Job seekers appear built for endurance

Taking into account savings, severance benefits, and financial adjustments they say they've made, most job hunters can afford a job search lasting close to half a year, according to a poll of 725 "outplaced workers" by career-services firm Lee Hecht Harrison (LHH), in Woodcliff Lake, N.J.

Some 56 percent of respondents believed severance alone would cover them for the duration of their search, according to Bernadette Kenny, LHH executive vice president. Those polled reported a median severance of 15 to 16 weeks.

The group also appeared well prepared. Forty-five percent had at least five months of take-home pay in the bank at the time they were laid off.