There’s an old episode of

There’s an old episode of

“Cheers” in which Norm is employed by a company for which his sole responsibility is to take people out to lunch and tell them they are fired.

At first, he loves it — free food, free beer — but it quickly loses its luster. Unable to quit, he ultimately gets his revenge when he invites his boss out to lunch, much to his boss’s surprise.

The Norms of the business world have been very busy of late: Since the start of the recession in December 2007, the number of layoffs has been staggering. More than 4.4 million jobs, including another 640,000 in March, have been lost, and the unemployment rate now stands at more than 8 percent. While we await the stimulus programs coming down the pike to encourage job growth and help restore the economy, if you have recently been laid off, you cannot sit idly by until a stimulus position falls in your lap.

So, if Norm does take you out to lunch, here are a few basics to help you deal with this career transition, including managing your risks, identifying your spending habits and potential financial opportunities, clarifying your “what if” scenarios and moving on. In a nutshell, it is a financial plan. As David Miles, president of The Miles-Lehane Companies, a career-management firm in Leesburg, says, “Creating an ‘active financial plan’ is one of the pillars of an effective overall career plan.” Manage your risk

Maintaining adequate