It's better to be aware of what's going on so you can start making a plan. I wish I knew about this site before my layoff wave. I was completely surprised when I was let go and had no idea they'd been laying off large numbers of employees each month.
- Don't count on a great severance package. The payout for 2 years of service or less = 2 weeks of severance. You're maxed out at 26 weeks of severance regardless of how long you worked for the company. And you don't get your severance until 4-5 weeks after your last day of employment.
Medical and dental insurance is usually covered through the end of the month you were let go.
- Start using up your vacation time. In many states, employers are not required to pay you for unused PTO. Some states (like California) require all earned vacation time to be paid out to employees. Some states (like Minnesota) only require a pay out for up to 40 hours. Take the PTO time that you've earned.
- Update your resume with your current role and responsibilities. Look into having your resume professionally reviewed and rewritten. I did this and it was well worth the money.
- Reach out to your network and let them know that you're looking. There might not be a job opening right now, but there may be one at a future date.
- Start looking and applying for jobs. It's better to get a new job while you have one. Estimates say to plan for 1 week of job searching for every $10k of salary. It may be longer now during covid.
- Get your finances in order. Set up or increase the amount you're putting into your savings or emergency fund. Take a hard look at your spending and figure out what expenses you can reduce or live without.