What to Do When Youve Lost Your Job

What to Do When Youve Lost Your JobWhat to Do When Youve Lost Your Job3Losing a job, no matter the method, is an emotionally charged and draining situation. Knowing what to do when youve lost your job can help in understanding the circumstances you are facing, along with jumping back into the job search process.Whether you are laid off or fired, knowing how to handle the situation and overcome the job loss is important. Below are some tips on what to do when youve lost your job and how to start your search for a new job.What to Do When Youve Lost Your JobWere you laid off?Stay Calm When faced with being laid off, it can be very difficult to keep yourself composed. However, staying calm can help in viewing the situation with an open mind and enaya that you wont miss important details and information.Negotiate Severance/Exit Package Once the announcement has been made, more than likely there will be a time to go over exit and severance packages. While signing immediately may be pushed, if you have the ability to take time to examine the package and run it by a legal professional, you could negotiate in areas that are important to you and your situation.Departure Reporting Before leaving, discuss how your departure will be reported to future employers. Negotiate a phrase that both you and your current employer find acceptable to be used.Update Online Status Very few people enjoy announcing that they have become unemployed. However, in order to get the word out that you are looking for a new job, updating social media and networking accounts with your current employment situation is helpful.Were you fired?Stay Calm Being fired is not a situation many people wish to be in. However, if it does happen, remain calm during the process. Creating an uncomfortable environment during the process and bad-mouthing the employer in future interviews is likely going to set a bad precedence.Negotiate Exit Strategy Depending on the reason or reasons for being fired, you may have t he ability to negotiate an exit strategy. Perhaps you want to keep client lists you have built, or you want to negotiate how your departure will be reported to future employers.Get Contacts Together Not only do you want to get your client lists, you want to make sure you have all of your professional contacts available. Updating your employment status and beginning the networking process can help in finding new employment.Get Finances in Order In addition to thinking about how you will move on professionally, having your finances in order is also of concern. While there may be potential for unemployment insurance, it isnt always the case with being fired. Make sure you know when your insurance plan will expire and when you will receive your final paycheck.Once the news of unemployment sinks in and there has been time to process the emotions that accompany such an event, it is time to really dig into the job search process and overcome unemployment.Starting a New Job SearchHere are f our tips to get you started on the job search journey.Update Resume and Cover Letters Maybe your documents are up-to-date, but if not, now is the time to update both your resumes and cover letters. If it has been awhile since your brde job search, you can tap into job search services that can help in creating and updating documents.Network And network, network, network. Reach out to people you know and those that you have talked to in passing to grow your network. Many open jobs dont get advertised, so making connections can help find hidden opportunities.Start Searching Your job search will be a successful search by focusing in on where you want to go and what you want to do. Search the Internet, local publications, and reach out to companies you are interested in working for. Being proactive in the search is much more effective than waiting for a new job.Practice Interviewing This is especially helpful if you have never been in the situation of being let go. Knowing how to answer the questions about previous employers and practicing how to answer will make the process much less stressful when the interview rolls around.If you are looking for more career and job search advice, the blog has hundreds of articles providing job search tips and help. Additionally, has thousands of flexible jobs listed on the site with new ones being added every day.What advice would you give to someone who has recently lost his or her job? Share your ideas, tips, and experiences in the comments section below