- Review Your Finances
Look at all the money you currently have. I personally use Mint to see all my bank accounts, credit card debt, and student loans all at once. You don’t necessarily need this, but make a list of every dollar in your possession. Look over your finances and get a feeling of how long you’ll last without a paycheck. It may not be pretty, but it’s something you absolutely need to know.
Know how much you need to spend each month, here’s an example monthly breakdown:
Apartment & Utilities ($XX)
Food ($XX)
Car Insurance ($XX)
Cell Phone ($XX)
Internet ($XX)
Misc. ($XX)
- Also, consider health insurance as a cost. In most cases, your old employer would have provided this for you, but you need to talk to your HR to see how long this last. You may need to pick up supplemental health insurance until you get a new job.
Hopefully, you have some sort of Emergency Fund you can access if you lose your job. Your emergency fund will help cover rent/mortgage, food, and those expenses your paycheck normally covers. Most emergency funds should cover 4-6 months of expenses. If you don’t have an emergency fund, start saving up now but the following tips can still help.
Let’s continue though as if you have $0 emergency funds.
- Cancel Frivolous Monthly Subscriptions and Purchases
If you just lost your job, you shouldn’t be watching Netflix, Hulu, or listening to Spotify. If you have any kind of subscription services that cost money regularly, you should cancel these until you get a job again. It may feel like a nice break watching Netflix between job applications, but you need to save all the money you can until you’re working again. If you feel this is too hard to do, consider using your parent’s or friend’s account temporarily to save money.
Needless to say, don’t make any crazy purchases thinking you’ll get a job next week when “you really try.” Until you have a signed contract with a company, I’d suggest avoiding the mall and any kind of gift ideas. If you can, cancel any flights, trips, running races, etc. Plus always ask if you can get your money back. It may not always be possible, but every little bit helps!
- Ask to Defer Payments
During hard economic times, many companies are willing to work with you because they prefer late payments to nothing at all. Student loan services are often willing to reconsolidate loans or defer payments. Banks are sometimes willing to defer a mortgage payment or at least help with options. It often just takes a call and asks.
- Budget and Eat at Home a Lot
One of the biggest ways people spend money is food and eating out. If you just lost your job, avoid going out to eat with friends (unless it’s a networking thing) or ordering in. It may not be ideal, but cold cut sandwiches, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and ramen got you through the dark years, it will again.
You know what you can cut to save money and you’ll see instant savings in your bank account. Remember one of the easiest ways of having more money is not spending it!
- File for Unemployment
If you lost your job and are actively seeking new work, you can file for unemployment. It varies state by state, but essentially, you would file a claim with the Department for Labor and Employment and prove you’re actively looking for work every two weeks (depending on your state). Unemployment benefits will pay you a portion (likely small) of your previous salary. This is meant to help lessen the negative impact that unemployment has on the economy. It won’t be a glamorous option and you’ll meet some interesting people, but it will help.
- Update Resume and Social Media Profiles
This is the time to update your resume with the latest accomplishments, promotions, volunteer efforts, jobs, references, etc. As you start the job search you want to make yourself look as good as possible. However, this isn’t limited to your resume. You should be updating your LinkedIn, Facebook, etc with the latest info so you’re casting a wider net for employers.
YouTube is also a great resource if you use it to better yourself now that you have free time. There are great exercise tutorials on YouTube, classes on coding (if you’re into high-paying jobs), and even brush up on software like Microsoft Excel. Use this opportunity to start a new job with a new skill set!
Related Read: Where Can I Get Resume Help? 14 Free and Affordable Options
- Tell Everyone You Know You’re Looking for a Great Job
It may feel embarrassing for you to tell anyone that you’re jobless. It’s a very vulnerable situation where you feel like something is wrong with you. There isn’t! It’s a normal thing, and job searching is a $200 billion dollar industry. People are constantly moving and switching jobs, you’re now just one of them.
In most cases, when you tell people that you’re looking for a job, they want to help! They’ll often share new job openings they’ve heard of, or perhaps make recommendations to people they know in your industry. The fact is your chances of finding a new job dramatically increase when more people are on your team, helping you get a job.
Some of the best job search tips I’ve ever heard:
I recommend LinkedIn, Google Jobs, and Indeed for job postings. This is what most people use. I often avoid Craigslist.
Always use Glassdoor and read company reviews on how they treat their employees.
If you like a company, stalk their employees on LinkedIn to see if they went to the same schools you attended, clubs you’re in or charities you participate in. Ask them what it’s like there and ask for advice.
Have a salary in mind, knowing how much you need to cover all your expenses.
Make Money Fast When You’re Jobless
- Sell Your Old Stuff for Extra Money
If you just lost your job and are looking for extra money, consider selling your extra stuff on Craigslist or eBay. All that extra stuff in your apartment/house like old bikes or snowboards could make a couple of hundred dollars with a new family. That’s a lot of extra ramen noodles! Plus it’s a rewarding feeling getting rid of some of the junk in your life.
- Write Articles for Money
I write all the time for a blog, but I discovered there are other places on the internet that pay you for writing! I’ve written a couple of articles on Seeking Alpha that pay $35 per article and $0.01 for every page view. It usually comes around $70/article in the long run.
With your new free time, this is probably one of the easiest ways to earn extra money while unemployed. You’ll have lots of extra time and most of the sites I listed pay between $50–$100 per article.
- Take advantage of community programs
While much of the news coverage surrounding the coronavirus outbreak has been focused on a federal level, many organizations in your community could also be offering assistance — from food banks to charity organizations. Stay informed with what’s going on in your community by dialing “211” or visiting 211.org, O’Neill says.
“Find nonprofit organizations, government agencies that may be able to help, food pantries, utilities assistance, unemployment benefits,” O’Neill says. During the government shutdown last year, “these programs were a lifeline for a lot of people.”
- Look at job postings
The coronavirus outbreak has been an unprecedented headwind for the job market, according to Nick Bunker, economic research director at the Indeed Hiring Lab.
“It’s so unprecedented in its sudden-stop nature, and the fact that it’s directly impacting industries that are not usually the front line of recessions,” he says. “There are so many moving variables and unknowns that we don’t know how far the virus is going to spread within the U.S.”
Trends in job postings are down 14.5 percent from a year ago, according to Indeed data as of Oct. 19. That follows record declines between mid-March and early May, when postings plunged to a low point of 39.3 percent on May 1. Job postings have improved throughout May, June and July, Indeed data shows, though that pace slowed down starting in August. Indeed data also shows that advertisements for open jobs have fallen the most in occupations that were directly impacted by the coronavirus crisis, such as hospitality and tourism, which are down by almost half.
But amid high levels of demand at grocery stores and warehouses, many places are still hiring. Amazon said in early September that it’s looking to fill 33,000 corporate and technology jobs in the coming months. Meanwhile, keep an eye on whether retailers could soon be posting advertisements for seasonal holiday help, including Walmart, which plans to hire an additional 20,000, according to CNBC.
Trends in postings for driving, loading, stocking, construction, manufacturing, beauty and wellness and dental positions are above last year’s trend, while retail hiring is close to last year’s levels, according to Indeed.
Others, including experts at Glassdoor, have speculated that new jobs related to contact tracing could open up as a result of the pandemic.
“Recessions are tough, and they’re tough for job seekers,” Bunker says. “There are occupations and industries that are looking to hire and might present an opportunity.”
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- Be flexible about new opportunities
Workers may also want to find ways to broaden their skill sets, whether that’s by taking on new training or learning something new, Hamrick says. All of this could set them up for success once the outbreak does subside.
“We know that some businesses are benefiting from increased demand while others are being devastated by the changes,” Hamrick says. “Those who have the ability to make a career pivot or take advantage of new opportunities will fare the best. Still, others may opt to seek education or skills enhancement during this time of tremendous challenge.”
But this may also include practicing ingenuity with the skill sets you already have, O’Neill says. A hair cutter at a salon near her Florida home, for example, is visiting clients directly in their homes after the hair parlor shut down.
“There are opportunities if people can turn their skill set into a side hustle or find something else where employers are hiring,” she says.
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- Pay attention to the news
Finally, it’s important to stay up to date on what’s happening in government — at the federal, state and local level. This can help you be more aware of new opportunities right when they’re available, Hamrick says.
“One should keep tuned to developing news reports on the variety of new programs being devised aimed at helping Americans cope with the economic crisis,” he says.
During times of economic distress, it’s not uncommon for scammers to try to take advantage of individuals facing financial hardship. Some methods could be as simple as circulating inaccurate financial advice, while others could be as severe as luring you into making an unsafe investment. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) said in a March 20 statement that some scammers have posed as FDIC officials to access sensitive banking information. Some individuals have also found that they’ve been targeted with fraud when it comes to their unemployment benefits.
It’s important to remember that an FDIC-insured bank is always the safest place individuals can store their money.
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Bottom line
Think of your response to job loss as a twofold call to action: One is about addressing your expenses, and the other is about ensuring you still have an income.
Broadly speaking, make a list of what you purchase and pay for each month. This can help you identify ways to cut back, as well as loan servicers or credit card companies that you can reach out to during your time of unemployment — a period understandably wrought with unknowns.
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