Things You Should Do After You Have Lost Your Job

Job security does not exist at all, no matter how hardworking and good an employee you have been throughout your tenure. The email to inform you about your layoff shocks you out of your comfort zone, and you feel like the whole world has come crashing down around you. Job loss is undoubtedly stressful and even more so when you have outstanding no guarantor loans to pay off.

An emergency cushion, if it is enough to fall back on, can prevent you from being frantic, but if it is not, you should tuck scary feelings away for the future so you are well prepared to deal with situations like this and think of what you should do to get by.

First and foremost, you should apply for unemployment benefits. You can apply for these benefits only if you did not lose your job due to your own fault. You should immediately apply for them because they take time to process. You can file an appeal if you have been turned down the first time.  

Things you should do after losing your job

Here are the things you should do after losing your job:

• Contact a career coach

A career coach can help you brainstorm new ideas. They may open new paths to grow in your career. The first meeting is normally free of cost to give you an overview of what you are going to get from them. Make sure you do proper research before signing up for their services.

• Cut back on your spending as much as you can

Job loss is not fun. You might be shocked. Of course, you will need to get your head around it. There is nothing wrong if you breathe for the whole day. Use this day to think about what you must do to keep the wolf from the door. From the next day, you should spring into action.

The first thing to do is to cut back on your spending. You should evaluate your monthly expenses and find out where you can cut back on. You will have to ban discretionary expenses unless you land a new job.

Your current budget will not help you because now you have no job. You will have to live on your savings and unemployment benefits. Do not procrastinate to whittle down your expenses, hoping that you will find a new job quickly and that you will not need to do that. It may or may not be the case. Unless you bounce back, you should avoid hanging around with friends. Make sure every penny is going towards essential expenses. Look out for recurring costs such as cable services, magazine and gym subscriptions, OTT subscriptions, etc. You can temporarily discontinue these services.

• Polish up your resume

No sooner do you lose your job than you update your resume. The job hunt should begin immediately. Make sure your resume includes all the skills that a particular job requires you to apply for. Your chances of being shortlisted quickly are up when your resume has key highlights. Recruiters take less than a minute to go over resumes. Make sure that it does not only consist of ordinary information and nothing else. Brush up on your skills. Utilise this time to learn new things. You will more likely get a new job if you have added new skills to your resume.

Do not just rely on job portals. You should also inform your friends or ex-colleagues that you are on a job hunt. They may refer you to a job opening if they come across it. You will have to keep them asking if they have come to know about any job offers. Not being in touch with them will make them believe that you have found a job.

• Find some ways to make money

Finding a job is indispensable, but what if it takes a lot of time to land a new job? In the interim, you should find ways to make some money. Get a side gig. It does not matter what options are available to you. Just do it. From babysitting to walking a dog, you can find various side gigs. You can also get a freelance project. Just visit the freelance platforms and see what kind of work you can pick from there. Having extra cash coming in will prevent you from being dependent on a direct lender for bad credit loans.

• Keep paying your bills

If you have any outstanding debts, you cannot stop payments on them. Talk to your lender to let them know that you have lost your job. Ask them if they are willing to put you on another repayment plan. It is not necessary for them to cooperate with you. However, you can choose to make minimum repayments. Doing so will prevent your account from going to default, but at the same time, interest will accrue on the unpaid balance.

You can make more than the minimum payment if your budget allows for it. Make sure you have enough savings to keep up with payments. Find a side gig to help you make payments. Sometimes, it can take more than the expected time to land a new job. You should always try to have sufficient income to ensure you will not fall behind on payments. Once you get into a hole of debt, you cannot get out of it any sooner.

The final word

Job loss can be painful. But it is a reality. After losing your job, you should immediately apply for unemployment benefits. You should find a side gig, as it will help you get by. Talk to your lenders to know if they can help you with debt payments. Some lenders might revise your repayment schedule. Do not spend the whole of your side gig income on your needs and debt payments. You should set aside a portion of your income for a rainy day. What if you come across an unexpected expense? Having an emergency cushion will keep you from borrowing money.