I was laid off yesterday. I spent most of it spinning out. I'm sure I'm not the only one. but it's a new day, there are only 13 left, so it's time to pull up your big kid's pants and do some work. this helped me a LOT so I wanted to share. I wrote out all the things that I could think of that you need to actually have written down (or typed out--your call).
please give this a ↑ if it helps. I'd like a least a little of this board to be less fear mongering and more steering our own course.
DOWNLOAD WORK STUFF
- your last 3 months' pay stubs
- any other tax info you normally get electronically
- layoff letter saying it wasn't performance-based
- recommendation letter from your immediate boss if possible
- your last 5 years' annual reviews
PREP MEDICAL STUFF
- how much is COBRA in your situation? (COBRA FAQ: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/EBSA/about-ebsa/our-activities/resource-center/faqs/cobra-continuation-health-coverage-consumer.pdf)
- how much is Marketplace health in your situation? (https://www.healthcare.gov/)
- which prescriptions do you need to account for?
- talk to your providers and tell them you may lose your insurance. ask about sliding scale or other alt payment options.
- see if you can get a one-time 90-day supply of prescriptions before your insurance runs out.
GATHER INCOME SOURCES
- severance? how much?
- 401K acc't? how much? what penalty if you take a disbursement?
- stocks / market acc't? how much? how long to liquidate, if necessary?
- savings? how much?
- do you quality for Unemployment Insurance (UI) ? check with your state.
- other income like real estate, alimony/palimony, interest, etc.
GO THROUGH SUBSCRIPTIONS
- list every subscription you pay for
- how much is the payment?
- do you need to continue it, or can you cancel?
LIST YOUR LIABILITIES
- how much do you owe on each credit card? what's a minimum monthly payment?
- do you own your home? how much do you owe? how much is the mortgage payment?
- what other liabilities do you have such as:
- -- school tuition
- -- alimony / palimony
- -- real estate investment costs
DEFINE YOUR MONTHLY BUDGET ITEMS
- list every item you know you need to budget for, including:
- -- food
- -- car insurance
- -- pet care
- -- emergencies
- -- home maintenance (dish soap, vacuum bags, paint, etc)
- -- gas / fuel
- -- incidentals
LIST OUT YOUR QUESTIONS
- put down everything you want to know about
- consistently work to find the answers
OTHER TO-DOs
- FIND ALTERNATIVES--an example is GoodRx. I went on their site and found costs for every single prescription so I have hard numbers about what my medications will cost if I'm without insurance.
- NETWORK--yeah, I'm an introvert, so I hate it. but LinkedIn has jobs and people you know from work. ask people you interact with regularly to keep their ears open for jobs that might fit you.
- SHINE YOUR RESUME`--do it now. it needs to include up-to-date skills. reach into your last 3 years' annual reviews for specific metrics and things you did well.
- MAKE FRIENDS WITH AI--I'm not personally a fan of Google's Bard, but it's okay. I like Microsoft's Copilot and OpenAI's ChatGPT. you can ask them questions in real language (like "why does this sentence seem weird?" and "can you help me summarize this into a single line for my resume`?") and can offer suggestions how to improve your job hunt.
- MAKE JOB HUNTING YOUR JOB---I think not enough people realize that finding a job...is now your job. do it 8 hours a day just like you would a real job and you'll have a lot more success.