I have no intention of jumping right back into the job market. I've seen others do that and it only served to stress them out further. I plan to take some time for myself, relax, and figure out where I want to go from there. I think more people should consider this approach for the sake of their mental health.
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Taking a month off is not a bad thing. What I would do is to take your resume/CV to a professional get it airtight and have it stand out, get some good cover letters written and get your ducks in a row. that way you are prepared and ready to go when you start your job search. Don't just find any schmuck to do this, pay a real professional for this service. It will cost you a little money but in the end it will reflect the best on you.
When you get into it, you will be ready and prepared and can hit the ground running.
Breaks are good. I enjoyed mine. But the following search was awful, so bad that it’s made me fearful of layoffs again. Just get ready for the stigma from recruiters and hiring managers.
It’s not fair at all, they assume the worst if you’re not working. But despite what you read in the press, behaviors towards the unemployed haven’t changed that much, from my experience.
Really comes down to having someone in your network in a senior position that can recommend you for an open position. If you don’t have that it’s a grueling numbers game and you’ll probably have to take a lesser job.
Not a bad idea both mentally and strategically. I've seen former employees take the first job they could find not thinking about where they wanted their career to go or the viability of their new company. If you can afford the time off take it, get some rest and develop a strategy for your job search.
I was in a RIF two years ago and decided to take time off after working straight for 46 years. It's amazing how busy you can be despite not having a job that takes 60 hours a week or more. A break is a good time to get some physical rest and some hard exercise to get your body back to some improved state. It may also be a good time to reconnect with old coworkers, friends, neighbors and extended family.
I do plan to start looking this month but I am in no hurry.
The RIF worked out well as I had two or three months notice and I was free to look for another job within the company but I decided to take the quite generous severance and recover from some severe health issues. I do not know if severance is as generous as it has been in the past but I assume that it is as Oracle is still easily able to hire good candidates from what I have seen.
Immigration status is one factor for individuals needing to look ASAP. Also it could take 3-6 months to find the right role especially now with a lot of companies under hiring freezes. Nothing says you can't negotiate a start date in advance once you accept an offer. There is also the risk the offer can be rescinded if the company goes into a pause.
I remember being in a support group (for new jobs) where one person got laid off off after 20+ years at the same company. She received severance and planned to take time off before looking again. I asked her why she doesn't go and look right away which I would have done. Her reply is that she suffers from mental anxiety (pretty common) and I guess it is really important to take that break.
Ever since that conversation, I totally respect others' needs to take a break. We do not know the background surrounding the layoff. My husband worked 15 years for the same company until they decided he was paid too much and started putting him on PIP. Then wrote him up for "violations" that every one else commits (ex. 10 minutes late to office as 7:00am is start time, etc.). It took a lot of mental energy from him to work in the toxic environment and eventually, he was let go. Various upper management wrote him up, many of whom were friendly to him and who reported to him in the past. He stayed on because he needed the income as he had family to support. He was very defeated, humiliated and broken after that. Some takes it harder than others after being laid off. He took almost a year off while I took on extra work to make extra $. We had some savings so while it was still hard, we were able to manage.
There are two kinds of workers in the world: those who take a break after a layoff before starting a job search, and those who jump right back on the pony and ride.
No everyone can afford to not start looking right away, but you do you.