I Need a New Job

I will next Spring. I'm being laid off. I could, of course, go get a job now. But I have a very generous severance package sitting on the table - 34 weeks' pay, plus the money the company would've spent on my health insurance for those 34 weeks, plus "unused but accrued" vacation time which will amount to another 7.5 days' pay, assuming I don't take any time off.

Barring something perfect falling into my lap between now and my layoff date, I see a whole bunch of reasons to ride it out. I figure I'll start circulating my resume in January after the holidays, and ideally I'll be able to start my new job in May - that'll give me a few weeks off between (paid, because of the severance).

I'm nervous, of course. I've been with this company for 16+ years at this point, including 8 months as a consultant (which, sadly, doesn't count toward my service time for figuring out my severance). I've grown quite comfortable in the routine. Just as importantly, my chronic health conditions - especially the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - have all started while I was already working there. The CFS makes it so I have days that very little gets done; so yeah, I'm worried about starting someplace new. But, I have no choice come next Spring, so... 🤷‍♂️