How To $urvive A Layoff Blog

Back To School Shopping And Tax Free Weekend

2009-08-21T11:29:00.004-05:00

It is time for back to school shopping and one of my wife's least favorite times to shop, luckily she is not big on shopping. School starts next week and this weekend is "tax free" weekend in Texas. Most of the time we do not bother with the tax free sales simply due to the crowds are worse than the last minute Christmas shopping crowds. However, this year we have put school shopping off due to

Health Care And Medical Insurance What To Do?

2009-08-20T10:50:00.003-05:00

After having medical insurance through my employer for over 25 years, I am soon approaching either not having health insurance or paying outrageous premiums. Now, since I was employed for over 20 years, I qualify for "retiree" rates if I want to keep the insurance coverage (medical & dental) that we have had minus vision. Back in February, my wife called and got the following rates for "retiree"

Resume What Do You Really Need? Part III

2009-08-05T10:02:00.003-05:00

Format is yet another part of the resume. What format is best Chronological, Functional or Combined? Many word processing programs have resume templates, which are good but don't really help you with questions that you may have about what to put in your resume. We found a resume program at Half Price Books called Resume Works Pro for less than $10, you can also find a copy on Amazon.com from $15-

Resume What Do You Really Need? Part II

2009-07-25T09:53:00.003-05:00

Continuing with my last resume post, the length of your resume seems to be a BIG question and depending on who you talk to they may tell you one page "period" and no more and others up to three pages. When I was laid off, my group manager told everyone that we needed one page resumes. When I heard that my wife and I thought "What!?!" How in the world can someone with an Engineering background

Resume What Do You Really Need? Part I

2009-07-23T12:55:00.003-05:00

If you are looking for a job more than likely, you need a resume. But, what do you really need in it, how long and how long? I started this post as one post but it has taken on a life of its own and it will need to be continued in parts.What? These days "most" large companies use a software to look for key words. this is one reason the preferred format is MS Word. After talking with several

Another Reason To Network While Unemployed

2009-07-07T10:53:00.001-05:00

As you may know, I have been unemployed since the beginning of this year. I have been looking for a job in the semiconductor industry with no luck so far, most of the companies have hiring freezes in place. Luckily for me, I was there long enough that my severance will carry me for several more months. Since there are basically no jobs (even though I do look) I have mainly been focusing on

Money Saving Monday - Cheap Summer Fun In Dallas

2009-06-22T12:20:00.003-05:00

As you might guess, I live in Dallas, Texas. Whether you are unemployed or just trying to save money in the terrible economy, there are ways to have fun on the cheap. This morning on Good Morning Texas (GMT), they had several money saving segments. Some of them we were aware of and others were news to us, here is a link to several summer fun ideas on the cheap.One of the favorites for the kids is

Searching For Jobs While Receiving Unemployment Benefits

2009-06-18T07:51:00.004-05:00

In Texas you need to file for Unemployment Benefits/Unemployment Insurance Benefits (UI), you need to file through the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) and sign up on line for UI at this link. The TWC requires you to do a minimum of 5 job searches per week to receive your benefits. Personally, I do not like the TWC job search site. I am in a very specialized Engineering field, IC Mask Design

Money Saving Monday - CMF Ads And Entrecard

2009-06-15T07:57:00.003-05:00

I recently signed up with two ad exchange programs. CMF Ads (Changing Marketing Forever), you can find their ads on the left hand column of my blog under my "Featured Sites." What is CMF Ads you may ask? Well, it is a low cost (even FREE) way to advertise your blog. CMF is quick and easy to sign up and for your site to be approved. This very user friendly site is a must for any blogger and

Filing For Unemployment Benefits - How, Where & When

2009-06-11T10:24:00.003-05:00

If you have been laid off from your job, more than likely you will qualify for unemployment benefits. This can be a bit complicated since there is more than one type of layoff. Take me, I was part of a mass layoff and I am receiving "Severance Pay." Before the layoff took place, the group that I was in was going to be sold to another company. When we were told about the sale, we were split up

Money Saving Monday - DIY Laundry Soap

2009-06-08T10:18:00.003-05:00

Today is the first "Money Saving Monday" and I would like to share a DIY Laundry Soap recipe. My wife and I started making this after I learned of my pending job loss and when the price of laundry soap not to mention everything else went sky high.I found the recipe below on a google search here. There are lots of recipes out there this just happens to be the one that we use. We were both a little

Ways To Stay In Touch, Network & Stay Sane

2009-06-04T10:34:00.002-05:00

If you have worked anywhere for any length of time, not having a job to go to every day can start to drive you a little nuts. Sure at first, it can be like a much needed vacation. But, after a while of endlessly looking for a new job, the “vacation” effect soon wears off.What I and the rest of my co-worker’s a.k.a. co-layoffer’s have been doing is to get together once a week for lunch. 1. You

Professional Social Networking

2009-06-02T10:58:00.001-05:00

To be perfectly honest with you, the only professional social networking site that I am currently signed up with is Linkedin. I am looking into others but; Linkedin so far seems to have the most people signed up in my field of Engineering. As I find others I will post them and if you have a favorite, let me know which ones.Linkedin has several levels of memberships; the Basic “free”, Business for

My Journey From Engineer To Blogger

2009-05-31T23:49:00.000-05:00

At the beginning of this year, I was part of a mass layoff at the company that I had been with for over 27 years. Aside from working for my parents company in high school and my photography business at the same time, taking and selling picture at the local high school sport’s events, I have never had any other “real” job. Now, well over forty, I am either over qualified or not qualified enough to