Help
on How to Cope on Losing a Job It is a traumatic phase when you suddenly get the dreaded pink slip. With sudden plunges in the economy, laying off has come to stay as a survival tactic. How to emerge unhurt if not unscathed from this ordeal of being laid off suddenly? Here we have for you some tips on how to "keep your head on" and look forward when you are suddenly left without a job. Do not think you have no control over the situation you are now placed in. Take stock and see how best you can get on top of the circumstance. Try and respond to the sudden change rather than reacting. You must plan what you want to do next- i.e until the time you get a new job.
Every employer will offer a severance package. Review it well before signing it and see if you can get some additional benefits such as - Asking to be in the organization for two or three months more before you leave, which will give you sufficient time to get a different placement. Permission to apply to other posts within the same company or exploring consulting opportunities. Make a list of all your monthly commitments such as rent, loan, unavoidable monthly bills like grocery, telephone, gas, electricity, insurance premiums etc. Now make another list of your incoming finances starting with your spouse's income, if applicable. Take stock of your existing savings if any, compensations from your former employee and arrive at a balance and see if you can stay above water for
at least 2-3 months-i.e until you find a new placement. To explain further, If the money coming in is higher than the money going out, and the difference is enough to buy gas for your car and other necessities, you should be able to get by with some effort and sacrifice. If, however, the opposite is true, you may have to take some more drastic measures, such as taking a job you may not consider up to your standards, selling some of you belongings, cashing in some of your investments, or taking the cash value of any life insurance you may have. Above all stop using your credit card. It is the most impractical thing to do. To accumulate more debts while you are not in a position to pay back. Get organised about your
job search. Revive old contacts, seek the help of job placement agencies and get into another job as fast as you can. Job loss will be much easier to deal with financially and emotionally if you've prepared for the worst by following the advice above. As a financial consultant puts it- when you loose your job, it is time for planning and not panicking.
| 
