So I’ve just run out of my Tiers (1-4) of unemployment in California. I now begin FED-ED which is…umm… ah… an extension again of some sort of Federal unemployment(?) Okay I don’t get all the figa-ma-roh, but it comes next. When you begin the FED-ED portion you “have” to fill out the “C” section on the back of your claim form. This rule says you must apply for 3 jobs per week. Which means of course that you must apply for at least 6 jobs for every two week check you continue to receive from the Federal government.

For my first “FED-ED” claim form I had over 16 jobs to choose from to place on my form because that is how many jobs I applied for during the stated time period. I have been applying for anywhere from 4 to 16 jobs per week for over the last year or more. Needless to say, I’ve been looking for work.

The forms the EDD sends out are the same forms I received back in… say… 1982 or so:

Date applied: Ok, can do.
Company name: Um, rarely offered by Career Builder or Monster or Craigslist
Compandy address: Um, see above
Person contacted: They don’t give you a name! Okay, maybe 3 out of 5, not availabe via the forementioned sites, no, thats 1 out of 5 reality
Type of work: not a problem
Results: NOTHING, NADA, NO CALL, NO-EMAIL, NO “THANK YOU FOR APPLYING”

Okay – 1 out of 5 on Career Builder will say, “Thank you for your application!” blah blah

That’s it.

I’ve applied to over 200 jobs in the last 18 months – easy. Probably more if I keep a digging. Point is, now that I’m on the FED-ED I have to “state” my employment job search. I just wish I could go back 16 months and let them know all I’ve done.

I have good – no, great skills for what I do. I’m optimistic that the “perfect” job is just ’round the corner.

Time is running out.

Advertisement