Laid off? Made redundant? Retrenched? Dismissed? If you’ve been suddenly sacked, it’s time to dust off the Oreo crumbs and get back into gear, because the bills won’t stop coming and you still need to eat. To keep bringing home the bacon (or the Oreos), follow the Money Maven’s Job Cut Survival Guide.
by Anna McDougall, Money Maven
1. Know Your Rights
Firstly, you need to assess whether you have been unfairly dismissed. Getting caught with your pants down is one thing, but you need to know your rights in order to make a fair complaint. However, know that there is no actual legal requirement for your employer to give you warning that you are to be fired before it happens.
Redundancy is when your job no longer exists, so unfair as it sounds it’s better in the long run if you find a job where you are valued and needed.
Hit up www.fairwork.gov.au if you’ve got an inkling that you’ve been fired on unfair grounds.
2. Go for Severance Package
Even if your company doesn’t offer severance, you might just be able to negotiate a parting package with them, especially if you’ve done your time and you’ve got a squeaky clean track record. Even a little money won’t go astray, so you may as well go for it.
3. It’s Budget Time
On the bright side, you may have been meaning to make a budget anyway? Following a budget while you’re funemployed is beneficial to keep tabs on how much you are spending weekly and monthly.
You’ll get better visibility over your incoming and outgoing funds and you can anticipate your cash flow. Be sure to include your estimated unemployment income as well as savings that you may have and, of course, the big challenge is to make sure your savings last as long as your unemployment.
When you are looking at a budget that is negative, it is imperative that you take care of your basic necessities first. This includes your rent or mortgage, electricity, water, food and transportation.
4. Alternative Cash Flow
Now is the time to cash in on your amazing talents, skills and any hobbies that you can perhaps transform into a money making business venture. If you’ve got ways of making money other than through your job, or alternative income streams, you’ll be much better off whether it’s a job cut or recession.
5. Resume, Networking and Job Resources
Don’t be discouraged if finding a new job is taking longer then you are prepared for. A great resume, a little networking and looking in the right places will all benefit you on the road to employment.
Dust off your resume and update it with significant achievements, describe things that set you apart from the crowd and the use of numbers will always draw attention. For example, your per cent of monthly sales in your last job or how many papers you’ve published.
Who would have thought Facebook could be more useful then stalking your ex boyfriend? If you’re still on good terms with colleagues and ex-colleagues, or other friends in the biz, finding a new job may be easier then you think. Don’t go MIA; LinkedIn, Facebook and other social networking sights will keep you in the loop.
Online is definitely the way to go when looking for new job (who circles ads in the paper anymore?) Rescu. recommends SEEK, The Loop, CareerOne, MyCareer, and Job Search, and GumTree works well for fast cash solutions.
Above all, don’t give up! Your dream job could be just around the corner…