This book will provide you with some assistance during your employment transition with what we call the O-D-I-E method: Organizing yourself before leaving a job; Developing a To-Do list after you have been released; Improving your chances during your search for another job; Executing an appropriate work ethic while on your new job We have collected a great deal of experience in the field of employment pursuit, and we would like to share our familiarity of unemployment compensation and survival suggestions, such as: Job interviewing conduct; Preparing for a layoff or termination; Writing the right résumé for the right job; Productive things to do while unemployed; Which bills to pay first during unemployment; The best ways to conduct yourself after losing your job; Suggestions on saving your family money while unemployed; Important questions and answers concerning unemployment benefits

Mr. and Mrs. Smith's Employment Survival Guide

By Mr. and Mrs. Smith

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2009 Mr. and Mrs. Smith
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4389-7970-0

Contents

Introduction..........................................................................................................................................ixChapter 1: How Do You Prepare to Leave Your Current Job?..............................................................................................1Chapter 2: Helpful Tips for Surviving a Layoff........................................................................................................3Chapter 3: Focus and Motivation.......................................................................................................................5Chapter 4: Which Bills Should You Pay First?..........................................................................................................9Chapter 5: Ways to Save Money While Unemployed........................................................................................................11Chapter 6: Unemployment Insurance and Benefits........................................................................................................15Chapter 7: Tips for Applying for Unemployment.........................................................................................................17Chapter 8: Unemployment Benefit Payments..............................................................................................................21Chapter 9: Unemployment Divisions within the United States............................................................................................23Chapter 10: Unemployment Statistics within the United States..........................................................................................31Chapter 11: Productive Things to Do While Unemployed..................................................................................................34Chapter 12: The Importance of an Educated Employee....................................................................................................46Chapter 13: Financial Assistance......................................................................................................................52Chapter 14: Scholarship Foundations...................................................................................................................57Chapter 15: Student Aid Grants........................................................................................................................62Chapter 16: Career Path Ideas.........................................................................................................................64Chapter 17: How to Write a Successful Rsum..........................................................................................................67Chapter 18: Action Words for Your Rsum..............................................................................................................71Chapter 19: Ways to Prepare for Entering the Employment World.........................................................................................73Chapter 20: Interviewing Etiquette....................................................................................................................75Chapter 21: Interviewing Questions and Answers........................................................................................................79Chapter 22: Questions to Ask the Interviewer..........................................................................................................85Chapter 23: Ways to Maintain Your Current Job.........................................................................................................86Discouraged About While at Work.......................................................................................................................92

Chapter One

How Do You Prepare to Leave Your Current Job?

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. Proverbs 3:5 (KJV)

Let's first define the terms layoff and termination and how you should handle each situation.

Layoffs: Most employees may have some idea whether their employer is prospering enough to sustain revenue and maintain their current staffing level. If the company is not profitable enough to continue business, then layoffs may be forthcoming. With many companies, layoffs are usually announced before they take place; but then there are employers who do not broadcast their business dealings with the employees, and layoffs may occur unexpectedly. Although many companies participate in employee placement programs, there are other resources that provide payment and employee advantages that every laid-off employee should be aware of-such as the Unemployment Compensation program. This program was designed to be an advantage to out-of-work employees and to pay compensation to those who are eligible. Although the weekly benefits do not entirely replace your paycheck, they can help you meet your expenses during your time off. We encourage unemployed workers to immediately file a claim for unemployment compensation. Even though a laid-off worker is entitled to receive future paychecks from their employer; he would benefit by filing a claim as soon as possible, because the first week he is unemployed is considered the verification or "holding" week.

Following my first layoff, Mrs. Smith and I did not understand the procedures for filing a claim, and we had to return to the Division of Unemployment Security many times to prepare and submit all of our personal documentation. Today, a claimant can file on the Internet, and only have to visit the unemployment office once a month. The online method will save you time and fuel.

Termination: There is no plan for being terminated, but you can prepare for the inevitable. Most employees can sense if there is a problem between them and their employer. An employer may offer the employee a voluntary resignation, thereby making the transition a mutual agreement. Being fired is the opposite of being laid off, because it is usually brought on by a dishonorable action of the employee. Although it may be embarrassing, it is not the end of the world. Under certain conditions, an employee who is fired might be eligible for unemployment compensation-but usually the worker will not receive severance pay, benefits, earned bonuses, or commissions. If the worker is entitled to unemployment compensation, it would be beneficial to file for unemployment during the same week of the termination. By filing the claim as early as possible, the unemployed worker can begin to collect unemployment compensation sooner.

As a young man, I was terminated from a job because of poor attendance, but since my termination was not considered "deliberate disloyal performance," I was able to collect unemployment compensation. At the time, I was not married and had no children, but it was still difficult to no longer receive that steady paycheck that I was accustomed to. It was my fault for being terminated, and I vowed to never take another job for granted. This incident was twenty-five years ago, and I have been blessed to have never experienced another termination.

Before you part ways with your employer, be sure to have an exit strategy and potential reentry employment plan. Prior to that, it would be to your advantage to:

Take...