Anyone recently laid off?

[smzapalac]

Anyone out there recently laid off or have a spouse who was laid off? How are you holding up and what are you doing to find a job? Any insights would be wonderful. Thanks!

[trales]

Good luck, it is a hard thing to go through.

[stefani]

Were you laid off smzapalac? I was laid off in early May. I was hoping that I can enjoy this time, but the stress of the unknown gets me, and in the back of my mind I keep having this nagging thoughts that I should spend more time looking for a job.

It has been challenging to get into a routine with DS staying home part-time (he is not in K yet). Hopefully when he starts K in late August, and if we can afford sending him to after school full-time it will be a little easier for me to concentrate on job search.

One other challenge is finding health insurance(s) for me and DS. It takes a lot of time and I had been denied twice.

Regarding job search, I look into the unemployment website, indeed.com, a couple of board jobs on linkedin, a board job on yahoo, and networking with as many people as I can handle. One lesson I learn is that it is important to keep in touch with previous colleagues and bosses! I have worked at this last company for a while, so I have lost touch with many people from the previous company who can be great references for me.

Of course I am very thankful that DH is still working full-time, but honestly, not having my salary is a significant hit to our family income.

The best of luck, and let me know if I can answer specific questions.

[egoldber]

My DH was laid off at the end of November last year. We were "lucky" because they told us 2 months before it happened, so we had time to prepare.

We cut ALL discretionary spending and minimized all expenses except some additional child care for Amy so that it would be easier for my to job hunt. I would suggest not scrimping on that. We moved her from 2 days a week at preschool to 5 days a week. That allowed me to job hunt and schedule interviews more easily and also to allow her to ramp up more slowly to full time child care.

DH immediately called EVERYONE he knew. I can't tell you how important this is. You never know who knows someone who might know someone. Then he called all the people they told him to call. This took several days of his time just calling people and returning calls.

He and I signed up for all the "standard" job hunt places, monster.com, etc. We decided pretty early on though that *I* would concentrate on federal jobs (we live in DC area, so a big job pool for us) for the excellent benefits and family friendly schedules. I had been out of the work force for almost 7 years and it took me over 6 months to finally find a job. I started last month.

DH has technically yet to find a job. But our Plan B for him was to start doing full time consulting work. And because we had the 2 month notice, when his job ended on 11/30, on 12/1, his new business was up and running and he already had 2 paying clients lined up. That really, really saved us. His business is doing very well (although consulting is HARD, much harder than I ever realized) and now with my salary and benefits, we are doing well.

He also signed up for unemployment the very first day he was eligible. We have actually never had to use it, but it was nice to have it if we needed it.


One lesson I learn is that it is important to keep in touch with previous colleagues and bosses! I have worked at this last company for a while, so I have lost touch with many people from the previous company who can be great references for me.

Yes, I definitely learned this lesson too. It was hard to track down old bosses. Fortunately I was still trading Christmas cards with my old boss and I had his most current address and e-mail. Which saved me, because his glowing reference is what got me this job. I have learned the lesson of how valuable current references are! That one reference was worth all the cost of Christmas cards for the past 8 years LOL!!

Good luck!

[vonfirmath]

Yes, I definitely learned this lesson too. It was hard to track down old bosses. Fortunately I was still trading Christmas cards with my old boss and I had his most current address and e-mail. Which saved me, because his glowing reference is what got me this job. I have learned the lesson of how valuable current references are! That one reference was worth all the cost of Christmas cards for the past 8 years LOL!!

Good luck!

I have grown to believe contacts like this are the REASON people started doing Christmas cards. To keep track of people they'd otherwise lose track of.

[Puddy73]

Yes, unfortunately DH and I were both laid off within the same month. There are NO jobs in my field in the city that I'm in. That is not an exaggeration. I'm overqualified for many of the jobs that are available, so I'm not taken seriously. I will start an adunct teaching position next month, but it doesn't pay enough to even cover daycare for one kid and it has no benefits.

We are trying to enjoy the bonus family time that we have, but it is difficult because we are so stressed and we are juggling the kids so that we have time to job hunt. Like the pps, we are keeping up with contacts (Linked In is a great resource for this), working with recruiters and searching the usual job sites. If things don't turn around soon we'll have to consider relocating, which has its own set of problems because our home value has dropped.

[stefani]

Yes, unfortunately DH and I were both laid off within the same month. There are NO jobs in my field in the city that I'm in. That is not an exaggeration. I'm overqualified for many of the jobs that are available, so I'm not taken seriously. I will start an adunct teaching position next month, but it doesn't pay enough to even cover daycare for one kid and it has no benefits.

Ugh, I am sorry Jennifer that you are in this situation. Sending you and DH positive vibes to find good employments.


We cut ALL discretionary spending and minimized all expenses except some additional child care for Amy so that it would be easier for my to job hunt. I would suggest not scrimping on that. We moved her from 2 days a week at preschool to 5 days a week. That allowed me to job hunt and schedule interviews more easily and also to allow her to ramp up more slowly to full time child care.

Beth, so you would agree/ suggest that full-time / as much childcare as possible is a good thing? I am trying to convince DH that starting in September DS will go to after school care full-time so I can really concentrate on job search. I have to hold on the next 3 weeks that DS goes to daycare only 3 days a week.