Re: Grouping- The First Five things to do after you’ve lost your job
There is no preparation for it and even if you know it is coming, it is still a shock when you find yourself out of work. You find yourself having to rethink and revise every aspect of your life. You have to pivot mentally, physically, financially, emotionally, and professionally. And although I cannot fully help you adjust to not working, I can offer you a blueprint for the immediate things you need to do as you adjust to being out of work. Following these steps will help minimize the negative impact being out of work will have upon you and it will help you build resilience as you begin to develop and look for work. Although there is not a “carved in stone” order for this, some of these items are time-sensitive.
Absorb Your Situation
I do not recommend people spend too much time on this immediately after losing their job— you will have plenty of downtime and fully absorbing your situation is a gradual process. You cannot and should not do this immediately. Anyone who says that they were immediately OK after losing work is fooling themselves.
How you absorb your situation will be dependent upon you and your circumstances. Over and over clients have told me that the best thing they did was to find a quiet place and to clear their minds and mentally accept that they were out of work. Some found it comforting to spend some time outside, some went to their favorite coffee place or restaurant and treated themselves to a nice meal, others went on a long drive, and still, others went home. Losing a job is difficult and with loss comes grief. Over the next few weeks and maybe even months, you will find yourself cycling through many emotions, which we will discuss later. For now, just drink it in and honor how you feel.
Tell Someone
It took me less than ten seconds after I was in my Lyft, leaving my former employer before I was texting my best friend to tell her I was not joining the ranks of the unemployed. I was completely numb, but I knew I needed support. And in true form, she texted back with immediate encouragement.
Often when we lose a job we feel depressed and ashamed, even if it is not our fault. Telling someone about your misfortune is a way of reducing its power over you. The more you share your situation the easier it gets for you to talk about it and the overwhelming feelings of helplessness begin to subside. Additionally, this is a time when you need support. Letting your friends and family know your situation opens the door for them to support you. And if that doesn’t convince you, if you share with only one person, it should be your partner. If anything else, you both will have to make immediate decisions regarding finances and healthcare and they deserve to know.
Review Your Healthcare
This one is extremely time-sensitive and by far of all the areas where I counsel clients, this is where I save them the most money and heartache. If you are in the US and covered by your employer’s health plan, your employer must continue to pay your insurance until the end of the month. For example, if you are released from your job on the 3rd day of the month, you are insured for the rest of the month! It is crucial that you use this time to fit in all of your doctor’s appointments (for you and your family) — this includes medical, dental, and eye care (if you have it). You also need to use this time to fill up prescriptions. If you receive pushback from a doctor’s office about scheduling, be sure to tell them that you will no longer be insured after the end of the month. If they absolutely cannot see you, ask for a referral. This has never failed me or one of my clients.
Two additional items— I am noticing that lately employers are being extremely generous with exit packages and offering their separating employees up to six months of COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) coverage. If you fall into that category of having your former employer cover any of your COBRA payments— good for you. Do not waste time or let the clock run down on that. Take care of yourself and your family’s healthcare now so that when you do go back to work, you can focus on your new job. The second item is this: if you have a spouse or a partner who is offered insurance through their work, you need to discuss whether or not to switch to their plan. You have suffered what is referred to as a Life-Altering Event, which means exceptions are made outside of regular healthcare plans parameters and you are entitled to be on your spouse’s plan, however, there is a time limit (usually ninety days). These are important long-term decisions that you have to make now.
File for Unemployment
Maybe you are lucky enough to have a severance package. Maybe you have savings. If so, that is wonderful. Not everyone has those things, but even if you do, they will all be taken into account by your state unemployment office. The state will confirm with your former employer that you are indeed unemployed, the terms of your separation, and any severance or bonus. All will be taken into account to determine your eligibility. Keep in mind, if you are entitled to immediate financial assistance through your state, it can take up to a month for you to receive your benefits. That is a month without pay and that is only if you file immediately. The longer you wait, the longer it will take for you to receive your money.
I want to mention that states do not only provide financial benefits— they also provide resume assistance, job boards, and educational assistance. Recently I spoke with someone who was out of work and his state agreed to pay for him to get certified as a Project Manager. This may sound like a little thing, but to go through the certification process and test can cost upwards of $2,500-4,000. And now he is receiving this for free. Additionally, he is acquiring one of the most sought-after skills by employers. Consider any education you may want and chances are your unemployment office is offering it for free. Now is the time to take advantage of this benefit.
Finances and Budgets
This one is hard. You need to take an immediate and very hard look at your budget. Go through all of your monthly expenses with a “scorched earth” policy. Do you really need that Audible subscription? Is now the time to cut the cord on cable? Should that wine subscription be canceled?
When you lose your job there is a resistance to change your lifestyle. We believe that if we can continue to meet friends for high-end brunches or buy designer clothes that we are still living our old life. This is one of the hardest concepts to accept and I hate being the one to tell you this but for now, your old life and way of spending your money is gone. You just don’t know the future. You could be out of work for a day or a year. It is best to plan for the long term. For now, go through your budget and see what you really can live without- where you can cut expenses. Doing this will give you a feeling of empowerment and control over your life that you lost when you became unemployed. Taking back some of that control is going to be what helps you to build resilience to weather this storm.
There are additional steps to take when you are out of work that will help you obtain the confidence and direction you need on your Re: Working Journey. These steps listed here are the first ones you need to take. They are crucial and timebound and require immediate action. As difficult as it may be taking these steps will go a long way in starting to help you heal and recover from your job loss. Keep coming back to The Workout Room for more ways to build resilience while finding work.
