If you knew you had a month's worth of paychecks left...

[healthy momma]

what would you do? And I mean besides the obvious of look for another job/way to make money and save all you can. I'm looking for anything we might not think of like issues surrounding 401K's, health insurance, unemployment, etc. I'm guessing that anyone else who may have gone through this situation may have a list of "I wish I had done/known _______" that they might be willing to share. Thanks!

[grisandole]

I'm sorry Definitely ask your hr people if your insurance will be cut effective the last day worked or if you get 30 days, and then look into getting state insurance or some short term insurance (cheaper and easier to get than long-term private insurance in most cases). Most states have unemployment info online so you can see how much you will qualify for and for how long...that will help you with budgeting in the event that you don't have a new job in a month.

HTH

[Thystle]

Don't spend a single penny you dont have to.

Eat the cheapest you can.

File for UI and food stamps ASAP.

Keep a roof and food on the table.

Bust butt as hard as possible now to find something else.

Have a Plan B. Then make a Plan C for if you are facing losing everything and might be homeless. Save very precious items and get rid of all others and have your "where you will live" plan in place.

Good luck!

[HappyMommy2]

Print and email yourself copies of your work from your current job. Employers are asking to see this, in the current job market. Documentation you have written, databases you have created, etc. All of your annual reviews.

Get NUMBERS for your resume!!! They want to see "improved X by Y%" .... increased sales, etc. While you are still at work, use the available reports to get accurate counts of everything tangible. Number of people you managed. Number of projects you managed. Amount of inside sales generated per month. Etc.

Start a Linked In account, and invite all the bigwigs you know. Remember Rome wasn't built in a day... so get your current job on there and a very basic profile. Once you are unemployed you will have time to tweak the profile. But get the connections now. Once you are laid-off, you are kind of a leper. So connect with everyone now!!!!

Linked In is considered Professional networking. It is encouraged. Since it is not simply for job hunting, many employed people are on there. It is not frowned-upon by current employers like posting a Monster resume would be.

Remember --- it is not what you know, it is WHO you know. Networking (even though it sucks for some of us) is truly the only way to get a job these days.

While you still have access your your work product, start drafting those resume bullet points. Hiring mgrs do not want to see "responsible for...." They want to see specific accomplishments. They don't want to see that you managed a project, they want to see that you earned a client's vendor recognition award for coming in on-time and $X under-budget.

Write down those corporate improvement classes you have taken, and the specific titles and dates of any awards or recognitions.

[honeybunmom]

Originally Posted by HappyMommy2

Print and email yourself copies of your work from your current job. Employers are asking to see this, in the current job market. Documentation you have written, databases you have created, etc. All of your annual reviews.

On this point, just be sure that anything you are downloading/printing is not a violation of your employer's code of conduct, should they have one. You don't want that to come back to bite you if this is a situation where you would be using your prior employer as a reference.

Also, if you have any creditors, I would call them and see if there are any opportunities to freeze payments for any time period. It never hurts to ask.

[grisandole]

OT but HappyMommy, it makes me so happy to see that someone GETS how a resume/job search needs to be in today's job market. I teach workshops on job hunting, and most people have no clue how much resumes and job search techniques have changed. That's okay, but so many of the clients are adamant that they can get a job "the old way". Really? How is that working out? Why are you in my office? LOL /rant over.

Those are excellent tips, including the work portfolio if possible.

[jenners26]

We were there recently...Hubs was laid off in November, and we had a month worth of severence pay. Here are a few things we did:
*If you have student loans, get them put in deferment/forebarence.
*Apply for food stamps/WIC.
*Take some of your remaining pay and create an emergency stockpile: toilet paper, paper towels, shampoo, deoderant, advil, razors, dishwasher/laundry detergent, etc. Things we knew food stamps wouldn't cover but that we figured we'd need and may not have money for in the coming weeks.
*Call you landlord/mortgage company and let them know about your situation right away. If you keep them in the loop now, they're going to be more willing to work with you later.
*If you have monthly perscriptions, see if you can refill them all now. Sometimes you can get a discount if you do 90 day supplies.
*Call about energy assistance. It's a little early, but our local offices start taking appointments in September. Make one, even if you're optimistic that you won't need it by fall/winter.
*This seems silly, but we also paid off our library fines. We knew tight times were coming, and access to the library allowed for CDs, DVDs, books, etc. for free.

Anyway...I have a blog where I've been documenting our experience. I can PM you the link if you want it. It might give you some other ideas! Good luck!