Tell me about filing for unemployment benefits

In My Humble Opinion
1

As some of you may know I am being laid off and my last day of work will be Thursday, September 30. I am going to want to file for unemployment benefits, but I have questions about how the whole systems works (in general). I have not been without a job since I was 16 (I am now 28) except for a few months when I first moved to Nevada.

I looked on Nevadas webpage and they have an internet claim file system- so as far as I know I don’t have to go to the unemployment office right at first. I already did their pre-qualification screener, and I will qualify for unemployment. I have a lot of questions, and cannot find the answers online.

Okay, here are some of my questions:

My last day of work is Sept 30, can I file in October 1 (Friday)? or do I have to wait.

Do they give you a list of places hiring in your field or will I just do my daily classified ads/ job website searches and then tell them where I have submitted resumes/applications?

If they say “fast food place/other low pay job”** is hiring, and I say no because I have a college degree and they only pay minmum wage (unemployment ~=7.50/hour- before taxes) and desire a job that actually uses the skills/knowledge I learned in school instead of “brain dead crap job”, can they take away my unemployment?
**As a note, I couldn’t even get hired at these places when I was a student looking for part time work. I was told I was overqualified. I think I intimidated the managers with the amount of education I had, now that I have a degree it will be 10x harder to get hired at these kinds of places.

I have other questions about this, but I have a headache and cnnot think of them as of right now.

So tell me about being on unemployment; what to expect, what not to expect, the right and wrong things to do etc… Please share your experiences with the Unemployment system.

2

Having gone through this recently myself, go file ASAP. It takes two weeks or more for them to process the paperwork. The longer you wait, the longer you go without benefits.

I am not really sure what the rules are in your state, but Texas requires you to submit your resume to employers twice a week, and they give you a log to fill out to what companies you submitted to, incase they want to check up on your job searching progress. The unemployment office will normally assign you to a “counselor” that will help you search for work. The person that I was assigned to never returned my phone calls, so I ditched that effort.

They will not fault you for not taking a low paying job. If you are a “skilled” worker and expect 50k a year, then that is about what they expect the type of job you will take and is suitable for your skill levels. They will not expect you to take 10k a year just to have a job.

Word of caution here:

Becareful not to take a job just to be taking a job. After two months of not working I took a minimum wage part-time job in order to get out of the house and they cut my benefits in half to where I almost lost my house in the process.

I got laid off back in 2002, before they extended the benefits past 6 months. It took me 6 months to find a job that was suitable to a Sr Systems Engineer with 20 years experience.

Good luck in your search. :slight_smile:

3

My experience was fairly similar to LVgeogeek’s (I’m in California). Here I was required to register for their job database, including submitting a resume, but I never used it because it was inferior to other job sites like Monster and the local classifieds.

Each check would come with a form for the next submission. You had to fill out where you had applied and what the outcome was. There were also spaces for any part time work taken or any training you were doing while searching. Nobody ever questioned any of the forms I submitted.

Here at least, you are assigned a certain maximum benefit amount and period, based on your work history. As long as you give evidence of searching for a job, things don’t get sticky until the benefit period gets near the end.

4

In 2000 I worked for a Wisconsin-based company, even though I live 1400 miles away, in Washington state. When I was laid-off, I filed in Washington, by telephone. At first, the counselor was trying to get me to call Wisconsin, but her supervisor told me that “It doesn’t matter what state you worked in, it only matters what state you are physically in when you call to file”. As long as that state has a reciprocal agreement with your home state, you will collect unemployment at the rates for the state you are in when you file.

In my case, if I’d filed in Wisconsin, I’d have received about $150 less per week than I got from Washington. At the time, Washington state had among the highest benefit amount of all the states. If I were you, I’d consider a trip to the evergreen state the first of October. IANAL, YMMV, but it’s worth checking into.

5

Well, being as how I live in Vegas, too, and have some experience with Nevada Unemployment…
I looked on Nevadas webpage and they have an internet claim file system- so as far as I know I don’t have to go to the unemployment office right at first. I already did their pre-qualification screener, and I will qualify for unemployment. I have a lot of questions, and cannot find the answers online.

Don’t bother trying to file on the website. It loses stuff and you’ll end up having to call in anyway. File by phone. You’ll get to talk to a live human that way.
Okay, here are some of my questions:

My last day of work is Sept 30, can I file in October 1 (Friday)? or do I have to wait.

File October 1. They get annoyed if you wait and ask why you didn’t file sooner.
Do they give you a list of places hiring in your field or will I just do my daily classified ads/ job website searches and then tell them where I have submitted resumes/applications?

Are you kidding? This is Vegas. Nobody is here to help you. Nevada Job Connect basically gives you the blow-off. Keep track you your searches in case they ask, but it is not likely that they will. They’re swamped and don’t have the time or resources to actually check up on people.

If they say “fast food place/other low pay job”** is hiring, and I say no because I have a college degree and they only pay minmum wage (unemployment ~=7.50/hour- before taxes) and desire a job that actually uses the skills/knowledge I learned in school instead of “brain dead crap job”, can they take away my unemployment?

No. They expect that you will be looking for work in your field/usual occupation.

**As a note, I couldn’t even get hired at these places when I was a student looking for part time work. I was told I was overqualified. I think I intimidated the managers with the amount of education I had, now that I have a degree it will be 10x harder to get hired at these kinds of places.

[sub] I feel your pain. I looked for work for almost three months before signing on with a crappy temp service after even Fatburgers wouldn’t even give me an interview. I had just finished school as a massage therapist, and since the process of getting the certificate/applying to take the certification exam/ getting your license is so lengthy and convoluted, I needed a way of supporting myself in the meantime, but most employers won’t give an educated person’t app a second glance.[/sub]

6

I did this in Indiana. YMMV.

I could file the day after (actually, it was a week after when I did because of the outplacement seminar I went to), but bennies did not start until 30 days after the layoff date.

The initial filing had to be in person, but the weeklies I did online. I think I was in the office 4 times total over the 6 months I was unemployed, and 3 of those happened because I was using the job search database. Once I figured out how to get into that from home, I never went back.

I had to provide names of three contacts each week when I submitted my voucher. I could provide the name of a place I simply sent a resume to, and meet the requirement. However, since on a slow week I sent out 10 resumes, I never really had to play fast and loose with contacts.

I thought of trying for a job at a stop’n’rob or doing pizza delivery to keep me busy in the interim, but I didn’t want to risk being deemed gainfully employed.

Overall, it sucked, but it was not as bad as I imagined. The people in the office were helpful, and actually listened to me and answered questions without any crap.

In the end, I found the job on my own efforts, and not from the unemployment referalls or the actions of my headhunter.

7

Thanks for the insight to the unemployment system. **Tiggerkitty ** I don’t plan on taking a job to have a job unless, by the time unemployment benefits run out I haven’t found a job. Then I’ll take what I can get. We can squek by on my husbands salary. It would be uncomfortable, but it could always be worse.

**cher3 ** and **vunderbob ** I am keeping a “log” of where I have submitted a resume- so I do a follow up about a week or so after I sent my resume. It will be good “practice” for reporting to unemployment. I also plan on submitting my resume to their job database, but the Nevada Job Connect sucks way worse than any other job search engine site.

Danalan- I think I will just file in NV, but that is an interesting way of filing unemployment.

**Asbestos **- Thanks for the heads up about the NV unemployment system. I was planning on filing Oct 1, but wasn’t sure if I should do it by phone or internet. Thanks for the tip. If you don’t mind- what temp agency did you use/are you using? So I know which to avoid. You can email me if you don’t want to say online. I also didn’t think they would offer any actual help, but it doesn’t hurt to ask :smiley: And I am glad to know I won’t be penalized for not taking a McCrap job. Also hopefully you get your certification soon.

Yeah, with a B.S in Geology, and professionl job history, my app would get filed directly into the round file at a place like Target, Home Depot or the like.

I not sure if this was supposed to be funny or not, but I got a laugh and I gave myself a Diet Dr Pepper nasalma :smiley:

8

In Massachusetts, you do not have to submit any regular job search paperwork. They say that they can ask for it in theory but they never do. Here, unemployment rates are pretty generous ($512 per week) so it would be hard to find a McJob that pays that much. They also don’t expect you to take anything outside of your field.

9

In a lot of states, you can file as soon as you’re laid off, but many UE offices have a “waiting week” in which you don’t get a check.

Both states I’ve filed in expect you to do your own searches.

Both states I’ve collected in don’t make you lower your wage expectations until you have been collecting for a number of months (different in each state). And then it was only that you had to lower your wage expectations, they did not force you to take a fast food job. In Texas they make you keep track of and do a search for at least three jobs a week. In Alaska, you don’t have to do a work search until you’re into Extended benefits. Neither one dictated who you had to contact for your work search requirements. So, you can keep putting in applications with the sorts of jobs you want, and none for the sort you don’t.

I have a trick, I go ahead and “apply” at these places if I’m short on my “quota” for that week, but I use my regular resume (on good resume paper) and attach it to my application. I’ve never even been called. They take one look at it and I know they think "oh yeah, like SHE’LL stay 10 seconds past getting called for an interview on a “real” job. Works like a charm.

Well, you worked all those years to pay into the system, why shouldn’t you use it when you are layed off and can’t find a job in your field? I hate being unemployed, but Texas has NO jobs in my field (environmental) available. So, until I go back to anchorage, in about 3 weeks, I’m continuing to apply for and luckily occasionally work for temp admin companies. In both Texas and AK, (hopefully your state too) UE allows you to keep some wages, and after a “cut off” point, it takes a certain amount on the dollar and subtracts it from your UE checks, so if you can work, do so, even if it’s temp, it helps stretch out your UE allotment longer, in case it takes you that much longer to get a “real” job.

Good luck!!!

10

GAH!! Not EVEN if it’s temp. IF it is temp. Like others have said, you don’t to take something fulltime that will cut you out of UE and pay less. I worked for several temp agencies and had some great assignments with no french fries in sight. It helped me keep my “foot in the door” and extended my benefits out for the length of time I was getting fulltime work at the assignments. Sheesh, sorry my first attempt didn’t explain it very well :smiley:

11

“They” won’t ask you to prove you are actively searching for work till about 5-6 months down the road. Its been a few years for me, so I can’t tell you anything about the internet or call-in filing. I always used to go the the Henderson office, back when Henderson was a stoplight and a gas station. Not so anymore.

Now is a good time to start that daytime drinking that you have been putting off for so long…:wink:

Seriously, with experiance in Geology, I would think you had a shot with a State job. They are always lookin’ for you folks. Inspectors, “Right-of-Way” people, construction consultants and such. Lord knows a business degree ain’t worth crap to them.

12

If the claim form tells you to mail it in on a certain date, do exactly that. Mailing it in a bit later is okay, but mailing it in early is not.
As I understand things here and having done it more than once: You can be underemployed and still collect some benefits. It depends on how much you earn in a week and how much the weekly benefit amount is.

13

This was true in Indiana, too. However, if you filed online, the web app wouldn’t let you file early.