How to Survive Corporate Layoff

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By eHow Contributing Writer

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Corporate layoffs can cause a tremendous amount of stress. Not only does it have the potential to turn your financial life upside down, it can also drain you emotionally. If you are part of corporate America, you are just as prone to a layoff as anyone else. Here are some ways to survive if you are unfortunate enough to undergo a corporate layoff.

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Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Step 1

Accept the fact that it happened to you. While it is difficult to lose your livelihood, layoffs are not personal. The sooner you move on, the better it will be for you and your family.
Step 2

Do not burn bridges by being bitter and complaining about your employer. You may need them as a reference on your next job.
Step 3

Update your resume.
Step 4

Analyze your skills. Don't overlook anything that could lead to a new career or revive an old one.
Step 5

Curb your spending immediately and spend your severance wisely. Don't treat it as a bonus, as it typically takes an average of 6 months to find another job.
Step 6

Make it your full time job to find a job. Spend at least 8 hours a day on job search activities.
Step 7

Use an outplacement firm if your company offered you the benefit. This will help polish up your resume and provide you with professional assistance on the job search.
Step 8

Lean on your family for emotional support.
Step 9

Pull out the old contacts list, start attending meetings and gatherings to network.

Tips & Warnings

Draw unemployment if you have to. Check with your state bureau on how you can do this.
Attend all the meetings your company's Human Resource department put together for employees affected by the layoff to learn about your benefits.
Take this as an opportunity to do something different. Determine your options; do you want to retrain and go into another profession, would you like to go back to school or do you want to start your own business?

Comments

rijojohn said

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on 1/24/2009 The key is to survive the layoff by keeping the impact as low as possible. I have been through at least 3 layoff in my 20 year career and personally I feel that it the best way to ride this wave is to be prepared for the extreme . I firmly believe in the Murphy ’s Law especially the 3rd one, " Whatever can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time, in the worst possible way”

if any one interested in a no-nonsense game of “layoff survival” check out http://www.crootpad.com , a fun way to see different options to survive layoff.