A Guide to Getting Back on Your Feet Quickly After You've Been Unemployed

Dianna Zaragoza, Yahoo! Contributor Network

My husband was unfortunate enough to be laid off almost three months ago now. We had expected that it would happen, but not when it did. It was swift and final. A check was issued, and he was gone. Although we had made some preparations since the signs of this had been appearing for some time, we were still knocked for a loop.
There was an initial period of disorientation when this happened, and we lost some time in getting started on his job search, since we had to figure out what we had, what was going on, and what to do next. Hopefully, the following advice will help someone else in the same situation to get off to a quicker start than we did.
Take a deep breath and assess the situation. The first thing you need to know is how much money you have to live on. If you're still working, it would be useful to have some money and food on hand at all times to carry you through such a time. A good guideline is to have at least three months of food in the house and/or three months of savings to cover your ordinary living expenses.
Another thing to consider is your debt load. It often happens that those who lose their jobs must take a lower-paying position for a time while they're looking for more ideal work. Would you be able to pay your debts if such a situation happened? Before you hand your credit card over to the merchant on a shopping spree, remember that heavy debt means you have to continually earn a higher salary to make the payments. The less debt you have, the less income you have to earn.
If you're out of work and already in debt, be up-front with your creditors. You can sometimes work out a payment arrangement with them, and then resume payment again when you're employed. Your credit may get damaged, but that's part of the chance you take when you get in debt. If you don't have to get in debt in the first place, then don't. If you work for an employer, chances are you will someday be unemployed for a time.
Prepare the tools for your job search. You will need to have information to fill out an application, a current resume, and cover letters to contact employers with, as well as thank-you cards for follow-ups after interviews. It's a good idea to break out your resume while you're still employed and update it with your current skills. That will mean less work for you to do if you're suddenly thrown out of work.
Something that I would recommend to anyone would be go to the local police department and get a job application and fill it out. The level of detail that the police or fire departments require from their applicants would be more than you'd find at any other company. Once you've gathered that much information about yourself, you would be ready for any other application on earth.
Keep your resume in Word format and text format, without all the fancy fonts and bells and whistles. Applying online takes most of that fancy formatting away anyway, and having a text resume guarantees that your resume will come through readable when applying online. It's also good to keep a general cover letter that you can alter slightly according to whatever job you're applying for without having to retype the general information over and over again.
Concentrate on finding some "quick work" for basic income. "Survival" jobs can be found faster than "dream" jobs. This can be an optional step, depending on how much money you've got in savings or whether or not you qualify for unemployment. It can be good to free up all your time for job-hunting for some. For others, the constant drudge of application after application can get you down, and having some work from a temp agency or a restaurant or whatever you can find quickly can help to keep you sane and connected to the work world. Having some work can also help your unemployment payments last longer, so it can be a good idea in that regard as well.
Get out and network. It's a bad idea to rely on online job searches alone. Why? Because you're one of at least a hundred applicants for even the most menial job you can find, when it's so quick and easy to apply online. You get lost in a sea of resumes. Networking gets your face in front of people, and increases your chances of finding work. Tell all your family, friends and friendly acquaintances that you're looking for work, and check in with them every couple of weeks. Talk to their friends if they refer you to someone. Send thank-you cards for any and all tips you may get from your friends. Follow-up, follow-up, follow-up. How to network is too big a topic for this article, but there are many other books and articles that talk about the details. Plan to put networking in your arsenal when job-hunting.
Make a list of ten places you'd like to work at. It's a good time to dream, now that you've been set free. Have you always wanted to work for Disney? Google? What great companies are in your town? What jobs do they have in your field? Make a list of 5-10 companies and then start doing research. What can they offer their employees? What are their needs and how can you fill them? Who do you know who can introduce you to someone at their company? Check their website, their annual report, the news...become an expert in those companies. Chances are, you'll find a way to break in if you work at it consistently.
Consider further education. I don't necessarily mean college. What skills do you need to land your dream job? Start making plans, and work your way there step-by-step. Continuing education is what it takes these days to keep from becoming obsolete and to create options for ourselves in the workplace. Since many people change careers several times during their lifetime, you have to be flexible and ready to adapt.
Be ready for this process to take a long time. Sometimes it does. Generally it takes a month for every $10,000 of income you're trying to replace. Your life may change drastically during this period. Relax. It's okay to feel a little panicked about it from time to time.
It's hard. It doesn't feel good. But it won't be forever. Commit yourself to this process. Be ready to do whatever it takes to find work, and you will find work, hopefully sooner than later.