Unemployment question-Severance -to tell or not?

[JimCem99]

I'm unemployed as well, for the past 17 months. Living in FL sucks! I have 2 more weeks, then onto tier IV for me (thank God for the extension bill just being passed) and then 6 weeks. If I didn't have unemployment, I don't know what I'd do. I hope something comes up soon for everyone (ScottA, steelcouch, toysrus and anyone else I missed) in the same boat as me.

[JimCem99]

Didnt they ok the unemployment extension? Wouldnt you qualify?

Yes today, everyone not collecting will get retro as long as they've been claiming each week.

Jobless benefits restored for millions - Jul. 22, 2010

[toysrus]

I dont want to turn this into a political thread, but they need to also extend the Cobra benefit discount. They also need to make some serious tax cuts.

Dont move to las vegas- this city was hit hard, real hard!

[jimsmegos]

Having been down the road that you guys are on may I suggest really thinking about self employment.

While I was getting the unemployment I used my down to really beef up my skills and start pushing them. Times are still lean but I stay busy and am seeing growth. Word to the wise... be careful with the unemployment... it's easy to get lazy, I know I had done it.

[Adam West]

Having been down the road that you guys are on may I suggest really thinking about self employment.

While I was getting the unemployment I used my down to really beef up my skills and start pushing them. Times are still lean but I stay busy and am seeing growth. Word to the wise... be careful with the unemployment... it's easy to get lazy, I know I had done it.

Great advice! When I was laid off 5 years ago, I made a decision to make looking for work a full time job.

The company I worked for didn't screw me like it sounds is happening to some of you. It was a small biotech upstart and I knew I was taking a huge risk just by signing up as an employee knowing that they were waiting to be spun off from a large pharmaceutical company. The pharmaceutical company pulled the rug from underneath the small company and left the company with no revenue source other than some small venture capital that would have run out quickly had they not made drastic cuts. I don't think there is any easy way to let people go and although I was completely caught off guard; I felt like I was treated with a lot of dignity and respet. They offered me a generous severance package, gave me a pro-rata bonus for the time I worked, paid my cobra portion of the insurance for 3 months, offered employee assistance, etc.

I did show up to a meeting with a company that helps employees laid off get moving back into the workforce (this was all paid for by the company). They helped with some counseling services, help with resumes, brush up interview skills, etc. I didn't wait around crying over spilled milk and got down to business right away. I found that I was already lining up interviews and working every avenue I could (headhunters I have met over the years, prior colleagues, careerbuilder.com, newspapers)...no stone was left unturned. I contacted the first person I worked for in my career who I still remain friends with to this day. She wanted to help me to the point that she was going to find some way to give me some temp. work if necessary at her company as a contractor until I found a job.....you just can't find people like that anymore.

The one thing I noticed when I showed up at my first meeting was most people were still so stunned over what happened they had done nothing. It was as though they were waiting for someone to tell them what to do instead of just doing it.

I made sure I spent at least 4 hours a day scouring everything to find the right opportunities. Also, another big suggestion is when dealing with something like careerbuilder, please make sure that you don't just generically send out your resume to an employer. I have placed ads for employees there over the last year and every time I receive 200+ resumes. Out of the 200 resumes, I find maybe 5-10 that really have taken the time to tweak their cover letter or resume to meet my needs and ultimately they are the ones that get the interview. The others merely get swept aside. With so much competition these days for jobs; employers can be picky and for me at least, just sending a generic resume gave me a feeling that the person sending it really didn't care and was going for quantity rather quality hoping something would hit. If only some of them had taken the time to tell me why they were interesting in working here and how they would help me....I would have looked at it more carefully.

[JimCem99]

I worked for my company 10 1/2 years and got no severance or any help. Actually they fought me on unemployment as I moved from NY to FL and telecommuted for 9 months. Then they had a mass firing (30 other people were let go) and they stated they were surprised when I filed for unemployment. They said I quit when I moved from NY and that I worked for them on a transitional basis; 9 months is transitional?!? They stated that if I was still in NY, I would've had a job still.

But AW, I know what you mean about its a full-time job looking for work. And it doesn't help that there's a lot of competition out there. So employers can be picky. Problem is I had a unique position for a unique company. So here I am out 17 months looking at anything, even job staffing agencies.

[toysrus]

Best of luck to you and all out of work-like myself-lol. Its horrible. When we moved from NY to Nevada back in the 90's there was tons of jobs. Both the wife and I found work in 5 days of moving here. Over the years, we found other jobs with ease. The past year has been the worst i ever seen Vegas. Now its tough to even find a decent Part time job. Plenty of on call jobs, problem there is, you might work 2 days a month. All of the Vegas casinos are suffering, and besides casinos, there isnt much else here.

So i'm out of work and not in the best of health. For those who are working- try to save some back-up money. Things could get bad real fast.

Good luck guys

I worked for my company 10 1/2 years and got no severance or any help. Actually they fought me on unemployment as I moved from NY to FL and telecommuted for 9 months. Then they had a mass firing (30 other people were let go) and they stated they were surprised when I filed for unemployment. They said I quit when I moved from NY and that I worked for them on a transitional basis; 9 months is transitional?!? They stated that if I was still in NY, I would've had a job still.

But AW, I know what you mean about its a full-time job looking for work. And it doesn't help that there's a lot of competition out there. So employers can be picky. Problem is I had a unique position for a unique company. So here I am out 17 months looking at anything, even job staffing agencies.

[livnxxxl]

I am generally a very optimistic person. I do hate to rain on anyone's parade. However, I can for see things getting worse before it is going to get better as it pertains to jobs and the economy. Putting back some extra $$$ for a "rainy day" when at all possible is never a bad idea for anyone at any time.

For once in my life I do hope that I am wrong and things get better for everyone real soon. Best wishes!