I got the axe earlier this year, but still have friends enduring this until they can find another position - and these are some of the things we’ve talked about:
- Take your floating holiday, if you haven’t already. This won’t get paid out if you’re laid off
- Take PTO if your state does not do full payout - this varies, state to state
- If there are coworkers you might want referrals from, get their emails and phone numbers prior to layoff - or deal with asking them on LinkedIn (not my fave site lol)
- If you get ‘The Call’, remain professional and calm. Think about putting the Teams call on speaker and recording it on your phone, just so you have a record of what was said (yes we know it’s not “legal” to record someone without their consent - sue me).
- Don’t wait to start looking and networking like crazy. The outside world doesn’t know what a s—tshow Optum is (for the most part), and working your contacts now will help you find something sooner rather than later.
- Figure out your retirement balances and any stock balances you might have, and work with a financial planner to transfer those - don’t cash them out to pay your bills without considering tax implications!
- Remain professional with your coworkers, and try to avoid gossip and doom texting - it’s important to take the high road as much as possible as you head toward a hopefully graceful exit.