In the meeting
The conversation is usually short and scripted, and nothing you say will reverse it. Your job in the room is to collect information. Ask for your official last day, when the final paycheck arrives and whether it includes unused vacation, the date health coverage ends, the severance terms, and who in human resources will answer questions later. If you are handed a separation agreement, thank them and take it home. You are not required to sign on the spot, and federal law gives workers aged forty and over at least twenty-one days to consider a release of age claims.
Before you lose access
Company accounts are often shut off within hours. If you still can, note the personal contact details of colleagues and clients you have a relationship with, and forward yourself any personal files, pay stubs, benefits statements and performance reviews. Do not take customer lists, code or anything confidential, since doing so can forfeit your severance and invite a lawsuit.
The week's list
- File for unemployment with your state's workforce agency on the first day you are out of work, because benefits generally begin from the filing date and not from the layoff date.
- Settle health insurance by comparing COBRA continuation coverage under your employer's plan with a plan from the health insurance marketplace, where losing job-based coverage opens a sixty-day special enrollment window.
- Read the separation agreement slowly, and have an employment lawyer review it if the sum is large or the terms are unclear.
- Cut your budget to essentials and count how many months your savings and severance will cover.
- Leave your retirement account alone, because cashing it out triggers income tax and usually a ten percent penalty before age fifty-nine and a half.
- Ask your manager and two colleagues, while goodwill is fresh, whether they will serve as references.
Telling people
Tell your household the same day, in plain numbers. Tell your professional circle within a week or two with a short message saying your role was eliminated, what kind of work you are looking for and that you would welcome introductions. The people who hear early are the ones who can help. Then take a few days off before you start the search in earnest. Anger makes a poor cover letter.
Tip If you have an outstanding loan against your retirement plan, ask the plan administrator what happens to it now. Many plans require repayment soon after you leave, and an unpaid balance is treated as a taxable withdrawal.
