Your First Five Steps After Losing Your Job

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If you've never lost a job, the experience can be very unsettling, particularly in corporate America because their sendoffs can be quite chilly. For instance, it is not unusual to come to work one day and find that your keys no longer open your office. Maybe you arrive to find a rather menacing looking security guard standing in front of your office. He'll ask for your I.D. badge and keys and then tell you that you've got 15 minutes to pack up. To make matters more strange and embarrassing, the guard will walk you to your car. How's that for a kick in the teeth?

If you've got that pink slip in your hand, then it is time to get busy. Of course it smarts and you feel bad. Shake it off. You've got better things to do than feel sorry for yourself.

Step 1: The First Issue is Money

One minute you had a steady paycheck and the next , you don't. Contact your state unemployment office as soon as possible to arrange for unemployment benefits. Clearly, these checks won't match those you received at your job, but it is money, and it is yours. Until you get settled into another job, consider yourself in survival mode. If you're like the rest of us, you have rent or mortgage payments, car loans, and you probably require food to live.

Step 2: You'll Need Health Insurance

Don't walk around for one minute without health insurance if it is at all unavoidable. Often the group insurance at work can be converted to an individual package at rates that are manageable. If you work in the United States, you may be covered by COBRA (the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985). COBRA requires that your employer allow you to stay with the company's health insurance for a period of 18 months or more for the same rates that the other employees are paying.

Step 3: Contact a Temp Agency

Open your yellow page directory and look under employment. You will be amazed at the number of temp agencies listed. Temp agencies have become big business in the past few years because many companies realize that it is cheaper to hire temporary employees than to hire permanent employees and pay their benefits. Chances are excellent that a temp agency will be able to find work for you. The good news is that sometimes these placements lead to permanent positions or a new career path . For a listing of national temp agencies, see Appendix B.

Step 4: Write the Company a Thank You Letter

Did we hear you mutter something under your breath ? You heard us correctly ”write your company's CEO a thank you letter. You may have been fired , but you don't want to blow up any bridges as you're leaving. Thank the company for the opportunity to work there, be part of their team, and for all the valuable experience you acquired while you were there. Don't forget to keep a copy of this letter or to request that it be placed in your file. If you know the CEO personally or work directly under him or her be sure to have a brief meeting before you leave.

Step 5: Stay in the Loop

Now is not the time to take a cross-country road tour. If you had a good relationship with your immediate boss or even your boss's boss then keep in touch with them. He or she is often the next to go and will sometimes get another job before you ”which is when he or she can be helpful. Rework your resume, and make a list of friends and contacts in your industry. The Internet is loaded with leads to track in your job hunt. You can consult on-line with head hunters, post your resume on career websites , and arrange to have e-mail sent to you whenever a job pops up that matches your job description. Don't roll up the sidewalk and become a recluse. Remember ”network, network, network.

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