As I mentioned a few times recently, I have recently been laid off from my job with one of the Big 4 accounting firms. While the thought of an exit in this situation may evoke an image of you walking through the office with your middle fingers in the air, your exit should be a little more planned and professional than that. So based on my own experience so far, here is my checklist of things to do once you have found out you are getting let go or you have decided to leave on your own terms.

1. Apply for unemployment benefits. I’m not normally one for advocating collecting government benefits as a priority, but if you have been laid off you will need the money. Although it is not a lot of money (here in Texas you can get up to $378 per week, but I think it varies slightly by state), your employer has had to pay premiums to cover that benefit and if you were let go through no fault of your own you are entitled to it. Plus it is a nice little jab back to the employer since their unemployment insurance premium goes up based on the number of unemployment claims their employees have filed.
2. Tell your close colleagues the news personally. Surely there are people at your office that you have grown close to. Have the respect for those folks to tell them the news before you tell everyone else. I had a number of people I called to let them know what happened, and a few others I sent a very personal and candid email to. Even if you aren’t going to be working with them anymore, it is good to maintain that relationship.
3. Export your contacts and important email messages. If you are like most professionals, most of your contacts are probably tracked in your Outlook contacts on your employer’s mail server. Be sure to export those to a PST file so you don’t lose them when you leave, and make sure the important HR contacts are included in case you have to follow up on anything after you leave. Do the same with important emails you may have stored on your work computer or employer’s server.
4. Check you CPE. Do you hold a professional license or certification that requires continuing professional education? If so, make sure you have records of all your CPE completed and check to see if you have any additional requirements. Many companies/firms have training management systems that track your CPE completed and provide access to web-based training courses. If you find that you have additional requirements that will be due at your next renewal, go ahead an use the old employer’s resources to complete those. You never know how long it will take to find another job that will pay for the CPE or if the new job will give you the access to CPE your old one does.
5. Keep records of your payroll and benefit information. Make sure you have downloaded copies of your pay statements (our company provides them in electronic format only, so if you leave the company you have no way of getting the information). Also be sure to get information on your current 401k and pension plan balances and plan information you will need to access the accounts in the future. Also be sure to keep records of vacation time accrued if that is to be paid out in cash upon your termination.
6. Clean off the work computer. Just like you would never leave any of your personal effects in your old office, you should regard your computer the same way. Make sure to copy your personal files off your work computer so you don’t lose them. If you have been at the same job for an extended period, this is likely a larger task than you think. Also remember that anything you don’t clear off of your old computer may be seen by your employer at some point. My firm has a policy of imaging the hard drives of all terminated employees after they have turned in their laptops, and I would prefer not to have vacation photos and copies of personal documents floating around on my old employer’s servers. Make sure to clear your internet history and delete any saved passwords as well.
7. Get the terms of your exit in writing. Make sure you have the terms of your termination in writing before you leave. This is good to have in case there is any issue with the payment of severance due or question as to the manner of your termination (laid off versus fired can have huge implications for unemployment benefits and references for future employment).
8. Get all your final expenses in. If you incurred the expense for your old employer, make sure you don’t end up eating it! Get in all those cell phone bills, parking charges, professional organization dues, and unused airline tickets. You will likely lose the ability to charge those through once you leave.
9. Change the mailing address on stuff going to the office. Do you have stuff from professional organizations and other places that comes to your work address? Be sure to change the address to your home address so you don’t miss out.
10. Leave gracefully but visibly. As much as you’d love to, don’t tell off the boss upon your exit. Don’t send out a hateful email to your entire office talking about what a bunch of dirty bastards they are (that’s what your blog is for!). However, you should still send something out so that everyone knows you are leaving and has your contact information after you leave. Just send out a note briefly mentioning the circumstances of your termination, thanking everyone for the opportunity to work together, and provide your personal contact info. I argue you should let everyone know you were laid off to serve as a warning to everyone else. The standard MO at my firm is to act like nothing happened if someone is laid off, so you only find out through a farewell email or the rumor mill that someone was let go. Make sure everyone knows it wasn’t voluntary and wasn’t your fault so management has to deal with the questions of job security and potential future layoffs. A side benefit is that some of your coworkers may be able to help place you in a new job if they know your situation. From the email I sent a couple of days ago I have already had three people offer to help by sending my resume with a personal recommendation to contacts they have at other companies.

Of course this only works if you have some warning of your termination, so if you think you may be vulnerable to a layoff and the standard practice at your office is to get the notice and then have security escort you to the door it is probably best to do as much as you can now. You never want to look back on the situation and regret the things you should have done.