What to Do If You or a Loved One Loses Their Job
Under normal circumstances, losing your job is a frightening thing to experience. It causes instability and can potentially have a large impact on your finances. Today, with the spread of the coronavirus, job loss creates even more risk as it is often accompanied by a loss of benefits such as health insurance. Additionally, it’s not exactly prime time for onboarding since many companies are transitioning their employees to work remotely to preserve their health and safety. With that in mind, here are some things you or a loved one can do if you find yourself without a job.
Negotiate to work part-time
If your company is decreasing its operations for public health reasons and therefore letting some of their employees go, you are likely losing your position to no fault of your own. Try to negotiate to work for fewer hours or forgo certain benefits rather than losing your job altogether.
Find out if your company offers severance pay
Severance packages may include continued benefits like health or dental insurance, a lump sum check, or a continuance of salary for some time. Depending upon your position with your company, severance pay typically ranges from nothing to a full year’s salary. If you aren’t satisfied with what you learn, you may be able to negotiate with your employer. As an example, if you've already met your deductible for the year, you may want to negotiate so your employer pays your health insurance premiums instead of 100% of your salary.
File for unemployment benefits
These are public benefits available from the government if you meet certain requirements. Keep in mind your benefits will be a fraction of your earnings, you only receive them for a specified period of time, and the benefit is fully taxable. Typically, to receive unemployment, you have to be terminated or dismissed by your employer, must not be at fault for your unemployment, and after being approved, must follow certain guidelines like applying for jobs every week. However, in response to COVID-19, many states are suspending some of their requirements and federal law is allowing workers to collect unemployment benefits if an employer ceases operations temporarily.
For more information visit www.careeronestop.org to find details based on your location.
Revisit your emergency fund
If you are recently out of work, it is a good time to check your emergency fund. Make sure your money is easily accessible, so you can obtain it without incurring penalties for early withdrawal. Calculate how long you can cover your monthly expenses with savings. With this knowledge, you have an awareness of the time frame needed to acquire a new position.
If your emergency fund has dried up, consider public benefits such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food banks.
Plan ahead to try and maintain health insurance coverage
Losing a job or reduced hours often means a loss of income and important benefits. To prevent a lapse in health insurance coverage, consider being added to a spouse’s healthcare plan, check if you can continue your work policy through COBRA, or enroll in a new policy via the Health Insurance Marketplace.
Losing your job is a qualifying life event that makes you eligible to enroll in a healthcare policy through the Health Insurance Marketplace, even if it is not the current open enrollment period. Keep in mind you typically only have 60 days to change your coverage, so visit Healthcare.gov for more information or to enroll.
Apply for jobs
When looking for work, it’s easy to become overwhelmed or unproductive due to interruptions in your normal daily routine. We understand that and want to encourage you in this time of change.
It helps to keep a record of your job applications, dates, company contact info, and interviews. This will aid you in remembering each position you have applied for (which after 10 can be surprisingly easy to lose track of), and when it is necessary to follow up regarding the status of your application. If you decide to file for unemployment compensation, this information can also be used when you make your “weekly continued claim”.
Remember, tailor your cover letter and resume to the job description of the position to which you are applying. Many companies narrow their list of potential candidates by using software to “weed out” the applicants that lack experience directly correlating to the job. To increase the chances of your application reaching the hiring manager, try to incorporate keywords from the job description into your documents while remaining truthful about your skills.
Many companies are figuring out ways to be flexible during this time by having employees work from home or limiting the number of people in the building. Research these companies to learn what measures they are taking to adjust to COVID-19, in case they have procedures in place to onboard new employees remotely.