I was just fired, now what?

One of the first things you need to do after you have been let go is to see if you are able to get unemployment benefits. You’ve been working for years and paying into this government program, and you need some help until you could get back on your feet. Don’t feel that this is a handout, because it’s not. You have been paying into the system every time your employer pays you. So now take advantage of what you’ve been giving to the government for years and use that umenployment benefit... if you're qualified for it. 

Depending on the circumstances on how you left the company, you might not be able to get unemployment benefits, so apply the day you leave the company and see what happens.

Original article: http://hubpages.com/hub/looking-for-online-jobs-from-home

This is a general government site with information on unemployment insurance.

http://workforcesecurity.doleta.gov/unemploy/index.asp

Then go to this page that has a map of the United States and click on your state. You will be taken to a page where you can either apply for unemployment benefits via Internet or by telephone.

http://www.servicelocator.org/OWSLinks.asp

As an example, let’s use Texas and California. Once you click on the link above, you will be taken to a page with three options. Every state will have these three options.

This would be information on the unemployment insurance program for that state, the ability to claim over the Internet or to claim over the phone.

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The Texas Unemployment Insurance Program

General Information about the Unemployment Insurance Program is available at: http://www.twc.state.tx.us

To file a UI claim over the Internet click on: http://www.twc.state.tx.us/ui/uiclaim.html

To file a claim by telephone number: http://www.twc.state.tx.us/ui/bnfts/offices.html

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The California Unemployment Insurance Program

General Information about the Unemployment Insurance Program is available at: http://www.edd.ca.gov/

To file a UI claim over the Internet click on: http://www.edd.ca.gov/Unemployment/Filing_a_Claim.htm

To file a claim by telephone number: http://www.edd.ca.gov/Unemployment/Telephone_Numbers.htm

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For information and services to assist in finding a new job or career, call 1-877-US2-JOBS (1-877-872-5627) or visit www.CareerOneStop.org

I suggest you go to www.CareerOneStop.org, it has great information on salary guides drilled down to your city, so you can compare your salary with everyone else’s within your industry. It also has resume and cover letter tips and other job advise and information you can’t find anywhere. Best of all, it’s a free. From their site -

CareerOneStop is…

• Your source for employment information and inspiration
• The place to manage your career
• Your pathway to career success
• Tools to help job seekers, students, businesses and career professionals
• Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor

Original article: http://hubpages.com/hub/looking-for-online-jobs-from-home

I like the fact that it’s sponsored by the U.S Department of Labor. It gives it legitimacy and a toll free number to call if you have problems or need help using the site! That’s better than most of the job informational sites out there!

I’ve used Gradmed in the past. If you’ve graduated from college, there is a good chance that your alumni association has an affiliation with Gradmed. Gradmed is a health insurance plan that covers you if you have no ailments with a very good price.

You could get coverage from one month to over 3 months and longer, as long as you have not seen a doctor or have any previous ailments before applying.

Here is the Gradmed website - http://www.gradmed.com/av3/index.asp

If getting Gradmed coverage is not possible, then get covered under a COBRA, which is a continuation of your health care from your previous employee. The difference is that you pay for the full coverage, so it will be more than what you were paying when you were employed, if you were paying anything at all, however it should be cheaper than an individual health plan.

To get more information, check this government site for all you need to know about COBRA and what is needed to get covered - http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq_consumer_cobra.HTML

Hopefully you have at least 3-6 months or more in your savings to help your survive paying your bills as you look for your next career.

To further help you conserve you money, cut your cable, if you don’t cook, then cut your gas. Buy energy efficient light bulbs. It costs you money initially, but you save in the long run. Cut all other subscriptions. Cut some of your credit cards. Drive less. Go out less. Don’t go out to a movie. Go to a park or the beach instead.

If you have high speed Internet connection, then get a cheaper subscription. You need that Internet to focus on job searches, and you could also use Youtube, Veoh, Hulu and other streaming sites to replace what you’ve cut.

Original article: http://hubpages.com/hub/looking-for-online-jobs-from-home

Now that you’ve cut basically every non-essential, get yourself a cheap Netflix subscription. This will be your recreational budget for the month! Netflix now takes care of your movies and your cable combined!

Now that you have cut your cable subscription, buy yourself an antennae and get some over-the-air local television broadcasts! You'd be surprised that the local broadcast channels have High Definition channels that you can watch over-the-air through an antennae! The best part is that once you buy that antennae it's free with no monthly subscription!

So you’ve been working for a few years with the same company. The working environment has been very casual, you even sometimes wear shorts to the office and no one flinches. Now that you no longer work for the company you need to either buy a new suit or maybe the old one still fit!

Now go into your closet and see if any one of your suits fit you. None? Some? If you find yourself overweight, you will need to buy a new suit or exercise and change your eating habit. The easiest option is to buy that new suit. The life changing option is to start exercising and eat healthier. You have some time now, so you might as well change your life right?!

Your resume should be a clear and concise one-page document. Make sure the fonts are at least 10 to 12 point size. Keep the focus on what your primary tasks were in each job. In addition to the highlights and plug in your composition with industry keywords.

Start practicing mock interviews. Write questions and write your interview answers. Make the questions difficult to challenge you. Better yet, if you have someone to act as the interviewer, and you could be the person being interviewed.

Create a list of references, preferably previous supervisors. Contact them to get their permission as a reference.

One of the first things I did when I was laid off was to email my friends and previous colleagues and telling them in a nice email that I was looking for a new job. I received replies asking what happened and so I replied back individually. By replying, I let loose my negative emotions and I got better after writing those rants.

My attitude has improved and I’ve already had a few office interviews and telephone interviews. My aim is to get that next job, but at least I don’t have that pissed off attitude when going to an interview or talking to a recruiter.

One additional advise, take some kind of educational classes. This could be a new language, or a class at your local community college. One or two classes a week, preferably something aligned to your industry. So when asked by an interviewer what you’ve been doing, you could truthfully tell them that you’ve been updating your skills.

Original article: http://hubpages.com/hub/looking-for-online-jobs-from-home

Here’s a list of some job boards or job aggregator sites.

These three sites are the big daddies. They have big job databases.

Monster.com – www.monster.com

Hotjobs.com – www.hotjobs.com

Careerbuilder.com – www.careerbuilder.com

If you're looking for a government job, try this government job site.

USAJobs - http://www.usajobs.gov/

Here’s another this site if you are looking for a job in your state government.

Jobbankinfo - http://www.jobbankinfo.org/

These two are aggregators. They comb through other job sites and compile them on their sites.

indeed.com – www.indeed.com

simplyhired.com – www.simplyhired.com

Linkedin is a professional networking site that has a job board section.

linkedin.com – www.linkedin.com

This is what I do. I go to these career sites. I find a job I think I can do. I then go to the company website and apply for that job on the company career page.

Most often, companies now have job agents on their site, so you are able to create your personal profile on the company site and let that job agent email you every time a new job appears that matches your profile. Don’t work hard finding a job, work smart!

Use those weekends to relax and see friends or family. Get out of the house and do something, look for events where you could unwind and take that frustration out of your body and soul.

Because you know, at this point, you’re still emotionally pissed that you were let go. So you got to get rid of that, and slowly it will disappear.

The day after you leave the company, start walking at least one hour a day. Take that walk and cool down that day you are let go, smell the air and observe your environment. You need to ground yourself in your new world and recreate your worldview after your devastating experience.

You should preferably walk to a Subway sandwich shop and buy a foot long oven roasted chicken breast on wheat and put all the green stuff that you normally don’t eat in that sandwich. Eat half of that sandwich there with your healthy chip and a soft drink.

The soft drink is your incentive; don’t expect to go cold turkey on that cola! You’ll have to slowly move over to drinking water on a daily basis while drinking cola only at the Subway sandwich shop! Now you have an incentive to walk and eat healthy!

Original article: http://hubpages.com/hub/looking-for-online-jobs-from-home

This isn’t going to be a pure Subway diet; you should also try Japanese food in general to diversify your meals. Add bananas, watermelon, pineapple and cantaloupe for your snacks. This way you don’t get those sugar cravings.

After three weeks of walking and eating a Subway diet, try those slacks you tried on the day you were let go. Does it feel more comfortable? It should!

From here on, stick to the Subway + 2 diet. That’s Subway + Japanese food + fruit! You could also mix it up with other foods, but never forget to get those Subway sandwiches and eat half at one meal and the other half the next!