Laid Off? Cut Back and Get Back Out There.

Pahren said that help includes allowing employees to keep their jobs for at least 60 days before they are terminated. "This takes a little bit of pressure off people," she said.

If your employer isn't offering assistance, go to http://www.careeronestop.org, a career-resource Web site sponsored by the Department of Labor. Click on "People and Places," then go to "One-Stop Career Centers." Enter your Zip code and find the center closest to you. Among other things, the centers offer help with writing a résumé.

"A lot of people don't take advantage of these free resources," said Kim Rhim, executive director of the Training Source, a Maryland nonprofit program offering employment training and job-placement assistance.

· Immediately start looking for a job as if the search were your full-time job. And don't be too proud to get a "J-O-B, as in a 'Just Over Broke' job," Rhim says. "Take a sustainability job." That's the type of employment that will at least pay for the basics: rent, food, utilities. Rhim recommends accepting a position with evening hours to leave your days free to look for work you really want.

· Stop contributing to your retirement plan. Having a cash reserve trumps retirement-planning during this time. Resist thinking that if you run out of money down the road, you can tap your 401(k). That's a costly move. You'll be looking at a penalty of 10 percent for an early withdrawal, plus you have to pay income tax on the money.

· Make minimum payments on your credit cards as soon as you know you're losing your job. Again, you need to save as much cash as possible.

· If you are getting severance money, don't invest it. Full-time associates at Capital One will be eligible for severance based on their tenure. If you are getting a lump sum as part of your layoff, put it in the highest-yielding savings account or money-market account you can find. This is money you may need in the short term, so it's unwise to risk losing it.

Most of all, "don't panic," Rhim said. "You'll grieve for a while, but don't let it be too long."