If You Were Unemployed, But Had A Hefty Savings Of 10K, In What Ways Would You Approach Your Job Search Differently?

10k is "a hefty savings"? That money is gone very quickly if you have a family and a mortgage, etc.

I don't think 10k would change anything, I would still need to hurry to get a job.

I hate that it's true, but $10K is not a hefty savings anymore.

That's not to say most people have $10k saved.

That's just to say that $10k would get me through like 4 months, maximum.

And Id be hungry.

10k hefty savings lmao

I would be broke in about 4 months with $10K in reserve if I dialed back everything to the bare minimum. It would make my job search extremely urgent.

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$10k is not very much money to live on where rent alone is $2000~2500. I think if I had $100k I would be very picky. Or better yet, I would try to start my own business.

Everyone in the comment section is just talking about how much 10K is to them and completely ignoring OPs question lol smh

Hefty savings? $10k? Is that us dollars? 10k is not much, that would not last more than a few months at most for most people

I have more savings than that and I don't think it's enough. Those are rookie numbers, gotta pump those up.

hefty savings of 10k

That is not a "hefty savings."

You want to have enough savings for about 3 months expenses, for just such an occasion, so I'd just do my normal job hunt here

What everyone in this comment section calling out "10k isn't much" are failing to understand is that over 60% of the USA live paycheck to paycheck and don't have any savings to speak of. Extend that to the world and you would go pale.

Check your privilege and get educated.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/paycheck-to-paycheck-6-in-10-americans-lendingclub/

https://www.lendingtree.com/debt-consolidation/paycheck-to-paycheck-survey/

Between my mortgage, child support, and kids college tuition, that would be gone in a month.

However if it were a hefty amount, nothing would change. I’ve never taken intentional time off between jobs and I still wouldn’t. Unless it were a life changing, lottery winning, early retirement amount of money, I’d be too anxious about where I’m getting paid next. I would not enjoy time off

10k will last you about 3 months comfortably, 6 if you're single and willing to scrimp or live in your car. That's your time limit to get a new job.

I had about 3x that saved and took a year off after working a decade at my previous position (I was pretty burnt out and hadn't been able to take more than a week off since I started). Having that padding gave me the time and peace of mind to look for something I really wanted, and gave me the freedom to turn down offers that would have put me back into the burnout cycle.

I ended up with a full WFH position with a 50% bump in salary. Within a year, I made back what I had spent simply by maintaining my budget from my previous salary.

If I hadn't had the cushion, it would have been pedal to the metal and accepting the first position offered, and I would have likely hit burnout before a year was out.

I have been unemployed for almost a year now and was looking the entire time. Burned through severance and savings. Sooooo you better not slouch because shits tough for anyone but entry/associate level.

Having savings gives you some time before you have to get something part time to help out with bills. When you're between jobs, it's not vacation time. Your job is too find another job. You should spend the 8 hours or so you would have spent working instead preparing your resume, brushing up on interview skills, searching for and applying to jobs, and responding to emails. Depending on your field there may be some short term contract work available that will help you pay the bills while you look for something permanent. The point is: don't just sit on your butt, get it in gear.

10k isn't going to last long, I would be freaking out applying for every job I could if that's all the money I had available.

I did this poorly, i had almost 20g saved, and i went on trips, explored, and adventured, then the final week of money, went and handed out 3 resumes and got hired on the spot with the 3rd.

I’d become an Uber driver, and I’d only take jobs that were 100% definitely better than that. I’d make sure to earn everything I needed so that my $10k isn’t drawn down.

Having the space to reject jobs and take one’s time is an excellent resource during a job search. A nice long one.

I got burnt out between my last job and my current one. I quit and took 3 months off before starting my current job.

Admittedly I had ~30k saved and went through about 15k of that in the 3 months as I went travelling etc. but I wasn't stressed. I emailed some friends and shot some old colleagues on linkedin saying I was looking. An old friend got me an interview in the first month, went through the whole process in about 2 weeks after that and had a new job lined up 1 month before I was due back home. But I didn't have that "Oh shit, I need to start my new job ASAP! I'm fucked!!!" panic which was nice.

I was also much more relaxed in the interviews etc. because I wasn't panicking for work, instead I became super picky about what I wanted and was very open about it. Asked for more money, was open about what I actually want to do and it all worked out. It was amazing - in the past I was more trying to escape a bad workplace vs. going "I know what I want, can you make this work for both of us?"

Not at all. I worked hard for the savings. I don't spoil that.

I'm in that exact situation right now thought I have more savings than that.

I'm approaching job search differently in the way that I'm not in-fact looking for job. I'm taking my time to decompress, gather my thoughts and plan what I'm going to do in the future. I think I'm going to try entrepreneurship and set up my own company and start doing handyman stuff instead of just plumbing what I've been doing to this point. I'm not overly excited about the idea of going back to work for a company. I got to check this door first atleast.

$10k, no change, I would still be panicking.

$100k I would be more relaxed, pay off everything except the house to lower monthly cost and try to find something perfect, that provided enough to live on.

$1M, I would retire, probably, or work part time, not worry about making enough to live on.

$10M, I would absolutely start a business, profit sharing co-op.

$100M, I would set up an endowment for charity for those in my city and probably sell my house and just travel.

Having adequate savings and/or additional income absolutely changes the job hunting game. This is one of the big reasons they having a 6-month emergency fund of necessary expenses is critical for financial health. It reduces the needs to make decisions that sacrifice long term benefit for short term survival. Like for many here, $10k is not that number for my household. We need much more in savings for a family of 4 with disabilities.

But let's talk about how it changes the job hunt. The big answer is that you do not need to take any given offer. You can hold out for the right offer. For my wife, that meant passing up higher-paying contract roles and roles with less-than-ideal management and work life balance situations. When she found the right job, the heading she was working with was very clear, "This is the type of company where the pay will not look as great as some at first. Look at the benefits. Look at the employee reviews. This is the last job I am ever going to find for you."

Having a safety net let us hold off until my wife found the right job. It was not about "knowing your worth" where you then ask for too much. It was about finding the best match. That ideal match has been very good for my family for many years now.

That would stress me the fuck out to only have $10k to live off of until I got another job. If I already had a job I’d just keep it until I found a new one. And it looks better if you have a job when you’re looking for a new one. What kind of employer wants to hire someone who doesn’t have good enough sense to stay out of that kind of situation? They’d have to wonder what could have happened to make you leave one job without having another one lined up. From their perspective how would they know if the problem was the other people or if it was you? And when there are other candidates to choose from, why would they choose the one that might bring a lot of drama?