Unemployment: Day 4

Today was primarily focused on problem-solving, e.g. going to the unemployment office to determine next steps so that we can file. A fraud claim was submitted and now we enter another waiting pattern. Word of warning: if you’ve never filed for unemployment before and you already have an account under your SSN, someone probably tried to file fraudulently. A call to the unemployment line was a 3-hour wait, but a visit to the Ohio Means Jobs unemployment office went much quicker (and the people were super nice). Now we wait for them to reach out to us so we can provide confirmation that we are who we say we are and move on to next steps.

I created a spreadsheet of jobs I’ve applied for to help me keep track (and ensure I don’t apply to he same job multiple times, thanks LinkedIn). It’s helpful to include notes, compensation, and next steps. For example, I was requested for a call early next week but haven’t received a reply to schedule, so I’ve got a note to follow up later this week.

I also learned about Applicant Tracking Software, which is a nifty little tool for employers that adds a layer of complication to the job-search pool. More from Indeed here, but TLDR you’re going to want to make sure your resume is ATS friendly if you don’t want to be kicked out of the pool before a human even sees your resume. There are a number of tools to score your resume available online, and mine is coming in around 60-70 / 100, so a rework is definitely on the agenda.