How to Use Your Severance or Outplacement Stipend for a Custom Human-Written Resume

What an outplacement benefit is

Outplacement is a separation benefit an employer pays for to help departing employees land their next role. It usually comes alongside severance during a layoff, a restructuring or an executive exit, and it is written into the separation agreement or a separate benefits letter. No federal law requires it. Employers offer it by policy or by negotiation, so the terms differ a great deal from one company to the next.

What the benefit covers also differs. A typical package can include coaching sessions, resume and LinkedIn help, interview practice, job-search workshops and access to an online course library. Senior leaders often get longer, more individual programs with a dedicated coach. The resume component inside a bundled program can be anything from one-on-one writing to a quick template review, and the resume is the document recruiters will actually judge you on.

Start by reading your separation paperwork. The paragraph that describes outplacement will usually name a provider, a dollar amount or an eligibility period. Those three details decide what you can do next.

Three common setups: assigned firm, stipend or reimbursement

Outplacement benefits generally arrive in one of three forms, and each one changes how you can use it for a custom resume.

• Assigned firm. The employer has a contract with one outplacement provider. You get a coach or a portal, and the services are prepaid. Some contracts allow an exception if you ask for an outside provider; many do not. Ask anyway.
• Stipend or allowance. The employer sets a dollar amount you can spend on career services from a provider you choose. Payment may go straight to the provider or through you.
• Reimbursement. You pay the provider, submit proof, and are repaid up to a cap. This is common at smaller employers and in negotiated executive exits.

Some employers will also convert an unused outplacement benefit to cash, or add its value to severance, if you raise it before you sign. That is a negotiation point, not a right, and it is worth discussing with HR or an employment attorney while the agreement is still open.

Employers that want to fund human-written resumes for a whole affected group can do it directly through our corporate outplacement program, which removes the claim step for the employee entirely.

Questions to ask HR before you spend anything

Ask these in writing, by email, so the answers are on record if your contact leaves or the policy changes:

1. Is the benefit an assigned provider, a stipend or a reimbursement, and what is the dollar cap?
2. May I use an outside provider of my choosing? Is there an approved vendor list or a pre-approval form?
3. What is the deadline to start, and the deadline to submit claims? Benefits often expire a set number of months after the separation date.
4. Which services qualify? Ask specifically about resume writing, cover letters, LinkedIn profile work and rush delivery.
5. Does payment go directly to the provider, or do I pay and claim it back? How long does repayment take?
6. What documents does a claim need, and who receives them?
7. Does choosing an outside provider forfeit the assigned firm's services, or can I use both?

If you are 40 or older and the severance agreement asks you to waive age discrimination claims, the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act gives you at least 21 days to consider it (45 days in a group termination program) and 7 days to revoke after signing. Use that window to get these answers before you sign, and have an employment attorney review the agreement itself.

What reimbursement paperwork usually needs

Every employer sets its own claim rules, but the same documents come up again and again. Collect them before you pay so you are not chasing paperwork weeks later.

• An itemized invoice. Each service on its own line with its price: the resume tier, any cover letter, LinkedIn work and add-ons such as rush delivery. A single lump-sum line is a common reason claims are sent back.
• A scope of work. A short description of what will be delivered: which documents, how many revision rounds, which file formats and what turnaround. HR uses it to confirm the purchase is a career service.
• Provider details. The legal business name, mailing address, contact email and website. When an employer pays a provider directly, it may also ask for a W-9.
• Proof of payment. A receipt or card statement showing the amount and date, if you paid first.
• Dates. The order date and the delivery date, both inside the eligibility window.

When the employer pays the provider directly, the order usually starts with pre-approval: HR reviews a quote and a scope, signs off, and the provider invoices the employer. Confirm which path applies to you before you place the order.

Build the scope and estimate before you buy

A clear quote makes pre-approval fast. Our ATS & Package Calculator takes your target roles and the documents you need, then produces a printable scope of work and a pre-invoice estimate you can hand to HR. Each item sits on its own line: the service tier, the package level, and add-ons such as the LinkedIn Profile Overhaul or 24-Hour Rush.

Choose the tier that matches your history, not the size of the stipend. A manager with ten years of experience usually fits Professional. A director or officer who will be screened by executive recruiters fits Executive & C-Suite. Someone using the layoff to move into a new field fits Career Change. Every tier and package is listed on the prices page.

If the stipend is larger than the cost of one resume, ask whether the remainder can cover a cover letter, the LinkedIn profile or a later update. If it is smaller, the estimate shows HR exactly how large the gap is, and a documented gap is easier to approve than a vague request.

If your package has no outplacement benefit

Not every severance package includes career support, and a missing benefit is not always the final answer. While the agreement is still unsigned, it is reasonable to ask HR whether the company will fund career transition services, either as a fixed amount or by paying a provider directly. Employers sometimes agree to a modest, specific request more readily than to a larger cash increase, because it is easy to document and it supports the person leaving.

Make the request concrete. Name the service, attach the itemized estimate, and state the amount. A request such as "Would the company cover a professionally written resume and LinkedIn profile, estimated at the attached amount?" gives HR something it can approve in one step.

If you manage a team that is being reduced and want to help the people affected, point HR to our corporate outplacement program, which lets an employer fund resumes for a group without each person filing a claim.

Taxes: what to ask a professional

We are not tax advisers, and nothing on this page is tax advice. Two points of federal law are widely documented and worth knowing before you speak to one.

First, for most individual filers, job-search expenses are not deductible. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act suspended miscellaneous itemized deductions subject to the 2 percent floor, which is where unreimbursed job-search costs used to be claimed, for tax years 2018 through 2025. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed in July 2025, made that suspension permanent. Self-employed people and some other filers are treated differently, which is exactly why the question belongs with a professional.

Second, how an employer-funded career service shows up on your own return can depend on how the employer structures it: paid to a provider, reimbursed against receipts, or added to severance as cash. Ask a tax professional before you agree to convert the benefit to cash, and keep every invoice, approval email and receipt with your tax records.

Timing: use the benefit while it is worth the most

Outplacement windows close, and every other part of the search depends on the resume. Practitioners generally advise starting it in the first weeks after notice, while project details, figures and system names are fresh and the claim deadline is still far away.

• Gather performance reviews, award notes and project summaries before your access ends, keeping only material you are permitted to keep.
• Write down the scope of your last two roles: team size, budget, systems and results, while you can still check them with former colleagues.
• Ask HR for the claim form on day one, not at the end of the window.

Our first draft arrives in 72 hours, or 24 hours with Rush, and every resume carries the 60-Day Interview Guarantee. If we wrote your resume before the layoff, a returning-client update may fit inside even a small stipend.

Key takeaways

• Read the outplacement paragraph of your separation paperwork first: it names a provider, a dollar amount or an eligibility window, and those details decide your options.
• Ask HR in writing whether outside providers are allowed, what the cap and deadlines are, and which services qualify, before you pay anyone.
• Reimbursement claims usually need an itemized invoice, a written scope of work, provider business details, proof of payment and dates inside the window.
• Job-search costs are not deductible for most individual filers under current federal law; ask a tax professional how your employer's payment is treated.

Frequently asked questions