On August 8, I was laid off from my position of 14 years due to workforce reductions. I guess I will never understand why, but that doesn't matter anymore. What I hope to do here is give others hope who may be in the same situation or about to be in that situation.
With an involuntary termination, you may get severance benefits. Take a day to determine what all those benefits are. Make sure your employer has your home address for mailing anything. One problem I had was that my employer had used my work address for my retirement and insurance benefits. I never authorized that, but somehow my employee file only had my work address. I spent way too much time trying to get that straightened out. In fact, make sure you employer has your home address now.
Secondly, determine when your medical/dental insurance expires. Many times, you will get benefits until the end of the month. Book all your doctor's appointments and go before your insurance expires. Ask your employer about other benefits available to you while you are out of work and suggest your company cover the costs for a specified time or until you can find other employment.
Thirdly, enjoy your time off. Don't waste your time feeling sorry for yourself. It doesn't do yourself or anybody any good.
It is extremely easy to apply for jobs now. I used indeed.com, which is a search engine that will pull all open positions in your area. Others are Monster and Career Builder. LinkedIn is also a good source for networking and finding open positions. You can apply for jobs in your home very easily, but companies are moving very slowly these days and in this economy. Be patient.
Generally, your retirement plans can stay where they are until you have time to think about them.
To Recap:
(1) Start using LinkedIn, Indeed, Career Builder or other sites to start applying for jobs.
(2) Determine what all of your benefits are and make sure everything will be mailed to your home address.
(3) Determine when your insurance expires and book doctor's appointments as applicable.
(4) Enjoy your time off.
Of course every situation is different, but I cannot stress enough to enjoy your time off. I am happy to say that I will be starting a new job this week, however I wish I had taken my own advice. Every situation is a learning experience.
