How to Thrive if You Were a Layoff Victim in the IT Industry – Many cryptocurrency startups, Google, Amazon, Facebook, Salesforce, Microsoft, and Amazon: These are the IT firms—big and small—that have been mass-firing employees so far in 2023. Additionally, not only middle management and marketing positions but also analyst and engineer positions are being eliminated. There is no work that is 100% safe, as many of us have learned through experience.
Stressful job loss can leave you feeling uneasy and unsure of yourself. Finding work and finding out how to support yourself without that reliable income can be frightening, whether this is your first layoff (which usually hurts much harder) or you’ve been down this path before. While you search for your next big break, there are lots of innovative alternatives available to you.
How to Thrive if You Were a Layoff Victim in the IT Industry
Update your CV and start looking for alternative opportunities whether you are starting a job hunt out of necessity or because you are plagued with survivor’s guilt and fear that you might be the next person fired. While job board websites like Indeed, ZipRecruiter, and LinkedIn are excellent locations to start your search, you should also consider potential employers and browse their career pages.
If you’re having trouble, look for tech-specific recruiters and get in touch with them. There’s a significant likelihood that these layoffs won’t be the last if the analysts are correct and a recession is actually on the horizon.
Secure your information regardless of whether you get the long or short end of the layoff impact. There’s little doubt that I made the error of creating files on my work Google Drive that ought to have been in my personal account, but fortunately I had shared them with myself. Make copies to prevent being locked out, and if there are any crucial contacts or emails you want to keep, make copies of those as well because it may be difficult or even impossible to find them after being laid off.
Evaluate Your Advantages
Unemployment insurance was the last thing on my mind when I lost my job earlier this year, which may seem apparent to some. The eligibility requirements for claiming benefits, as well as their duration and amount, vary by state in the US. For instance, in New York, you must have worked for two quarters in order to be eligible for unemployment benefits; the highest weekly payment is $504 and the benefit period can run up to 26 weeks. You’ll probably get less in Florida, where the allotted time to file for unemployment insurance is 12 weeks.
The amount here is likely certainly much lower than what many of us in the tech industry are used to making, but it’s better than nothing. Also, a lot of programmes let you work as a freelancer in between jobs, and that revenue won’t affect your weekly benefit, so you may use unemployment as a kind of foundation.
In the US, you can find out your state’s policies and submit an application online or over the phone by using this Unemployment Benefits Finder. If you received a severance package, you should be aware that you might not be eligible for benefits until your severance has run out. You can file for benefits the day you are let go.
How to Thrive if You Were a Layoff Victim in the IT Industry
Being laid off is already stressful, but in the US, health insurance is frequently linked to your job. This is especially distressing if your plan covers dependents. According to the law, your employer is required to pay your premiums until the end of the month in which your work ends, but that period of time can pass rapidly, especially if you are fired just before the end of the month.
To find out how long your group rate will be accessible to you if your benefits included health insurance, research COBRA (the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985). About a week after being laid off, you should receive a package in the mail that details your eligibility for the plan, the How to Thrive if You Were a Layoff Victim in the IT Industry amount of your premiums (which is often approximately double what you were paying previously), and how long you can be covered under it. In order to prevent your coverage from ending before you find a new job or a new insurance plan, make sure you complete out the necessary documentation. Some businesses will pay your premiums for a protracted period after your employment has finished.
Using our Plan Finder, you can also research the state-sponsored insurance programmes that are offered to you. The programmes differ from state to state and are highly influenced by your financial situation. For instance, I was eligible for a $40 monthly plan with a $0 deductible and an excellent doctor network when I was an adjunct professor making less than $30,000 per year. Nevertheless, now that I require a family plan that considers both my income and that of my domestic partner, our plan’s benefits actually cost more than my COBRA insurance, had worse rates, and had a smaller doctor network. Verify your eligibility for any available plans, but don’t be shocked if keeping your current group rate is more advantageous and affordable.
Finally, watch out for health care scams. After I was fired on a Friday, by the following Monday, my partner and I were both getting a tonne of calls offering “plans” with premiums that seemed too good to be true. This is due to the fact that they were promoting Multiplan, a “network provider” rather than insurance How to Thrive if You Were a Layoff Victim in the IT Industry. Investigate the plan, read reviews, and get in touch with your doctor to see whether they are aware of it. And hang up the phone if anyone wants you to include a credit card number with your application for coverage. It is a con.
Think about contract and freelance work
It’s time to cast a wider net by exploring for freelancing and contract jobs after you’ve secured your benefits, updated your resume, and sent it to your top 10 or 20 job opportunities (and a hundred more for good measure). Although many businesses still require assistance, the current state of the economy makes hiring full-time employees more difficult.
You can start by searching for part-time jobs on LinkedIn, Indeed, and ZipRecruiter before contacting businesses directly.
Katherine Cordova, a people operations specialist with a base in Florida, tells me, “We frequently don’t get the luxury of time to examine what we want and to be present. According to her, navigating these ups and downs also requires flexibility and reacting to the world around us. I had no prior experience with cryptocurrency when I was employed at an NFT marketplace in 2021, but I accepted the position because it seemed fascinating and I was eager to leave the academic world. Today, I’m appreciative for the experience, but also excited about asking myself what I want to do next.
