Things to do before a lay-off
By Sarah Max, special for USATODAY.com

1. Keep up a good network of contacts. Don't lose touch with people you knew from previous jobs or who have moved on from where you currently work. If you enjoyed working with them, do an occasional lunch or after work get-together, schedule a coffee break, or just call or email once in a while. It will help keep you current on the local job market and give you a quick place to start in looking for jobs. Plus it's always nice to have friends.

2. Update your resume frequently and don't keep it at work. Most jobs have yearly performance reviews that require you to come up with a list of accomplishments. Utilize that work to update your resume at the same time. And, of course, never keep that resume on your work PC. Lay-offs can be sudden and there often isn't time to email home personal documents.

3. Keep current on what's happening in your career track. It's easy to get so head's down into a specific job that you forget about the larger picture. Check the want ads periodically. If it seems that you wouldn't be able to apply for anything, maybe it's time to try and broaden your skill set.

4. Remember that your work is not your home. Don't stuff your cubicle full of personal items. Lay-offs are fast, from being asked to attend a "meeting" to walking out the door with a box. It's fine to have a few pictures and items, but you shouldn't need to schedule a moving company to clear out your cubicle.

5. Your work PC is owned by your employer, not you. Make sure you keep the original and updated copies of all important documents on your home PC.

6. Keep your personal debt down. I know, this one is easier said than done but if you live within your means it makes a huge difference. I was laid off for six months; the unemployment checks I got didn't even pay the mortgage. It wasn't easy, but I got through it Okay because I pay off my credit cards in full every month. I do this the old-fashioned way I only buy what I know I can pay for.

7. Have a full life. This sounds trite, but having interests and friends apart from your job makes it much easier to deal with being laid off. You are more than your job, and the best and most important parts of who you are continue even if the company you worked for no longer needs you.
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Top 10 things to do after you've been laid off
By Sarah Max, special for USATODAY.com

Laid off? Let's face it, there are only so many hours a day you can spend searching for jobs and writing cover letters. While finding a new job is your first priority, you'll be happier in the meantime if you have a secondary goal to accomplish during your time off.
Doing so will help relieve some of the pressure of finding a job, and could offer new networking opportunities, fill gaps on your resume or even lead to an entirely new career. Many people who've been laid off have discovered that a respite from their routine was the excuse they needed to start their own business, spend more time with the kids or get to know a little more about the world beyond their cubicles.

Here are some ways you can make the most of your extra time:

Finish your novel. Tina Van Delden, 26, was managing corporate training programs for an executive recruiting firm near Los Angeles when she was let go in March. She made a job out of editing a novel she'd finished several months before and sending it out to publishers. "I'm still looking for a day job, but I feel I haven't been wasting my time," says Delden, who is now working on several short stories and a second novel. Change careers. Like many people living in San Francisco, Valeri Davies got swept up in the Internet boom and took a dot-com job doing something completely unrelated to her education, which was in international relations and the Middle East. Davies was recently laid off for the second time this year. This time, she's trying to put her degree to use. "The first time I was laid off I panicked and immediately searched for a job, which I found two months later," says Davies, who is reading up on the Middle East and sending her resume to places like the FBI and Department of Defense. "Now I'm taking the next two months and focusing on what I really want to do."

Go back to school. With college dropouts like Michael Dell and Bill Gates as role models for the late 1990s, many people turned up their noses to higher degrees and focused on on-the-job experience. Now faced with dim prospects for getting a job, business school is a popular option for many of the unemployed. Applications at Yale's graduate business school, for example, are up almost 50% this year. Volunteer. Doing good not only has altruistic benefits, but is a wonderful way to learn about other careers, network and fill gaping holes on your resume, not to mention your social life. Since being laid off in September, Pam Yoon, 30, volunteered with four different organizations, including a food bank, film festival, an organization for children with disabilities and a program that is trying to get music in elementary schools. "This is my way of figuring out what my next job might be," Yoon says. If you're looking for volunteer gigs, you might try Craigslist.org, which is where Pam is finding volunteer jobs, or Helping.org, which lets you search by zip code and interest.

Spend time with family. When top executives are laid off, companies often issue press releases saying they left to spend more time with family. Taking time out to get reacquainted with your children, parents or second cousins doesn't just have to be a euphemism for not having a job. It is a worthy goal in and of itself. Get physical. Go to the gym during the day and you notice that the line at the StairMaster is a lot longer than it used to be. For many, unemployment is the chance to train for triathlons or marathons, which can be full-time jobs in themselves. For others, the goal is simply to get rid of their work-induced spare tire. In any case, exercise fights off depression, which can drag you down while you're trying to sell yourself to employers.
Start your own business. When Julie Swenson was laid off last January, she took her severance and personal savings and started her own public relations firm, Abbas Public Relations. "I was laid off at 2 p.m., found an office to house my new business by 3 and filed my articles of incorporation by 3:30," Swenson says. "The key is to jump into the next phase in life before you have time to get scared of it."

Travel the world. When the job market was good, many graduates rushed into high-paying jobs before they had the chance to do a road trip or trek through Europe. If you don't have kids and a mortgage but do have e-mail, voice-mail and lots of free places to stay, you can roam the world while still conducting an effective job search.
Teach. Many large cities scramble to hire professionals to teach in city schools. Contact Teach For America or your local public school system. If you're not ready to take that plunge, consider becoming a substitute teacher.

Wake up and smell the coffee. Whatever you decide to do, do it with a sense of purpose, not guilt. Economies come and go, and soon enough you'll be gainfully employed, pining for the days when you had more time.