Whether you were laid off, fired or decided to leave a position on your own, losing your job is a stressful time and you need to know the next steps to take.
Aside from finding a new job, you need to understand unemployment laws in your state and the real reasons behind why you were terminated, if that is the case.
Furthermore, you need to be fully aware of severance or health benefits that you're eligible for.
To help ease you through this process, we compiled some tips from Wendi Lazar, an employment lawyer, and Allison Doyle, employment expert at About.com, to quickly get you back in the workforce.
Step 1: Listen closely when speaking to human resources.
"If they are telling you that you’re being fired for a reduction in force and there are 300 other people being fired, it’s very different than if it’s an individual for either performance reasons, or, even worse than that, if you’re fired for cause," Lazar told us. "The ramifications are very different.”
Step 2: Don't sign anything immediately.
You should never sign anything your employers ask you to when you're leaving a job.
Lazar said you need to speak to a lawyer first even if they appear to be simple severance forms.
Furthermore, ask HR to review your compensation forms so that you can carefully review any obligations or benefits you're entitled to.
Step 3: Consider speaking to a lawyer to find out why you were really let go.
If you're being fired, it may be difficult to look at the situation in an objective light, so a lawyer can really help you do this.
You need to know if you were fired for a legitimate reason or if it was wrongful termination and "make sure there are no discrimination issues," Lazar said.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider