Getting Fired? Laid Off? What About Your 401 K?

Original Post Here [thejobboard]

---

In the past, I’ve written about what you should do first if you get fired or laid off.

Over the weekend, over at the WiseBread blog, I saw a new strategy that had never occurred to me before.

Essentially, it boils down to remembering to ask the HR folks if they’ll give you the unvested portion of your 401 (k).

A lot of companies have 401 (k) matching plans. It’s basically free money: they contribute x dollars to match every y dollars you contribute. The catch is, you have to stay with the company long enough for that to “vest.” If you leave too soon, they don’t have to make good on that money.

But if they fire you before the vesting can happen… well, that’s not your fault!

But a lot of employers are willing to give you the unvested portion of your 401(k) account if/when you’re being let go.

Especially if it’s not performance related and they just need to downsize. It’s not that big of a deal to them and in an effort to make these kinds of moves as painless as possible, there is a good shot you’ll get this money.

The worst thing that can happen? They say no.

Hmmm. I don’t know. If they’re in the saving money downsize mode, I’m not so sure they’ll be so sanguine about handing over the money.

But then again, this is one of those I suppose it can’t hurt to ask situations. I mean, they are going to give you (hopefully) some sort of severance package. So why shouldn’t the “free money” be a part of it?

Most of us, when we’re in the frenzied moment of being handed a pink slip, don’t tend to think clearly. So, make a mental note now. If you’re ever facing the proverbial firing squad, don’t forget to ask if you can take your “free money” with you.

It’s better than leaving money on the table.

And as always, if you find yourself suddenly laid off, it might be time to hire professional help.

[POLL RESULTS AND ANALYSIS] If You’re Looking For A Job, Did You…

Original Post [POLL RESULTS AND ANALYSIS] If You’re Looking For A Job, Did You…

I find the 2nd place result to be particularly surprising.

We’ll get to that, but…

First: how I screwed up

Before I get to the results or the analysis, let me tell you how I screwed up with this poll, or more specifically, with how I told you about it.
When I first published the poll on JobMob a few weeks ago, I thought that the voting mechanism wouldn’t let you vote from the article itself, and that you would need to click through to the website. With that in mind, I put an image of the poll in the article so that when you clicked through to vote, you would easily recognize it in the sidebar here on JobMob:

Believe it or not, it never occurred to me that people would see that image and think they could vote by clicking on it, which now seems so obvious that I probably would have done it myself.
The only reason I realized my mistake was because people who did click through to the website also tried voting by clicking on the image, and I was able to see that using a tool called CrazyEgg:

Hopefully, some of the image clickers also realized what was going on and then actually voted in the sidebar. In any case, once I saw this, I immediately removed the poll image and put the actual poll into the announcement article.
Lesson learned: from now on, no more images of polls!

The poll results and what they mean

Here are the official results of the poll:
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.
40% Get laid-off from your last job?
This answer was expected because of the 2009 recessions in the countries that most JobMob visitors come from, like the USA, Israel and the UK.
One thing worth pointing out is that I specifically didn’t distinguish between ‘got laid-off’ and ‘got fired’. For a poll to work well, the answer choices need to be clear so that your vote comes to you right away. Although ‘laid off’ and ‘fired’ don’t mean exactly the same thing, and since the difference might not exist in all countries and cultures, I decided to just keep things simple.
26% Quit your last job?
Like I said at the top, I find this result the most surprising. During a recession, you would normally sit tight in your job because there are so few other ones available, unless of course, you have a good reason to believe differently in your case.
If you voted this way, can you tell us why you quit now of all times?
21% You’re looking for your first job
There was a good comment by Esther on the poll announcement about how the poll didn’t take into account stay-at-home moms who were now making their way back into the workforce, but I can imagine that this was the option they would have chosen, alongside graduates, newly-released soldiers, etc.
13% Have a contract that just ended?
A follow-up question: if you voted this, and you’re a freelancer, are you now looking for a salary job or more freelance work?
If you liked this article, you’ll enjoy What Is Your Biggest Job Search Problem? [POLL RESULTS AND ANALYSIS].
Subscribe to JobMob via RSS or email and follow me on Twitter for more job search polls and insight.
-- Jacob Share, Job Search Expert and Professional Blogging Consultant

The 10 Most Volatile Careers During A Recession

Originally Posted Here

---

Recessions tend to be discussed mostly in broad, sweeping, generic terms. Either the recession is a blessing in disguise or, more frequently, an avoidable catastrophe from which you will never recover. In reality, recessions may have a huge impact, moderate impact, or virtually no impact on you depending on your skills, priorities and station in life. The only way to prepare yourself is to know the relevant facts as they relate to you. To that end, Billshrink has researched the 10 most volatile careers to be in during any recession. If you’re in one, tread carefully or consider changing careers. If you’re deciding on a new career, you may want to avoid these!

Retail

Image Source

A common characteristic of virtually all recessions is reduced consumer spending. Clearly, this translates to a slimmer bottom line for those in retail. While there are some exceptions (USA Today names Walmart in a list of recession-proof companies) retailers of all stripes typically suffer their lowest profit margins during recessions and downturns. The volatility of this field is amplified the further down the job ladder you are. For instance, the job security of a minimum wage cashier at a local department store is so close to zero that it might as well be zero. A store manager is on surer footing, but is still a far way off from the stability he or she enjoyed before the recession hit.

Construction

Image Source

It goes without saying that recessions aren’t exactly a zenith of new construction projects. A Google query for “building permits down” returns pages upon pages of news stories about the decline in building in counties all over America, most of them from the last 4-6 months alone. The reason, very simply, is that recessions are perceived as risky times to tie up money in construction projects whose benefits are usually deferred months or years into the future. Rather, most businesses seem to conclude that this money should be held onto in the event of a cash flow crisis or some other unforseen, recession-borne obstacle that will inevitably need to be overcome in the next year or two. These marketwide decisions spell tough times for construction workers, contractors, foremen and other professionals in the building field.

Travel

Image Source

Travel is an industry that lives or dies, in large part, on the vitality of the economy as a whole. When the market tanks, especially for prolonged periods such as recessions, people who would normally part with discretionary income to take a vacation or cruise suddenly cease seeing that income as discretionary. In the haze of recession, no one can be quite certain when the market will turn around. Much as it does with retail, this uncertainty leads many people to cling to money more tightly than they would during prosperous times, when future discretionary income can be assumed. A May 2009 Gallup poll confirms this trend is alive and well in the current recession, finding that over half (52%) of Americans are altering their vacation plans in response to recessionary pressures. All of this is bad news for travel agents (already an endangered profession), hotels, resorts and getaways around the world.

Mortgage Lending

Image Source

The current financial meltdown has hurt mortgage lenders more than other recessions (due to the housing boom and bust), but this is typically a volatile career in all recessions. The middle of an economic collapse is seldom a time when people are eager to buy new homes. First-time home buyers are often willing to buy, current homeowners would have to sell their current home into the same bad market they are trying to benefit from on the buy side, and there are more current homeowners than first-time home buyers. The systemic forces at work here equate to lean times for mortgage lenders, who are left to fend for themselves among such inferior opportunities as exist during extended downturns.

Real Estate Sales

Image Source

The same market forces conspiring to devastate mortgage lenders have similar effects on real estate salespeople. Besides the lopsided ratio of first-time home buyers to current homeowners, there is also the sheer, unavoidable commitment involved in buying a new home. Recessions are characterized by (among other things) fear of losing one’s job, saving less for retirement, and diminished investment performance. Not many people are willing to roll the dice on a new house when all of these variables are in a state of flux, and nationally speaking, there is little a real estate agent can do to change this. It should be noted, however, that this is not universally true of all markets. Certain pockets of the country (like Houston currently) remain a decent place for real estate agents to operate.

Entertainment

Image Source

It’s common knowledge that tobacco and alcohol sell like hotcakes during recessions. Beyond these products, however, the entertainment industry loses some steam during tough economic times. There’s nothing like a huge crash on the Dow or the value of your home halving overnight to make Don’t Mess With The Zohan seem like a frivolous purchase you can do without. Likewise, Hollywood studios tend to hold off on hiring extra stagehands, production crews and extras during a recession. In the same vein, CNN Money reported in May 2009 that video game sales are down 17% compared with just a year ago. While this is partially due to a temporary slowdown in blockbuster game releases, it dovetails with what has historically been a trend during times like these.

Marketing

Image Source

Direct marketing guru Perry Marshall is famous in that industry for remarking on the paradox of what happens to marketing departments during recessions. Conventional wisdom holds that if marketing is how new customers are driven to a business, more money should be devoted to it during lean times. Instead, contrary to that assumption, Marshall notes that marketing is the first department to see budget cuts and downsizing when the market tanks. Regardless of how counter-intuitive this sounds, it has persisted through enough recessions to be recognized as a real trend. If you are a marketer, make sure you are producing visible, demonstrable results for your company. If you are debating getting into the field, make sure you can do the above before committing.

Automobile Sales

Image Source

We’ve already seen how recessions tend to delay major purchases in our discussion of mortgage lenders and real estate salespeople. The same tends to hold true for automobile sales. While the current recession has sank auto sales more than those past, it has been a consistent feature of most recessions in recent memory. The reason, simply enough, is that the car one drives is a foundational piece of most adults’ lives. When everything from their job security to their investment portfolio is up in the air, buying a new car is seldom seen as prudent. Rather, most people who might have bought opt instead to do more maintenance on their current vehicles and/or continue saving their money to buy when the market turns around. As car dealers have painfully learned this time around, even lowering prices to dirt cheap status is often not enough to prevent huge swoons in consumer demand.

High-End Clothing

Image Source

It’s true that people still need to clothe themselves regardless of where the Dow stands. Unfortunately for high-end clothing makers like Abercrombie, consumers tend to economize on the clothes they buy as they do their other purchases. Abercrombie in particular was recently anointed as the “worst recession brand” by Time Magazine for failing to lower its prices at all and consequently suffering 30% drops in sales. Nor has Abercrombie been the only clothing manufacturer to suffer. The green living website TreeHugger reported in March 2009 that clothing swapping was on the rise while new clothing sales were simultaneously falling.

Architecture

Image Source

Just as demand for construction falls with the market, so too does demand for the services of architects. BusinessWeek reported in March 2009 that layoffs were “sweeping the profession” and asked rhetorically “how can architects survive the recession?” The reason, as discussed earlier, is that new building projects tend to be delayed until the economy stabilizes. Because the job of an architect is precisely to design such projects, it goes without saying that their services are not as widely demanded or utilized during such times as these. Exceptions exist in areas that have not been hit has hard or are outside the scope of what caused the recession.

Layoff Survival Guide: Back to work!

Original Post:Layoff Survival Guide: Back to work!

So, let’s say you’ve gotten a job offer. Congratulations! But now you may be wondering what to do about all those changes you had to deal with when you got laid off. What do you do about your health insurance coverage now? And how do you stop collecting unemployment? What are all the things you have to deal with when you’re starting a new job?

A friend of mine asked me to write about this subject. Well, one friend complained that my Layoff Survival Guide was too depressing, so my other friend (who is still looking for a new job) suggested this would be a happy twist to the posts.

So, with my first post, I talked about 401(k)s. At your new job, you’ll likely be given the option to enroll in their 401(k) program (or similar program for non-profits, government jobs, and the like). Sometimes you’ll have to wait to enroll, or wait for them to match or somehow contribute to your account. I recommend signing up for a 401(k). If they provide a matching contribution, I would strongly encourage you to sign up. There are usually a few different options for funds you can invest in. Don’t let that part intimidate you! If you’re not sure, there’s often someone you can call at the company running your 401(k) (or even in you HR department) that can give you some general guidance. And while I’m not a certified financial adviser, I would suggest you look into a “life cycle fund”, one that invests in funds that are more aggressive if you’re not retiring for many decades, and become more conservative as you get closer to retirement. That’s what I’m doing with my IRAs. For my 401(k), I’ve tried to make a diversified portfolio with assorted styles of funds, and only looking at the funds with low or no expense ratio.

Next I told you about COBRA and transitioning your healthcare coverage. Now that you’re at a new job, you’ll likely have access to a discounted (or free) health insurance program (depending on what your company offers). If the new insurance available is, in your opinion, better (cost-wise, or cover-wise, or other factors important to you) than what you’d been on while unemployed, you should sign up! Confirm that your new health insurance is officially started, then get in touch with your former company’s HR person in charge of health insurance, and/or your previous insurance company, and let them know that you’re on a new plan.

Finally, I discussed collecting unemployment. At least for me, in Massachusetts, I didn’t have to call to cancel. I just stopped filing claims. Hopefully, that’s what I was supposed to do! I had asked a friend what she did when she got a new job, and she said she did the same thing. It may differ from state to state, so check in with your state’s Office of Labor to confirm.

Hopefully this has given you a good idea of what you can look forward to once you get a new job. As always, feel free to comment or email me(graduated learning) if you have any questions.

Suddenly Unemployed: 4 Steps To Cutting The Leash + 7 Sins That Will Be Tempting You

Original Post: Suddenly Unemployed: 4 Steps To Cutting The Leash + 7 Sins That Will Be Tempting You

It was a Tuesday morning. I woke up checking my mobile for the latest roster… “Nopes, no messages received.” I thought to myself as I saw no new notifications on the screen of my handphone.

Initially, I had informed the company that I was available on the 1st till 3rd, and I had just finished an exhausting round of roadshows through the past 2 weeks.

So what was going on? Why didn’t I get this week’s roster?

And it was then, with a tiny grin appearing on my face, that I’ve realized that… I was suddenly unemployed — on 1st September 2009.

“What’s next?” I asked myself.

To be totally honest with you, I had been looking forward to this — except that I wasn’t ready to push the red button for activation of “sudden unemployment”. Although… I had took a series of steps that lead up to this inevitable day.

4 steps prior to cutting the leash

There’s a fine difference between being foolish and actually knowing what you are getting yourself into! Like I’ve mentioned in the previous paragraph, I didn’t cut the cord immediately when I didn’t like the job. In fact, here’s the series of 4 steps that I had taken prior to “sudden unemployment” — systems may differ between individuals, you’ll create your own steps when you are ready.

Step #1: Know who you are and what you really want

Your goal is to not follow or become a carbon-copy of someone else. You can model from the best individuals that you know, but you aren’t supposed to be exactly like them — that will be freaky.

You’ve got to know who you are. That is, to know what exactly you are strong in, what excites you, what will keep you up all day (and night) where when you can feel the sense of fulfillment doing what you really should be doing, and just purely being you!

More than knowing who you are, you got to know what you really want (”really” in this definition means “specifically” — “I want to be successful” is a lousy want, and that won’t get you anywhere).

I’ve got a pretty bad-ass allergy to dust, dislike for paperwork, against indecisiveness (or too much change of plans), hates targets, and doesn’t like to waste energy on stuff or people that don’t yield any results. So anything along those lines are surely out.

But, sales, persuasion, time-freedom, mobility, creating stuff that works, and bearing fruits are stuff that I’d live for. Hence the following statement describes me well:

“I’m a writer, blogger, and I help build amazing business on the web!”

So… who then… are you?

Step #2: Getting back weekends

My previous job was being a part-time sales promoter. And there’s an unwritten rule that promoters are required to work on weekends. But, I don’t do weekends as they go against 2 of my personal principles; spending too much time and energy talking to non-buyers, and weekends were the only days I could spend quality time with my friends.

What I did was to increase my closing ratio from 1:10 (1 sale against talking to 10 people) to 1:1.5 (or 2 sale with every 3 people I talk to) in less than 2 weeks, and then set-up the counter to trigger curiosity of people passing by, and let it sell on its own — and I could simply walk away. That’s for a product where my colleagues thought that it needed tons of convincing to sell.

Then after seeing results on weekends, I started to ask for a Saturday off, then 2 weeks later, asked for both weekends off.

Step #3: Getting back weekdays

By then I was already working on a project where I’d be doing if “sudden unemployment” occurs.

And being a promoter, it is commonly known that weekdays are usually the quietest in form of traffic and sales, and off days are usually taken during this period.

Hence, I just increased my off days from 1 to 2 in the week… and it helped that during my last week I fell ill which left me to having a 1 work day week!

Oh, and did I mention that my first minisite was created? I spent most of that week bouncing ideas off my friends while I attended an amazing blogging course by Leo and Mary.

Step #4: Initiate your plan

You would have probably realized that I’ve been using the term “sudden unemployment” pretty often in this post. Well, it was supposed to be called “world domination” but… Chris Guillebeau from The Art of Nonconformity had already made that catchphrase his.

I’m not here to tell you what your plan is — you’ve already taken way too much instructions and orders in your career.

Instead, find out what you love, and do it. Time to initiate your plan, cut the leash, and execute on being you.

7 Sins That Will Be Tempting You

Of course, life isn’t going to be all beds of roses after that. There are still the critics (oh how we love to hate them) that will wriggle their way through to do some damage to your self-esteem, and also the 7 “sins” that will be out there to tempt you out of your plans.

Sin #1: Greed — Get-rich-quick schemes

You’ve definitely come across this in your junk mail, or from an infected instant messenger account, or through “friends” who just want you to be in their multi-level downline.

Sin #2: Sloth — Time freedom doesn’t equates to sleeping all day

I’ve instead used freed up time to attend a 10 day bootcamp, a 4 day Anthony Robbins’ seminar, totally immersed myself for 3 days in learning up on currencies trading, negotiating a freedom-time job that allows me to work remotely, while also looking into setting up a minisites business model with my friend who has agreed to run the sales side of stuff.

Sin #3: Gluttony — Life’s a buffet… You don’t have to fill your plates up

One common reason why many people can’t get things done is that they keep filling their plates up to the brim before getting started.

Till their cup runs over? More like till their blood gushes out from their head.

A myth is that successful people have an enormous number of stuff to do at the same time. Sounds like multi-tasking? Yeah, but do you know that your IQ effectively drops (don’t ask me how much, I don’t need to know that) when you multi-task? It won’t be much later when your finances drains up, EQ drops to be parallel to your IQ after multi-tasking without getting things done.

Sin #4: Wrath — Critics… the jerks of society

“Oh, you shouldn’t do this…” or they also put it this way, “… you won’t be able to do that…”

Critics asks the lousiest questions – ever – just so they can put their thoughts across, which is to put you down. Most of the time they just create false evidences to back their claims on why you will fail.

They will only give you more problems (and zero solutions). Well, they may think that they have given you a solution, but… in truth, they don’t.

Since, I’ve come to the topic on critics, here’s one exercise you can try if you’ve faced with one… ask him (universal gender) if the conversation was a fruitful one (after being hurled at with stuff without any solid outcome). If he said “very fruitful”, feel free to screw him upside down. If he said “very fruitful” and continues in his self-righteous thoughts, you may proceed in screwing him upside down, and deleting him away from your list of contacts, and then send a “Dear John,” email.

Moving on.

Sin #5: Lust — Power porn

Are you addicted to power porn? This article written by good friend and blogger colleague, Josh Kaufman, says it all, from how you might be spending too much time ogling and “thumbing through stories of the wealthy and famous, studying photo after photo of older men in conservative ties and ladies in pantsuits, hoping to find some little tidbit of knowledge that would somehow make you more successful.” (quoted from article).

Here’s what we’ve come to realize… its a waste of our time and energy to be sucked in by power porn.

Sin #6: Envy — The first step to covetousness

There are definitely friends within your circle who have achieved what you had desired, which could be time freedom, or attaining “impossible” income in a short period of time.

Having a healthy competition is fine. But wanting to accomplish that in an even shorter time by risking too much of your time, energy, and money, might just kill you instead. This is also when people will get trapped in the get-rich-quick schemes, or learn how to scam others by going against their own principles — a big blunder that you will regret.

Sin #7: Pride — The original sin

As written in Wikipedia, pride is the original and most deadliest sin where it is the ultimate source which the others arise.

Pride is far worse than critics. One difference is that critics just want you to join in their status quo (good if you are progressing towards their level, before progressing on eg: you are at ground zero, critic is at level 1 = criticisms can bring you up to a new level — you need these group of people, but bad if they are holding you back from progression), while pride just wants to keep you out from even thinking of progression totally using the talk down approach.

That is when they see you as a competition and not only they won’t help you, they will want to keep you out for good.

Instead, practice humility. Help others because others have helped you before. Appreciate others because they can be your biggest source of encouragement. Say hi, because we are all supportive people. :)

“I’ll take the red pill”: Step up!

In the matrix universe, the titular character — Neo — was given a choice of to take the blue pill or the red pill. While the blue pill signifies the certainty of going back to a “normal” life (perhaps defined by others to the individual), the red pill signifies otherwise… you’ll open up your eyes and get exposed to a whole new universe where you can live life happily on your own terms (or find out that the truth is equally painful and damaging to your ego, status quo, and how much difference you would have made for yourself if you’ve taken action).

Down the rabbit hole now — see what you’ve been missing out.

“You take the blue pill, the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.”

Anthony Robbins mentioned that to see coincidences upon coincidences coming into your life day after day, you got to do one important thing — that is to take massive action!

Well yeah, I have to agree with him on that.

It was when I initiated my plans when things started to appear in mysterious and wonderful ways! Such as being given the opportunity to attend the 10 days bootcamp, being sponsored for the Anthony Robbins seminar (this occurred 1 day after “sudden unemployment”), meeting new friends, seeing great people, and seeing results in the first minisite.

All those wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t make my move.

—
Maybe, it is time to make your move…

What it Feels Like to Get Fired

Original Post: What it Feels Like to Get Fired:

"Today I got fired from my summer internship. Okay, so that’s a lie. I wasn’t fired. It was the last day of my internship, and I wasn’t offered a full-time job after graduation—which feels like getting fired when it was “my offer to lose.” I think I said that I was fired so I could feel like Heather Armstrong, a now-famous blogger who got fired for blogging about work. Alas, I didn’t get fired for writing about work—although that is definitely not okay—at least not while you are still working there. I got fired for a lot of other things—like being late to meetings a lot, not listening well, and being “too aggressive.”

When responding to the feedback I received, my voice shook like I would cry, but I didn’t, and I’m proud of that. Still haven’t cried. Don’t plan on it.

I’ve never been fired actually. I’ve come quite close several times. When I worked at the movie theater and grocery store in high school, my till would come up missing hundreds of dollars sometimes. My bosses repeatedly asserted that they would have fired anyone else, but they were all sure that sweet, zany Kaneisha had not stolen money from the register only to then diligently show up to work four times a week after school. I surely hadn’t stolen the money. I can just be very absent-minded at times. My customers were probably yelling, “Look!” and then pulling money out of the register when I turned my head to see what was so exciting. The managers at the movie theater and grocery store hired me, but in the end, it wasn’t a good fit.

And neither was this internship. When receiving my feedback, some of the things were spot-on, but others caught me completely by surprise. In my head as I read my feedback: “People cared about what I was doing and wanted to be included? They wanted to see my spreadsheets?! I didn’t even want to see my spreadsheets!” But then again, that’s part of why I was fired. You’ve got to take the whole job—not just the parts that you like.

Getting fired feels like getting broken up with. More than anything, you just want to hear that they really did care for you, that there really had been something special there at some point. It just didn’t work out. You’re a lovely person with a lot to offer—just not to offer this particular person breaking up with you.

Just like when getting broken up with, I eloquently expressed my thoughts and feelings to the other party, and ended the interaction as amicably as I imagined it could be. Then I promptly vented to my girl friends, my beau, my Grandma, and sought refuge in a self-help book (This time it was Think and Grow Rich). Yep, that’s the usual routine after a break-up. Or when I get fired.

Looks like it’s time to find a new relationship aka job. 10 months and counting until I graduate. I’ve decided my ultimate goal is to work for myself. Does that make me a career spinster?

Layoff Survival Guide: What’s This COBRA Thing?

from Brazen Careerist by Learning Graduate

Hopefully you found my last post in my newly minted Layoff Survival Guide useful.  And if not, here's another chance for some helpful advice!

So, like I said last time, a really good friend of mine lost her job, and is now dealing with all the issues I had to deal with a little over a year ago.  So I figured I'd help her out, and maybe help others out along the way.  Behold, the power of blogging!

Her question for me was about COBRA.  What is it, what does she need to do, what are her options?

Let's start with a simple definition.  COBRA stands for Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act.  Yeah, that doesn't mean a lot to me either.   But when you're handed a severance package with all sorts of information, one thing you're told about is COBRA (and if you didn't get any info for COBRA, I recommend you contact your former employer to find out what's up).

Basically, COBRA entitles you to continue your health coverage that you received through your employer.  Except you will be paying the premium (rather than your former employer).  However, recent legislation from The American Recovery And Reinvestment Act allows for assistance in your insurance premiums through COBRA.  As stated on this Department of Labor page:

"Eligible individuals pay only 35 percent of their COBRA premiums and the remaining 65 percent is reimbursed to the coverage provider through a tax credit. The premium reduction applies to periods of health coverage beginning on or after February 17, 2009 and lasts for up to nine months for those eligible for COBRA during the period beginning September 1, 2008 and ending December 31, 2009 due to an involuntary termination of employment that occurred during that period."

There also is an income threshold that you need to be under in order to fully benefit for this program.  For more information, you can check out their Fact Sheet for COBRA Premium Reduction here.

If you don't elect to continue your insurance from your previous job through COBRA, you still have options.  A friend forwarded me a link to a site that helps you pick out insurance options (in Massachusetts).  And the DOL has another good page telling you about how to attain health insurance.  You can search for a private insurance plan, or may be eligible for a government plan such as medicare.  Also, if you have a spouse with health insurance, you can get on his/her plan.  I'm not an expert on the different types of insurance, so you might have to do some searching on your own.  Also, there are apparently some tax implications with some health insurance premiums, that I'll let you check out on your own (mostly because I'm not as familiar with these tax rules).

What did I do?  Well, luckily, my severance package included a month of health insurance coverage, so I was able to depend on that while figuring everything else out.  I ended up paying the hefty premiums for COBRA coverage, continuing the coverage I enjoyed while at my old job.  It may not have been the best decision, financially, but it was the "easy" thing to do.  I found it difficult to sort through all my alternative options for health insurance.

Why is it important to have continued health coverage?  There are a few reasons.  As I learned firsthand a month into unemployment, you never know when you might need insurance.  My boyfriend hurt himself mountain biking, and I drove him to the hospital.  Since he had health insurance, he wasn't stuck with an enormous hospital bill.  Saving money by not paying for health insurance could end up losing you money if you end up requiring an expensive medical procedure.  Or you may have to decide if a procedure is financially worth it, even if it's medically important.

Another reason you don't want your insurance to lapse is because it might make it more difficult to prove that any condition you have down the road isn't a preexisting condition.  I know that's more of a worry/fear than an actual fact, so take that with a grain of salt.

So what do you need to do?  Decide whether or not you're going to continue your insurance plan through COBRA (talk to your former employer/fill out the forms they gave you).

So, like I've said before, I'm not a legal expert or anything, so this is merely friendly advice.  But if you see any errors or omissions here, or have specific questions, let me know in the comments or via email.  And if you have other layoff-related questions, you can ping me with those as well!

http://graduatedlearning.wordpress.com/2009/06/26/layoff-survival-guide-whats-th...

Several GREAT Career Articles ...

Submitted by: Rose Elley BSEE MBA PMP SCPM <Rose.Elley@gmail.com>

Some good career articles to read over a cup of hot coffee & while listening to some good music. These are a blend of articles with covering abroad range of topics. Feedback is welcome, let me know which of these your feel are most helpful for inclusion on our website.

Wall Street Journal – Career Articles

 A Web Presence From Scratch - With unemployment at a 23-year high, job seekers should expand the way they search. Here's how to build up a social-networking presence from scratch.

Windows Into Lives After a Layoff  - As layoffs increase, some job seekers are sharing their woes by blogging. For many, it's therapeutic. For some, it's turned into a way to garner job leads.

Strangers Lend a Hand to Job Seekers - Alarmed by the rising unemployment rate, many working Americans are helping their laid-off counterparts -- often complete strangers -- secure new positions through social-networking site groups

Keep Raising the Bar in Your Career– It's easy to rest on your accomplishments, perhaps even feeling there's not much left to learn. But in this economy, you can't afford to sit back.

Many Companies Hire as They Fire

Raising Kids to Thrive Amid Career Chaos - The recession is driving home a bitter truth: The path to a secure career is increasingly hard to find. Here's what parents should do to equip their children for this.

Layoffs Are Just One Threat - Employers say they intend to save money with multiple initiatives, including freezing salaries, reducing workweeks, eliminating training programs and boosting health-care premiums.

Bringing Your Passion to Work - Bringing a side interest to work is one way to find more time to do what you love without putting your life on hold and your financial health at risk.

The Laid-Off Do Well Doing Good - Volunteer jobs are catching on among laid-off workers, giving them valuable career experience and aiding nonprofits.

Starting Over -- as an Entrepreneur - For laid-off workers, launching a business may seem the best path to survival.

Overcoming Career Setbacks – When misfortune and adversity follow periods of personal achievement, lean to deal with rejection and ignore the naysayers in order to get back on track.

Acing a Phone Interview - The phone interview, usually the first step before an in-person interview, is now being used to weed out job seekers by asking the tough questions reserved for finalists.

From a Corporate Job to a Nonprofit

Negotiating the Freelance Economy

Take an Hourly Job or Stay on Unemployment? - A reader contemplates accepting a drastic pay cut to get back to work. Our Career Q&A columnist weighs in with advice on how to decide.

Creating a Consultancy With Your Expertise  - For professionals who want to use their expertise in new ways, becoming an independent consultant is a common jump. Ways to make the transition easier.

Advice for Senior Job Hunters

SUCCESS STORIES:

A Builder of Castles Made of Trash - How architect Michael Reynolds came to found Earth ship Biotecture, which designs and builds sustainable homes world-wide.

From Techie to Bike-Store Owner

 

 

Rose Elley BSEE MBA PMP SCPM

Graduate Student, Saint Mary's College | Director PMI-SVC Championship Job Team | Leader Sacramento Alternative Energy Group

 

What Should You Do When You've Been Laid Off?

By Adam Pash, 11:00 AM on Fri Dec 5 2008

In the midst of the financiapocalypse, layoffs are an inevitability. Just this morning, in fact, a close friend lost her job to the insatiable beast that is our current financial meltdown—leaving her with all kinds of questions about what she should do next. Since we're all likely to be touched in some way or another by the far-reaching and widespread layoffs, we're wondering: Even if you've been doing your best to recession-proof your career, what steps should you take toward recovery if worst comes to worst and you've been laid off? Let's hear your strategies—whether you've been there before or you just like to be prepared—in the comments. Photo by conorwithonen.

Shape Up to Prepare for That Layoff, Says CEO [Career

Shape Up to Prepare for That Layoff, Says CEO [Career]

from Lifehacker by Gina Trapani

Seems like every day there's more news of layoffs in the tech sector and beyond, and if you're one of the survivors worried about your job security, startup founder and CEO Kevin Merritt offers some pointers on what to do before the pink slip lands on your desk. His most unexpected piece of advice?

Start exercising. We all know that discrimination is illegal for most reasons and unethical for other reasons. But if you've watched60 Minutes, you know that's not how humans behave. With comparably qualified candidates, the attractive, fit people are usually offered the job. What are employers looking for in prospective employees? Someone who will get the job done. If you look like you are full of energy, the perception is that you will get the job done.

Even if getting in shape doesn't help you land a new job, it will at least replace feelings of layoff rejection with pride about your hot bod. The rest of Merritt's advice is just what you'd expect: update your professional skills, reduce household bills, start a blog about your area of expertise, and work your online and offline social networks. What are you doing to depression-proof your career? Let us know in the comments. Photo by bryanesque.

10 Essential Steps to Take BEFORE You're Laid Off [Get Rich Slowly]