Ask former coworkers to say how great you are on LinkedIn. :)

Social proof can help.

Well this is a four month old post. Did you end up okay?

When I got laid off I made sure to update my LinkedIn. Got some people to write me endorsements.

COBRA benefits can last up to something like 18 months. I got confused with my serversnce package. I believed the three months mentioned was all I could use. It was all my company paid for but I can keep paying myself.

1. Unemployment will ask you to track your job applications and will usually demand documentation as well; I had to do this in Florida and California. Keep a log of your applications, and use it to follow up with places as you can. I have an example I posted for showing others.

2. You may need to reformat your resume to ensure it can pass the ATS systems for acceptance into HR systems and/or auto-filling applications. Some resumes & CVs like to have you rank your skills: skip that; it’s arbitrary & throws off the scanners. But you may need a keyword section, ugly as it is, highlighting what you have used in the past. Also, a friend gave me a tip to reformat some of my job summaries with the help of ChatGPT; this will have some trial-and-error, but it might be helpful.

3. As you start looking for jobs, notice what people are asking for. There might be skill sets you are lacking that you can use this time to improve upon. I’m an IT generalist myself: I struggle to figure out what exactly I should be targeting, but cloud-systems (AWS & Azure especially) come up a lot in my searches.

4. Actual job hunting… I’ve had luck with LinkedIn, GlassDoor/Indeed, Reddit, and even have looked on Craigslist. There might be other websites that folks have come up with to help laid-off folks find work; I see those posted to LinkedIn a fair bit.

5. As was already said, don’t forget to go over your budget & start figuring out the hard breakpoints between staying in your field, vs “I need work tomorrow”. That being said, nobody’s shared with me the secret to looking like you’re not going to bail for something better / more-fitting; remember that they’re hiring with basically the same criteria for their needs, as you will in your own field.

I hope this helps. Good luck out there.

Brush up that portfolio/resume. Cancel any and all subscriptions that aren’t absolutely necessary to your well-being. Barebones budget just in case you can’t find work quickly. The hiring process has gotten a day longer across all industries with sometimes as many as 5-6 interviews per candidate before a decision is made.