Layoff advice, start to finish.
Finances
Yes, Report the DoorDash Money
Gig work and unemployment benefits can coexist. The people who get burned all skipped the same step, reporting the work, and the reporting rules are learnable in ten minutes.
Finances
The Mortgage Company Would Rather Hear From You Now
Housing is the biggest bill and the scariest one to miss. It's also the one with the most machinery built for exactly this moment, if you engage before the first missed payment instead of after the third.
Finances
The PIP Has Two Endings
Some PIPs are real second chances. Many are paperwork for a decision that's already been made. Either way, your move is the same, take it seriously, respond in writing, and start protecting your downside immediately.
Finances
Before You Raid the 401(k)
Record numbers of people are pulling retirement money early, mostly for rent and medical bills. If you're about to join them, five minutes of rules knowledge can save you thousands.
Finances
The Layoff Year Tax Return Is a Different Animal
A layoff year scrambles every assumption your withholding was built on. Severance, unemployment checks, gig income, and retirement withdrawals all get taxed differently, and none of them are handled for you.
Getting Hired
Interviewing for an Empty Room
Recording answers alone into your webcam while software scores you is now a normal step in hiring. Nobody likes it. Learn how it's scored, how to be good at it anyway, and when it's telling you something about the employer.
Getting Hired
Your Resume's First Reader Is a Search Bar
Three hundred applications per opening, a keyword filter on nearly every one, and an AI layer ranking what's left. Against that geometry, silence is arithmetic, and the fixes are cheaper than the folklore.
Getting Hired
The $4,000 Certificate and the $20 Course
Every listicle says learn AI. Fine, but learn what, prove it how, and does the certificate mean anything? The honest answers, from someone not selling you a bootcamp.
Getting Hired
The 20-Second Layoff Answer
Interviewers flag defensiveness far more than they flag layoffs. Build the 20-second answer that closes the question, then learn where it belongs on the resume, in the cover letter, and in your own head.
Getting Hired
The Job You Applied For Doesn't Exist
You tailored the resume, wrote the cover letter, and heard nothing. There's a real chance nobody was ever going to read it, because the job was never real.
Getting Hired
Month Six Is Not a Character Flaw
Past the six-month mark, the search you've been running stops working and starts costing. What to change, what to protect, and why the duration says more about this market than about you.
Getting Hired
Get the State to Pay for Your Retraining
Federal training money exists for people who just lost a job, and the system rewards asking in the right order. How the funding works, and the rule to get right before you enroll in anything.
Finances
Five Deadlines That Started the Day You Got Laid Off
Nobody at the exit meeting mentions that you just started five countdown timers. Severance review, COBRA, visa grace periods, 401(k) rollovers, and unemployment filing all have deadlines, and most of them come from federal law, not company policy.
Finances
How to See a Layoff Coming Before the Meeting Hits Your Calendar
Almost no layoff is actually a surprise. The signals were in the earnings call, the hiring freeze, and the consultants badging in for weeks. How to read them, and what to quietly do about it while your badge still works.
Finances
Your Student Loans Don't Know You Got Laid Off
The paycheck stopped but the loan servicer's autopay didn't get the memo. Federal borrowers have real levers to pull, some down to zero dollars a month, but the 2026 repayment shakeup means the right move depends on which plan you're holding.
Finances
The Benefits Ran Out Before the Job Showed Up
Twenty-six weeks sounded like plenty back in week one. Now the last payment cleared, the search is still going, and everyone's advice assumes a timeline you've already outlived. Here's the playbook for the stretch you didn't plan for.
Getting Hired
The Fake Recruiter Knows You're Desperate
Days after you turn on that Open to Work banner, the recruiter texts start. Some of them are real. The ones that found you fastest, pay the most, and ask the least are hunting your severance.
Finances
The Severance Agreement Was Written by Their Lawyer, Not Yours
They tell you this is a 'standard package' while they slide papers across the table, but everything is negotiable if you understand what they actually care about.
Finances
COBRA Is a Rip-Off, But You Have Options
Your health insurance just dumped you right when you can least afford to get sick. COBRA can cost $700+ per month, but you've got cheaper options if you know where to look.
Finances
What to Do With Your 401(k) When You Lose Your Job
Your old 401(k) might look like an emergency fund, but crack it open too early and you could find yourself gifting 40% of it to the IRS. You've got four options, and three of them won't completely screw you.
Finances
How to Survive Filing for Unemployment
The government wants to give you money, but first you have to prove you deserve it through their digital nightmare of a website. Here's how to survive the bureaucratic gauntlet without losing your damn mind.
Getting Hired
Should You Update LinkedIn After Getting Laid Off?
Should you update your LinkedIn immediately or job hunt while everyone thinks you're still employed? That could depend on your industry, seniority, and whether you want recruiters to find you or leave you alone.
Mental Health
Navigating Depression After a Layoff
Getting laid off messes with your head just as much as your bank account. The emotional crisis is a normal response to having your world blown up. Here's how to keep your sanity while you figure out what's next.
Getting Hired
Job Hunting After 50. Turning Problems Into Advantages
Age discrimination is real, but there are tactics that help when you understand how to play the game. Your experience is an asset, not a liability. You just need to position it correctly and know which employers value it.
Finances
Emergency Budgeting After a Layoff
Your steady paycheck just became a fond memory, but your bills didn't get the memo. Figure out which expenses keep the lights on and which ones can go. Create a survival budget that actually works.
Getting Hired
How to Network When You Feel Like a Total Loser
You should be 'leveraging your network,' but reaching out to anyone makes you want to hide in a blanket fort. Reframe the conversation. You're not begging for help, you're gathering market intelligence.
Mental Health
Supporting Your Spouse When They Lose Their Job
Your partner just got laid off and suddenly you're living with a completely different person. Here's how to survive spousal unemployment without losing your mind or your marriage.