These are great tips - thanks.

Done at the end of the month officially but have some interviews lined up already. Cross your fingers for me please, I am terrible at home!

How long does unemployment take to process and arrive?

Scrub your FB of any stupid photos or things you've said, firm up your privacy settings, connect with everyone in your industry on LinkedIn, contact some headhunters, and make it a point to make some reasonable number of networking calls each day. For me, it was 6 to 8.

Go through your budget and scrub extras. Weekly Friday night Ice cream? No more. Sunday bagels? No more.

Take advantage of the free time. Work out every single weekday. No excuses.

Everyone's situation is different. When my job was eliminated, mostly because my industry was largely eliminated in the DC area, I knew I was "in trouble". I am the sole breadwinner, and have some severe medical issues. I was 50 at the time. What we did is moved. We sold our house in Virginia and moved to central FL. We bought a house with with the proceeds of the sale of our house, significantly reducing our expenses. In FL, I was able to easily find a lower paying job in my field (30% less money, but much lower cost of living). By easily, one phone call letting people know I was now in FL, and interested in work.

Now, while my income is lower, our expenses were much lower (no mortgage was 30% of net income).

This happened to us last year. Reignite or expand your network. Let your friends, family and colleagues know you are looking. Negotiate your severance to include a few extra months of benefits at the employee cost - COBRA is budget busting ($1600/mo in our case).

We decided that we would be willing to move out of DC. My job was safe but far more flexible so I started looking to and landed an offer in the Midwest that offered me a huge raise/promotion. Part of my acceptance was placement assistance for DH (he's the one laid off). My company then beat the bushes and networked extensively for him so he landed a great job within 6 weeks of getting here.

We ended up with much lower COL and our HHI actually went up 20K. While it was really hard, we know we are lucky, blessed and very grateful. It's a huge change, we were both born and raised in Silver Spring! But we are happy and kids actually love it here and love having us less stressed and more time with them.

My advice is to be flexible and open. Ask for help and be willing to expand your radius. There's light at the end of the tunnel, you have to stay positive and flexible.

Set aside time every day for your job search, but don't let it take over your life. A lot of this is really about timing. There is no way to make it happen faster. Make sure you also give yourself some me-time. You need it to deal with the stress.

As far as job applications go, don't just paper the internet with your resume. Make sure you treat each application as a special and unique opportunity. Do your research. Comb your contacts for connections to each potential employer. Make sure you actually have the specific skills they want and that you are able to demonstrate those skills in your applications. Use keywords.

Did you get a severance agreement? Eligible for cobra?

My advice is to hit the ground running. When I was part of a large layoff in 2010, I was shocked at how many of my coworkers, even those who were breadwinners, went into vacation mode and didnt even begin searching for 6 to 8 weeks.

I made it through the recession without being cut - and now it's happened to me too. Can you give me some tips and 'to do' to make it through? We have a family of 4, so it will probably be a bit rough until I'm back in the workforce, as I am the primary earner.

Right away I know to apply for unemployment and have already started the job search - what else should I know?