Phase three: Laid off?

Photograph: Roxana Marroquin

First hour When you’re called into your boss’s office and you see that HR goon lurking in the shadows, don’t run, don’t say too much, don’t get emotional—and don’t sign anything. First, get the skinny on any termination package, and get it in writing. “Almost always, you are entitled to severance only if you sign a release of all claims against your employer,” says employment lawyer Alan L. Sklover. “Now is not the time to decide whether you will sign that release,” which could contain hidden traps like noncompetition provisions, “but only to determine what you are being offered.”

Second hour Drink. Sad sacks take comfort in the free buffet at Tracy J’s (106 E 19th St between Irving Pl and Park Ave South, 212-674-5783), where tears, beers and chats with the Con Ed workers (see, it could be worse!) might cheer you up.

Day two Okay, now you should sign up for various benefits at once. You can apply for unemployment online with the New York State Department of Labor (ui.labor.state.ny.us). And if you were enrolled in a health-care plan at work, you can extend the same benefits, sometimes for up to 18 months, through COBRA (go to dol.gov).

Three days in Now step back—and stay away from job-search websites. “The first week is a really dangerous time,” says executive recruiter Bradley Richardson, author of Career Comeback. “It’s like a breakup—you know your next few dates are not going to be great. The biggest mistake people make is, like Jerry Maguire: stay up late one night, write something, fire it off…and it screws them.” Instead, be strategic. See what’s out there, don’t respond to listings yet. “No one’s attracted to desperation,” Richardson says.

Sklover, who wrote Fired, Downsized, or Laid Off: What Your Employer Doesn’t Want You to Know About How to Fight Back, says you should take a week to freak out and “address the first issue, which is stress. Whatever you do for stress control, do a lot of it—like yoga or running.”

Next, size up your bank account. “How long can you survive without financial calamities, such as unpaid utility bills, eviction or loss of health-care coverage?” asks Sklover. Experts advise having three to six months of your salary in savings and carrying no debt. But that’s what makes them experts and us broke.

One month out “Your job during this time is to find a job. Taking time off to chill is a destructive strategy,” Richardson says, adding that you’ll need 30 to 90 days to get traction in the marketplace. During this period, you’ll have to sign the release documents from your previous employer (or decide to reject them or take legal action), and you’ll also have to make a decision on COBRA benefits. Since you have 60 days post-layoff to opt in, if it looks like you won’t have another job with benefits after a month, consider signing up—despite the cost.

Three months out “After two or three months, if your job search is not showing signs of success, perhaps you need to reevaluate,” Sklover says. “It may be that your industry or profession is changing faster than you realize, or that it has changed more or faster than you have. It may be time to switch what you are doing for something else.” Think about it: How long can you stay afloat on the Kraft mac-and-cheese boat before it’s time to brush up on your barista skills? It may also be time to hire a career coach, attempt to translate your know-how to another industry or decide this is your fork in the road signaling a career change. For more ideas, see TONY’s Continuing Education special.

...and beyond Eventually you’ll find yourself at an interview. How do you talk about that wart on your nose: getting laid off? “Present a story, not facts and figures,” says Bram Daly, a senior staffing manager for Charles Schwab. “Rather than saying, ‘I didn’t succeed,’ put it in a bigger story: ‘We got acquired and I was a duplicate.’ More times than not, those exist—failure on a company’s part, overexpansion.”

If there was a performance issue, you do need to mention that, but again, discuss it within the framework of your story, not as a list. Daly gives an example: “‘In the interview process, my understanding was that I would be working on Barbie dolls, and then six months after I’d begun, the executive ranks changed the focus of the firm and my skill was no longer necessary.’”And don’t forget that the “less is more” adage holds truest in these situations. “Don’t lie,” cautions Daly, “but there’s nothing wrong with saying less.”

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