What To Do When You Are Laid Off

Not too long ago, I wrote an article about why being let go was one of the best things to happen to me. It really was a blessing in disguise, but it didn’t seem like it at the time. I felt awful. It felt like everything around me was falling down and all I wanted to do was cry. It was a really hard time. Even though I didn’t like my job at the time, I still NEEDED it. Although I don’t think I did things perfectly after I was laid off, I feel like I did a lot of things right. Here’s what to do if you are laid off:

Apply for Unemployment

There is no shame in doing this, not even a little bit. The system is setup to help people that need it in that moment. Sure, there might be some people who take advantage of it, but that shouldn’t deter you or make you feel ashamed. When I filed for unemployment, I got about 80% of my income every two weeks. This helped sustain us for the 3 months before I got my next job. Here is a link for where to apply. If you have questions, I can help you. Just email me or leave a comment.

Apply for COBRA

COBRA stands for The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act and is used to keep your health insurance after you lose a job. COBRA will even continue your benefits if you have a reduction in hours. Luckily, when I was laid off, I didn’t need to use any health insurance, but many do need continued coverage. Because of this, I don’t have a ton of experience with it, but I have worked with people in the past who have used it when I worked at a drug and alcohol rehab. COBRA helped them get the coverage they needed so they could afford treatment. Here is the link for where to apply.

Start networking

Once I lost my job, I felt a bit embarrassed to start asking people for work. I didn’t really want to admit that I had been laid off. After I was able to put my pride aside, I found out that most people were understanding and wanted to help. I started to ask around for people that knew of jobs, especially those that were in the tech field. Everyone gave me good advice and kept me in mind for job openings. Within a month, I had three job interviews and was offered one of the jobs. If it weren’t for networking, I wouldn’t have gotten my current job.  

Reevaluate your budget

When you are laid off, things within your budget will most likely change. You probably won’t have as much money as you are used to. Tara and I had to tighten our budget when I was laid off. Thankfully, Tara still had a job and was able to provide most of our income, but we still needed to eliminate certain things, like eating out.

If you have been laid off, is there anything else you would recommend? It’s a terrible feeling that I hope no one has to go through. If you need help from me at all, feel free to contact me at our email thefundfamily@gmail.com or leave a comment. Thanks for reading!