I was laid off a couple of days ago and I was hoping to get some experiences from the folks that lived off their severance pay while hunting for a new job. What do I need to look out for, how should I organize myself while hunting for a new job. Any advice?
10 replies (most recent on top)
Just an update, I was the guy who said that I was RIFed during an interview. Today, I got a call from their director and offered. I was interviewed by 6 companies, 4 of them have sent me their offer. What I really want to share is that: 1) ask all your friends and their friends for help, internal refer works better than general hiring; 2) brush your knowledge daily, including your experienced area and coding like leetcode. Good luck everyone! Stay hungry.
I had to live off mine for 8 months.
First, apply for unemployment ASAP! You do not have to wait for your severance to run out.
Connect with a local government funded career center. They are a wealth of information AND if you are in California (I don't know if the same in other states) can help fund education needs/wants. This may be important as you get 6 months unemployment and can extend an additional 6 month if you are in school taking the right course (career building). Jump on this right away as there are rules and schedules you MUST meet if going this route.
Start paying minimum payments on all bills unless you owe very little, then payoff to avoid the interest charges.
Drop all extra lifestyle items that aren't critical (example, HBO) but don't drop internet or phone (you'll need those for job hunting and interviews.
You won't be driving as much so look into reducing miles traveling on record with auto insurance.
If you have not, GET YOU RESUME UPDATED QUICK!! The career center will be very helpful here.
As others have said, stay positive. The job you are about to find will be so much better than where you were. I was hit by the big SPARC layoff in 2017. Everyone I knew has found a job they are so much happier with.
Good luck!!! We are all wishing you the best of luck.
First thing: Don’t panic you might be better off than you think. Yes you will have to cut back for a time but depending on your position severance can go quite awhile. We dipped into a bit of savings to cover COBRA but that was it. The severance got us through a few months covering our expenses as if I was still working(that includes mortgage, car payments, utilities, etc.$ Take some time, then regroup and assess what you actually want to do. It might be the same field or something temporary or something else. But financially it’s totally doable.
As someone else said, it is OK to tell a interviewer that you were part of a restructuring (RIF). Most people have either been through one, or know someone who has, it's part of the job industry these days. Unless they are 23 years old at their first job
OP: you have been replaced by an H1B indian
Don't forget to apply for unemployment benefits. You might have to wait a few months to get it, depending on how much severance you get. Hopefully by then you'll have a new job.
The OReilly Books Safari online annual subscription of $200 was worth it for me. It's much more than books these days, there are videos too. I believe you can get a one or two week trial to see if you like it I was able to get up to speed on some new technologies that I hadn't seen at Oracle.
Heres' what I did when I was laid off a few years ago:
-Took stock of my current finances. Paid off credit card debts / mortgage.
-Bought health insurance for my family and renewed my car insurance.
-Bought a computer as they took back my laptop
-Charted a budget for the next couple of months ; cutting down on discretionary spends
-Upgraded LinkedIn to a job seeker account
-Took a short vacation with family
- Started actively looking out for jobs.
Landed with 4 job offers in about a month.
All the best.
Be prepared for the worst, be actively fighting for a job for the best, control your mind and calm down. This is not the end of the world. It’s ok to talk about it even during an interview. I took an architect that I was rifed he suddenly said he was rifed 8 years before that’s why he is here, every thing will be fine. Just believe it and never give up.
Stay away with negative people like some a-- holes on this website.
Good for you for asking!
First of all, do NOT spend it all at once, that many may have to last you. Hopefully you'll find another job in the first couple of weeks and you'll have some funds to use as your please - pay down any debt, save it for a rainy day, get yourself or family something you have been wanting or needing, give it to charity, etc.
Sadly, one can not count on getting a new job so soon after layoff, so please PLEASE be frugal. Be very frugal.