Early in 2011, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) held a meeting and heard testimony on whether employers are unfairly screening out the unemployed in hiring. Speakers pointed to job postings that explicitly limit the applicant pool to those who already have a job; in other words, those who are out of work need not apply.
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/discrimination-against-the-unemployed.html
Be willing to take a pay cut for a new job... if you find the right employer, getting raises and bonuses will means you'll find yourself in a better position soon enough. The potential for advancement will probably be greater, too (It certainly is in my case).
You won't have any problem finding a job. If you have the skills and are willing to relocate they will hire you at a competitive salary.
Not much than can be done (if not anything) negotiating your salary when you are unemployed. The bigger the gap on your resume, the more desperate and "loser" you might be perceived. I know it sounds tough, but it's the reality. If you don't get a similar/better job in 2-3 months you are simply perceived as a poor performer, regardless of any factors influencing your job search. That's why I know plenty of people that take any job/salary as soon as they can, in order to close that resume gap. They simply continue looking for a better suited job outside thereafter. I wouldn't recommend staying less than a year in any Company, though, as it would probably hurt your resume. Sometimes I see stories over here saying... I'm earning now much more... I now have a much better position... Well... That's not what I've seen out there from the people I know... Including myself.
Good advice, @KzFdDB6-kpm - also, this should be a warning to those still employed - don't wait for the WFR notice. Seek employment elsewhere NOW. You owe nothing to HPE and they certainly will show you no loyalty in return.
My way to overcome this was immediately registering a sole proprietorship business as an independent consultant. I got several small gigs from friends/contacts, and during the interviews I said that the reason for looking for a job was for 'stability' and W-2 related benefits, as money wasn't a factor since I was earning more as an independent consultant when compared to my last salaried job. That worked pretty well for me when negotiating the base salary, and I was able to show evidence as part of the background check after the offer was made. As soon as you say you don't have a job you are screwed up.
It's an employers market. They'll know they can get a lot of bang for their money, but if they offer crappy salaries, they know people won't stay there long. It's not uncommon for those crappy offers to come with hiring bonuses or lump sum benefits tied to a contractual agreement to keep you there for a minimum period of time (usually 1-2 years). HR can smell desperation miles away...
I haven't seen this, but what I have seen/experienced is that as soon as you say or they notice you are in "transition", they take big advantage of that and offer salaries well below your real market value. When I was looking early last year (I'm 46 years old) I remember well one Company that offered a base salary of $37K for a job with basically the same description I was doing in HPE for $76K. They offered a $5K recruiting bonus, and a $10K lump sum for relocating me, but they wanted me to sign a 3 years commitment with them, or I had to return the full $15K. Needless to say I felt that they wanted to take advantage of my situation, and I didn't accept the offer. Their HR person called me 3 times for me to reconsider the offer "because of my situation", and that they "wanted to help me". I took another job with another Company for $65K, and feel "trapped" here as I can't take ad hoc time off to participate in interviews. Sometimes I wonder if I should have waited more, but I really needed an income. Discrimination happens all the time out there... Sometimes very directly, but others very subtly.