In the winter of 2019, my husband was laid off from work. We were surprised, but grateful he had been given 3 month’s notice! I was pregnant with our third daughter—our rainbow baby!
Job Applications
Immediately, we began to look for jobs and talking to our friends and family about it.
My husband had never had to apply to so many jobs before. We had worked for a ministry for years and through those connections, we ended up in NC.
By the end of it all—yes, it did end and he did get a new job—he had probably applied to over 50 jobs. For us, the process took about 4 months. He was out of work for 1 month before his new job started. Here are 6 things I did when my husband was laid off.
1. Pray
Even as a Christian a lot of times we can forget to pray when we are going through trials. This is where my husband tends to lean. However, I actually tend to do the opposite—I pray, a lot! So, when my husband was laid off, and after the initial shock, my automatic response was, “Ok, let’s pray!”. I would pray all day long—out loud and in my head. I would pray while doing the dishes, driving around in the car, and at night with my husband. Set aside time each day to pray with your husband. Pray for the provision of a new job, as well as for God to work in your hearts in the waiting.
2. Read and Memorize Scripture
My husband and I have memorized Scripture together a little bit over the years, but this trial was truly the first time we dedicated so much time and effort into it. We had been working our way through our church’s reading plan during this season and we read Psalm 46 and it jumped out at us. It was a reminder to us of who God is, and how he is in control no matter what. So, we decided to memorize it together. I have put together some other verses here to help encourage you.
3. Do the Tasks He Dislikes
Many times there can be a sense of helplessness toward the situation. Some of us are doers and fixers and want a tangible way to get involved. My husband is extremely helpful around the house and with the kids, but there are certain things he dislikes more than others. One of those is bath time! He really doesn’t love that. So, I made sure that while he was dealing with the stress of the job search that I took over bath time! So, if there is something you can take off your spouse’s plate that would be a blessing to them, do that!
4. Help Job Search
Ready for this—I FOUND MY HUSBAND HIS CURRENT JOB. Yup haha! Ok, of course, it was his credentials and character that won out in the job interview, but I was the one who found the job posting. I joined a local Facebook group for networking. I read posts, searched for posts within the group with keywords related to my husband’s field. A company we hadn’t looked into before was mentioned so I went to the company’s career page and found the job posting for the job he has now! So, don’t be afraid to get creative in how you search for a job.
The Sites We used to Search
5. Talk About It
When we found out my husband was going to be laid off, we talked about it to others right away. We told friends and family so that they could encourage us and pray. I was attending a bible study at my church at the time and I opened up to the ladies there. I know not everyone is a talker, but community is important for us all. It also can be a networking tool! You never know who you might get connected with.
6. Re-visit the Budget
Since you really don’t know how long the job loss will be, or if your spouse will receive a severance package (mine did, praise God!), or if you might have to take a pay decrease (mine did for this too) this is key. We immediately sat down to look at where we could cut expenses. As a stay at home mom, I took on the responsibility to take control of our finances where I could, so that was mostly revisiting our grocery budget. Our oldest was doing gymnastics and so we stopped that.
It Won’t Last Forever
Dealing with a lay off is not easy, but it will not last forever. My prayer for you is to be able to get through it a little easier with these tips.
Wow this is REALLY not applicable for people that work as well, don’t have kids, and don’t need god. What a shit blog.
I understand and I’m sorry you’re going through a lay off. Thankfully, the internet is full of things that are more applicable for you. I hope you can find one that’s helpful for you! This will help and resonate with someone else 🙂