Your company has decided to outsource payroll and you are done. Maybe they brought in a new manager who cleaned the house. Perhaps the company is converting to an electric fleet and you don’t have the skills to work on new vehicles. Picking up the pieces and looking for a new job can be difficult.
Work is often part of our identity. Getting fired is painful. After the breakup, take a day or two to grieve. walk around. Shout out to the world! Deal with anger so you can focus your energies on moving forward.
Next, apply for unemployment insurance benefits. The best and fastest way to apply for unemployment is online using your computer or laptop. (You cannot use a cell phone or tablet to file.) Visit esd.wa.gov/unemployment to learn how. You can also call 1-800-318-6022. However, depending on the time, we may take a break for a while. Call us Monday through Friday from 8am to 4pm.
It’s important to remember that unemployment benefits are designed to provide temporary income if you lose your job through no fault of your own. Benefits only replace part of the lost income — about 60% regardless of financial need. The benefit period is 6 months for him and there is no extension. (All of these extra perks offered during the first few months of the COVID pandemic ended in 2021.)
If you are approved to be unemployed, you must search for work three times a week, submit weekly bills, and keep written records of your job search.
If you lose your job due to one of the scenarios above (layoffs, restructuring, skills no longer in demand, business closing/selling, or others as defined by the US Department of Labor), there is a silver lining. You may be considered a “dislocated worker.”
Thanks to the Federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), there are funds to help “unemployed workers” get back to work as soon as possible. And best of all, the WIOA program offers free support to qualified individuals!
Assistance can range from job search assistance to retraining for new occupations. At a minimum, you can meet with a professional career counselor for free to discuss your options. Counselors can help you write better resumes, apply for jobs online, and/or practice interviews.
You may also find yourself eligible for tuition assistance to reinvent yourself. Finally, get a high school diploma or get a college degree. Displaced workers may be eligible for assistance with transportation, childcare, and even work tools and clothing.
So how do you connect with the dislocated worker program? It’s easy; visit your local WorkSource center. Locally, WorkSource Yakima is located in the Artanum Ridge Business Park just south of Costco and just south of Artanham and Long Fiber Road. (There are also WorkSource offices statewide. Check out the WorkSource locator map at WorkSourceWA.com.) Notify the front desk staff that you have been laid off. WorkSource staff will refer the dislocated worker to her career counselor or direct her to complete a brief online survey. Answer all questions honestly. There are multiple programs to help the unemployed. Take advantage of them!
Believe it or not, some people who have been helped by unemployment programs say losing their jobs was the best thing they ever did.
Michelle Smith is the Communications and Employer Engagement Manager for the South Central Workforce Council in Yakima.
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