How To survive A Job Lay-Off.

 

I have been laid off twice in the last 2 years and I seen first-hand the emotional and financial stress it can put on a family. I have written this article to help you with this situation. This article will help you be better prepared in case a layoff ever occurs where you work. It is my hope you never need it, but you need to know how. My golden rule is never give up and always remember it’s never personal its unfortunately the world and times we currently live in

Step1

First, you need to understand that there’s usually two areas a layoff will affect you–your finances and your emotions. If it has just happened to you, there needs to be a time where you give yourself some time before making major decisions. - Yes, getting laid off is stressful, but don’t beat yourself up. It happens all the time and is due to circumstances beyond your control. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get moving.

Step2

There are several things you can do to stabilize your finances in case of a layoff. The first is to get out of much debt as possible. How to do that can be a whole other article in itself, but I personally suggest reading books by financial advisor Dave Ramsey. There are other good authors out there as well, but his books are what helped me the most.

Why do I need to reduce my debt? By reducing or eliminating your debt, you reduce the amount of money in the form of payments that is leaving your bank account. In an emergency situation, you can survive on a small amount of money longer without any issues. The next thing to do is “Get Busy” - You need to start your new job search the next day. Start by organizing a work area with a computer notepad and telephone. The sooner you get moving, the better you will feel and the sooner you will be back to work

Step3

To help you in the short term why not utilise your skills. Take a look at your skills and see if there’s something you can do on the side for extra income. The Internet has also opened up a lot of opportunity for normal people to work a day job and then run a business from their home in the evenings. My philosophy is this: In investing, the conventional advice is “never put all your eggs in one basket.” Yet many people are betting their financial futures on only one income source. Even good jobs and good companies have problems, and there’s no reason not to have back-up income if you have the means to create it.

Be careful before investing any money, there are many scams out there promising you a fortune over night with no effort. Any easy way to get around this is to ask yourself this simple question – If it’s too true to be good, then its not true, remember these people are praying on peoples desire to earn money.

If possible, you also need to have a small cushion of money to serve as an emergency fund. Ideally this needs to be 3-6 months of your expenses, but realize this takes time to build. Usually you need to get out of debt first to be able to do this.

Step4

From an emotional standpoint, it often hurts to get laid-off, especially if you were great at your position and liked it. People develop friendships on the job as well, and you miss people. Realize that this is not necessarily something you’ll immediately bounce-back from, but you also don’t need to cling to it either. The best thing you can do is make the best of the situation and try to use it as an opportunity to do something new in your life.

If you’re a spouse or other family member of someone who has been laid-off, be supportive of them and encourage them. Men especially tend to take their self-worth from their jobs, and every working person needs someone to be there for them as they go through the process of getting something new.