[quote=Hatfield]I think I’m missing something. It was my understanding that you could not collect unemployment for a job you left voluntarily. You had to be terminated, and not for cause.

At least that was the case the one and only time I collected unemployment, which was for about 6 weeks in about 1994. My recollection is that it paid $980/month and every week you had to send in a little affidavit saying you were looking for work.[/quote]

*Well, let’s say company X plans to lay off Z people. You aren’t one of them and you’re planning to quit. You go to your employer and say, hey pick me and give a me a big severance package up front in a lump sum and let me go without cause.

In fact, often times, the “package” is better in earlier stages of a planned RIF versus later stages of a RIF. You might get 6 months in the first RIF, but if the company goes down to another 2-3 RIFs and you get RIFed then, you might be looking at a 1-2month package by that time…So often, it’s just simply better to volunteer and leave earlier and get the biggest package as possible.

*Yes you need to actively be seeking work. But again, you don’t have to underemploy yourself too.