Hopefully it will never happen to you, but you should know it is a possibility. That is that the job you might love and excel at is suddenly eliminated. Through no fault of your own the company has made the decision to eliminate your position or your department. This may be due to a ‘workforce reduction’ or ‘outsourcing’ implemented as a cost-cutting strategy; or may be due to a merger with another company where your department or position may be seen as redundant.
For whatever reason it is really shocking when it happens. Companies don’t give you much warning typically because they do not want to have their systems or efficiency possibly sabotaged. In fact they are advised to let you know on a Friday afternoon so that you have the weekend to get over the shock. Usually if the company is even half-way decent they will give you pay in lieu of notice, and usually that is calculated by something like your years of service multiplied by 1 week. They will also pay you in lieu of vacation time you may have accrued but not used.
Assuming that you have not done anything wrong it is not the same as getting ‘fired’ where you wouldn’t see severance pay. Being ‘laid off’ without cause, in some states you would automatically qualify for unemployment insurance. So you have a little buffer zone there if you put all of your funding sources together. You can live while you seek a new position.
Herein lies the rub, however: If this ‘downsizing’ is during a recession or other times of high unemployment, finding another job is not always a slam dunk, no matter how good your qualifications, experience and reputation. Many companies will not create new positions and will not fill positions where people retire, quit or are fired. They will just do without and this along with everybody looking for work at the same time reduces the number of jobs available.
So while you should spend time looking for a job, you may also consider ways you can create an income regardless of what anybody else does. You can do this by starting an online home business right away. The reason to still look for a job however is that it can take some time before a new business will start earning money. You might want to consider it a part-time or ‘extra’ income strategy. The more time you are able to invest, the more you may see that maybe you don’t want another job and you just want to work in your business at home full-time.
The time to plan for a disaster like losing your main source of income is to get something going BEFORE it happens. If it never happens then even better, because everybody can always use the extra income to pay off bills, go for a vacation or make a high ticket purchase for something necessary like a new car, repairs on your current vehicle, or medical expenses.
The point is you need to be in control so you are not vulnerable to financial ruin at the hands of the economy or business mismanagement. Do it now. Avoid the rush.
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