Have you received a layoff letter? If so, you’re not alone – Literally millions of Americans have faced being out of work at one point or another during their careers.
While your thoughts may be focused on finding your next job, here are five quick action steps you should consider before beginning the job search:
1. Gather your paperwork. Collect all of the information that your employer provided at departure, including the layoff letter, and a copy of an old pay stub.
2. Find the contact information for your boss or human resources manager – you’ll need this for your unemployment claim application.
3. Determine the dates you were employed. This is very important in determining your unemployment eligibility.
4. Calculate how much you earned over the past year.
5. Find out where to apply. Here is a list of links to all 50 state websites if you are looking to file for unemployment benefits online. Applying online (vs. over the phone or in person) enables you to collect benefits much sooner.
A layoff may not be fun, and the formalized layoff letter doesn’t do much to help. It can, however, greatly help in supporting your eligibility for unemployment benefits, and can be viewed as the first page in the next chapter of your career.
Note: Once you have successfully filed for unemployment benefits, take a look at our Career Resources page for a comprehensive list of tools and websites to help you in the job search process.
Were you recently laid off?
One of the first things you need to do is to sign up for unemployment benefits.
At any given time, millions of people are out of work. But, believe it or not, less than half of Americans who are unemployed actually receive unemployment benefits!
Typically, unemployment benefits last for a maximum of 26 weeks. With the recent state and federal programs and subsidies, however, you can now get up to 99 weeks of unemployment compensation. At over $450 per week in some states, this amounts to nearly $45,000 of money from the government while you are searching for a job.
Applying for unemployment benefits is a relatively straightforward process, and can be accomplished online or over the phone.
Once you have decided to sign up for unemployment benefits, the next step is to determine your unemployment eligibility.
As the recession persists, companies are cutting costs not only by letting workers go, but also through reducing the benefits provided to departing employees. There are three key areas where employers are cutting back:
- Severance Payments – Often, companies will provide serverance compensation that is based on how long you have been with the organization. While the standard “two weeks of salary for every year worked” is a metric that many are familiar with, some companies are reducing this to one week per year of experience, or none at all. Unless it is stated in an employment contract, employers are not obligated to make severance payments.
- Health Benefits – In addition to severance payments, many large companies will extend your health insurance beyond your final date of employment. Once this extension runs out, you would be eligible to continue the health coverage under COBRA, but without your employer footing the bill. With the federal government’s COBRA subsidy in place, many employers have reduced or eliminated their continuation of medical insurance. (To learn more, see Smart Unemployment’s COBRA overview.)
- Outplacement Services – In the case of mass layoffs, companies will often provide their former employees help in finding a new job. This can range from computer access, office space, or access to recruiters. As you would expect, these services cost companies money, and are also being reduced for cost saving purposes.
