In most cases you should begin looking for a new job immediately after being terminated. First of all you may, for financial reasons, NEED to obtain a new job as soon as possible. Secondly, you should be aware that your former employer has what is referred to as a duty to mitigate damages defense. It is a basic principle of law that one who is experiencing continuing damages caused by the actions of another has a duty to "mitigate" those damage.

If such a defense is raised by your former employer, you may be required to submit evidence that you have made reasonable and sustained efforts since your date of discharge to seek replacement employment of a type that would provide you with compensation similar to that provided by the position from which you were terminated. If you are unsuccessful in showing that you have made such efforts, the amount of damages to which you might have otherwise been entitled to recover against your former employer, may be significantly reduced. Accordingly, you should take all reasonable steps, on a daily basis if possible, to obtain such replacement employment and it is a very good idea to document these steps as thoroughly as you can. An excellent way of documenting these efforts is to keep a daily diary of the steps you are taking to obtain new employment.