Plan A and Plan B. Do You Have a Plan?

1.       If you have just started to look for a job or you are newly unemployed, you should begin to create at least two job search plans:  PLAN A and PLAN B… 

2.       PLAN A will be a job search to find a replacement equivalent job.  This might be your dream job. 

3.       PLAN B is your job search for an immediate alternate job; this is also called a bridge  job, an interim job, a survival job, or your parachute job. Which plan you work on first is defined by your financial situation, described in the steps below.

4.       The most important point for the newly unemployed 50+ job seeker is not to waste your most important resource, time.  If you've just been laid off, you can't afford to wait, you must get moving and prepare for your PLAN A and PLAN B job searches.  In the highly competitive market of today's economy, getting a new mid-level job may take a while.  The figures vary; Latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2010) indicate workers age 55+ are out of work for 36 weeks (national average) before finding a job. So, if you have just been laid off, immediately do the steps below:

5.      Create a monthly budget based on your annual expenses.

6.      If you are eligible (or need to determine if you are eligible), immediately apply for unemployment benefits.

7.      Cash is king, so figure out how long you can be unemployed. Don't know what you spend? Re-do Step #1. If you have less than 10 months cash, and here is the most critical point on this page.

8.      If you have less than 10 months of available liquid assets, you need to put PLAN B into effect, NOW! Not in five months, not in two months, not next week, but now. 

9.      Create and execute Plan B. Your Plan B job search should provide you with that interim job sooner rather than later. It will probably pay less, and from a career perspective, be less desirable than your Plan A job.  But it will delay or even eliminate running out of cash.