we believe that the tips and tools available here will provide vital assistance to you.
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